Page 84 of Touch of Hate
“Let me help you with that.” Taking the towel, I finish drying her, then turn my attention to her hair.
“This is nice,” she murmurs from under the towel, and I don’t know whether she’s talking about the warmth from the stove or having me shower and dry her off. It doesn’t matter. She’s happy, and I want to keep her that way. I’d do anything to keep her smiling and feeling good.
If only there wasn’t the sense of betraying my brother throughout all of this. My loyalties hang in the balance here, and I can’t help but wonder what River would think of our slice of domestic bliss.
I doubt he’s ever experienced anything close to love, not with the way he hates being around other people unless it’s necessary.
We’ve both suffered tremendously.
I’m sure a psychologist would have a field day, shrinking our brains and studying the ways our shared trauma shaped us into who we are now.
“Okay, I think it’s as dry as it’s going to get it.”
Scarlet giggles and ducks from beneath the towel before snatching it away. I must’ve zoned out. “I’m going to need a brush. Or a comb.”
“You can use mine for now,” I offer on my way to the bedroom.
Yet another item she’s missing. I should make a list before going out to town—no, on second thought, she’ll need to come with me.
I can’t leave her alone here.
I want to trust her, but she’s only human. And I’ve witnessed enough of her schemes when she was a kid to know how her mind works. She might not get it in her head to run away, but she’s a curious little cat. I have no doubt she’d at least wander outside. What if she gets lost? Or hurt?
Nobody ever told me how stressful it would be, finally getting the one thing I’ve always wanted. The one person. She’s my responsibility and a hundred times more precious than she ever was before, now that I’ve claimed her body along with her heart.
“Sit.” With a towel around my waist, I pull one of the kitchen chairs close to the stove and take a seat before leaning back to fish a rubber band from the junk drawer. “I’ll braid your hair for you.”
“You’ll what?” she asks with a tiny laugh, wrapping the towel around her chest. I wish she wouldn’t, of course. I’ll never grow tired of looking at her. But I can respect her need to be modest; we have the rest of our lives together.
“Sit your cute little ass down on my lap, and I’ll show you.”
Her blue eyes become skeptical, but she complies, perching gingerly on my lap before I pull her more firmly against me.
Close. I always need her close.
For one second, I allow myself to lean forward and breathe her in. She smells like me and her usual Scarlet scent. Wildflowers, pure. Her scent calms me in an instant, and I suck another greedy breath into my lungs before I grab the comb. Slowly, I comb, carefully untangling her wet locks. They’re a darker shade of blond, thanks to the dampness, shining and fragrant. Her soft sighs along with the proximity of her ass to my dick threaten to get me hard.
I doubt she’d mind, but there are other things to accomplish. I can’t indulge myself in her all day long, no matter how much I wish I could.
Once she’s combed out, I separate the hair into three sections, which I comb again before taking them between my fingers and weaving them together.
“Who taught you how to braid?” she asks with laughter in her voice.
“Who do you think?” I work carefully, keeping the three sections smooth. “Luna. She used to make me practice with her on her dolls back when she first learned how. You should’ve heard her bitching me out when I’d get it wrong.”
Her giggles take me back, reminding me of my little sister’s giggles.
All the times I’ve heard the two of them laughing together. I used to roll my eyes and brush them off. I didn’t have time for their bullshit—or so I considered it at the time.
A wave of wistfulness hits me out of nowhere. Longing. I’ve spent so long wishing for Scarlet, wanting her, craving her, that I forgot everything else I miss after taking its presence for granted.
“I guess we all do it,” I murmur to myself.
“Do what?”
I didn’t mean to say it out loud, so her question took me by surprise. “Take things for granted. Luna, for instance. She’s at the top of the list. There’s never been a day I didn’t appreciate her presence, but I took the little moments for granted. Like when she bullied me into learning how to braid so I could braid her hair when it got too long for her to handle on her own.”
My fingers are suddenly clumsy. Fuck, I miss her. I didn’t understand until now how I deliberately avoid thinking about her so I could avoid the pain coursing through me. The guilt, the pressure in my chest.