Page 60 of Ruthless Salvation
While he was gone, flashes of memory assaulted me—times when Damyon had tended to me in a similar fashion. Gentle. Tender. Sincere. The familiar scene poked and prodded at my fears, stirring them to life. I had to remind myself that this was different because Torin wasn’t the one who’d caused the pain. He’d never once laid a finger on me or even been unkind in any way.
As fickle as the wind, my emotions came at me from all directions with no rhyme or reason. The longer I sat in the bath, the more unstable I felt. I hated the silence. The void left room for violent thoughts that sliced me open from the inside. When I could take no more, I stood.
“I’d like to get out now.”
Torin looked at me with worry lining his face but nodded. He helped me out, gently patted me dry, then did something so unexpected that the tears I’d been fighting back finally trickled down my cheeks.
“Shit, am I pulling?” He lowered the brush he’d been using to tenderly work through my tangled hair.
“No.” I sniffled and wiped my eyes. “I haven’t had anyone do this sort of thing for me in a long time.”
“You swear I’m not hurting you?” He took in my small smile before resuming. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard you talk much about your parents.”
“That’s because they passed away six years ago.” I waited for the awkwardness that always followed that revelation, but it never surfaced.
“Brothers and sisters?”
“Nope.”
“You have a grandma you’re close to. I’ve heard you talk about her.”
I couldn’t believe he’d paid attention enough to remember. “Yeah, that’s Honey. She was the best grandma a person could ask for.” I used the past tense intentionally. He must have noticed because he didn’t push for more.
“You’re surprisingly good at that, you know,” I said after a while.
“What? Using a brush?” he asked with a nudge of humor.
“Yeah. You know how to start at the ends to work out the tangles. Guys don’t always know that.”
“I had long hair for a while. It was a phase,” he added dryly. “I had enough curl that it was always tangled.”
“You have any—”
“No pictures. It’s not happening.”
“How did you know I was going to ask that?” I stared at him incredulously.
He leaned in, bringing his lips near my ear as our eyes met in the mirror. “Because I knowyou, Stormy Lawson,” he said in a resolute rumble.
Heat seared up my spine until my entire body blushed. I had to drop my gaze. I didn’t want him to know that part of my reaction was rooted in shame. What he thought he knew was a lie. Even my name was a lie.
Unaware of my discomfort, Torin grabbed some pills and a glass of water. “Take these for the pain, then we’ll get you settled in. You need to rest.” He gently cupped the back of my neck and locked eyes with me. Torin slowly pressed his lips to mine in a devastatingly heartfelt kiss that left my head spinning.
“Do you want to head to bed or watch some TV?”
I didn’t want to go to sleep. I had a feeling the memories would morph into nightmares. “No sleeping. Let’s watch a little TV.”
He nodded and led me into the living room. I waited for him to sit, then gently eased myself down next to him, fitting snugly into his side. He scrolled through a few channels before settling on a documentary about grizzly bears. The narrator’s voice was so soothing that I could barely keep my eyes open minutes into the show. I shook my head to scatter the cobwebs, unsure what had come over me.
“The meds I gave you for the pain will make you sleepy. No need to worry, though. I’m confident you don’t have a concussion.”
“What? What did you give me?” Thoughts evaporated as quickly as they formed, leaving me dazed.
“Nothing bad, I promise.” He handed me the remote and eased out from beneath me. “I’m going to run a quick errand while you rest.”
“What? No, you said I’m not leaving.” I thought about my words, noting something sounded off, but couldn’t quite figure out what. “No errands, safer here. Go home tomorrow.” I attempted one last time to persuade him to stay.
“Sleep, sweet girl. I’ll be back soon.” His lips touched my forehead one last time before my eyes fell shut without reopening.