Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
Hours later, Scott set his empty beer bottle on the kitchen counter and looked over at Julie with a smile. “You good?”
“Yeah, thanks for getting the pizza and beer, I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I took my first bite. I’m sorry if I made a pig of myself.”
Scott shook his head and reached over to gently grip her chin in his hand. When he had her full attention, he said, “You never have to apologize to me unless you purposely did something to me, or caused me harm. Other than that, there’s nothing to apologize for. We both worked hard, and if I recall, neither one of us really ate any lunch.” He grinned as he turned in his seat to look out at the other rooms. “Besides, we did a lot. You wanted at least two rooms painted, and we were able to do much more.” He nodded at the work they’d completed in the dining room, living room, hallway, kitchen, and he knew for a fact the bathroom down the hall and two other rooms had been completely painted. Scott had questioned why she’d painted all the rooms a neutral off white, but Julie had explained that the realtor had suggest it so that people coming to the open house would be able to picture the rooms with their own color choices if it was all neutral. Besides, she had shrugged, as she explained she liked the color, it was soothing to her.
“We did good, huh?”
“We did.” He turned back to her with a smile. He caught sight of the clock, then looked at her in shock.
“What?”
“Is it really almost midnight?”
Julie whipped around and stared at the clock. “I guess it is.” She looked at him and they both started cleaning up the plates and pizza box. While Scott took out the garbage, Julie rinsed the bottles and put them in the recycling bin.
Upon his return, Scott looked at her sadly.
“What?”
“Is there a hotel around here?”
Julie stared at him in shock as she drew in a deep breath and looked at him with her head cocked to the side. “You can stay here.”
He frowned, but didn’t say anything, and she rushed on, “I know there’s only one bed left, but you’re more than welcome to share it with me. I’m not saying we have to do anything, but it is more convenient than driving the thirty minutes into town.”
“Okay, I just need to go out to my truck and get my overnight bag.” He quickly left before she changed her mind and once outside, he drew in a deep breath and tried to stop his racing heart. He wouldn’t pounce on her like he wanted to, but he would definitely hold her in his arms as they slept. At his truck, he unlocked it, then got his bag from the back seat. Before he closed the door, he opened it to make sure he had condoms, and with a grin, he took the bag, slammed the door shut, and hurried into the house. He made sure to lock the door behind him, then removed his shoes.
“Go on up,” he told her. “I’ll make sure to lock up down here.”
“Thank you,” Julie said, and went to the stairs. Scott did as he promised and made sure all the doors and windows were shut and locked. They had opened the windows to let the paint fumes out as they’d worked earlier. Once that was all done, he went into the kitchen and fixed the coffee maker for the morning, and even programmed it to start at a certain time. He looked at the clock and realized twenty minutes had passed, and hoped that was enough time to go upstairs. He was at the top of the stairs when he saw Julie standing in the doorway to her room wearing a robe.
“I put some spare towels in the hall bathroom.”
“Thank you,” he said, and took his bag into the room with him. He quickly got out his toiletries and turned the water on. The water felt like heaven slicing over his body, so after washing, he stood there with his head hanging forward and let it massage his back. He particularly liked the shower head with its different settings and made a mental note to ask Julie if she was going to bring that with her. After the water cooled, he shut off the water, ran his hands over his face, and pulled back the curtain. At the light scream he opened his eyes and saw Julie standing there looking at him. Too shocked to cover himself right away, he only looked into her eyes as he reached for a towel and wrapped it around his hips.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, I’m sorry, but it’s just that you’ve been in here for over an hour and I was checking to make sure you were okay.”
“I hadn’t realized I was in here that long. I have to say, this shower has an unlimited supply of hot water, and your shower head is amazing. Will you be bringing that with you?”
“I can. I have one just like it in the master bath.” She walked into the room and opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet to reach into the back. That’s when Scott realized she was using crutches and he saw she didn’t have her prosthetic on. He hurried over to help her stand and frowned when she held something in her hand.
“What’s that?”
“That’s the shower head we removed when we installed that one. I kept it so that we could put it back on if we ever sold the house. Sara and I both got the new ones when I returned from boot camp. Not that it matters, but this was Sara’s bathroom. Mine is in the main bedroom.”
“Okay, leave it on the counter and I’ll change them out tomorrow.” Scott grabbed another towel and started drying his hair and upper body. “When do you think you’ll leave here?”
“Well, I was going to say this weekend, but if Ass-Boom-Boom-hole and his posse are going to challenge you to go out to The Oasis, then I’m thinking maybe no later than Tuesday. I figure if the guys come down, you can do what you do and put them in their place, we can all go out to dinner, then I’ll go to the truck rental place and pick up what I need to get my stuff to Colorado. I’m hoping maybe your guys can haul one or two trailers back. I’m thinking two because we can put what’s left here in the house in one, and what’s in the garage and shed out back in another one.”
“That will work.” He hung up his towel then looked at her with a quirked brow when he put his hands at his waistband. “I’m about to remove this towel and put on a fresh pair of skivvies, are you going to watch?” He grinned when her cheeks turned bright red, and he held out his hand to help her when she quickly turned and hurried out of the room as fast as her crutches would carry her. Once she slammed the door behind her, he grinned as he did as he promised, and in five minutes he was standing in the doorway to her bedroom. He liked that she was sitting on the side of the bed the farthest away from the door. He didn’t do anything until she looked up at him sheepishly.
“You can come in.”
“Thank you,” Scott said as he came in, and tossed the light blanket and sheet back, he climbed in and covered himself up, then watched as she stood, removed her robe, and he smiled as he saw she wore a pair of shorts with Navy written across the ass, and a faded blue shirt that said the same across the chest.
“I can’t be mad at the pj’s.” He laughed at her expression, then her grin as she realized what her clothing stated.
“Yeah, I made sure to keep several pairs from boot camp. Believe it or not, they are comfortable to sleep in.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He nodded as she climbed under the covers, reached over to shut off the light, then they settled down. It wasn’t long before she gravitated toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her. In minutes they had both sighed heavily, evened their breathing and were both asleep in what felt like seconds.
Julie arched her back into the delicious back rub and it took her several minutes before she froze as she heard someone breathing next to her. She was on her stomach and turned her head to look at the person beside her. She quickly looked away when she saw Scott Gould lying beside her.
“Morning,” Scott mumbled in a deep, gravelly voice, which caused Julie to shiver where she lay.
“Morning,” she mumbled back to him, and arched into his hands again. “That feels wonderful.” She sighed contentedly when she felt the blankets removed from her, then Scott moved beside her and she felt him climb over her legs. She only lifted her head to look over her shoulder at him, then melted into the mattress as he used both of his hands to massage her back. She felt his thumbs go up her spine, and his fingers were on the outside of her ribs, when they reached her squished breasts, she sucked in her breath as she felt his fingers linger there, but she didn’t discourage him to remove them. The more she lay there, the more relaxed she became, then quickly jerked up.
“Hey,” she said as she looked over her shoulder at him.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, the massage was fine, but why are all the lights on?”
“Oh,” Scott said as he climbed over her, and sat on the bed beside her. As Julie rolled over to look at him, she noticed his cheeks were pink, and he hung his head, not looking at her.
“Scott? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he mumbled, then lifted his head and sighed heavily. “Sorry, about an hour after we went to bed, I woke from the beginnings of a bad dream, and after hitting the head, I turned on the lights. I’m sorry, but since going through what I did, I can’t stand to sleep in the dark. That’s my biggest secret, I’m afraid of the dark.”
Julie quickly moved in the bed so she was closer to him, and after she took his hand in hers, she waited for him to look directly at her. Only then did she speak, “You have nothing to be sorry for. I can’t even imagine the horrors you and the others went through. If sleeping with the lights on helps, then I’m all for it, it might take me a few times to remember to leave them on, but I’m okay with them on.”
“Thank you,” Scott said in a quiet voice, and it was a long time before either of them said anything.
It was Julie who broke the silence. “So, where were we?”
Scott threw his head back and laughed as she waggled her eyebrows up and down at him. Instead of turning her back over onto her stomach, he reached up and took her face in his hands, then leaned down and kissed her gently. It didn’t take long before it turned hot, and he slowly lowered her to the bed. In the process, he tossed the covers to the foot of the bed, and lay out beside her, never lifting his lips from hers. He groaned when her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her hands in his hair. He only lifted his head to catch his breath.
“Wow,” he whispered against her neck, and smiled when it felt like she directed his head in a different direction. He willingly followed. With a smile on his lips, he kissed his way down her neck and when he encountered the edge of her tee, he reached under it and quickly removed it, pausing long enough to stare at her breasts. Without saying a word, he bent down and kissed the top of them, then all around before he sucked the distended nipple into his mouth. He winced only once when she pulled his hair, but with her not saying a word, he continued what he was doing.
As his mouth was busy with her breasts, his hand traveled down her body and sank into the waistband of her shorts. Before long, both the shorts and panties were flying through the air, and he kissed his way down her body. He paused at her stomach and looked up at her with a smile.
“You doing okay?”
“Mmm,” she answered, and had her eyes closed.
Scott took that as encouragement and continued down her body. Instead of stopping at her core, he kissed his way down one leg, then up the other one. Her missing lower leg never bothered him and when she started to fiddle when he kissed the end of it, he reassured her that everything was okay as he kissed his way up to her sweet spot. Before he took her with his mouth, he looked up her body at her, and paused to study her face.
“Still good?”
“Yes,” she said the word, and Scott thanked her for telling the truth, then he leaned in and licked the length of her. He expected her response, but didn’t think it would be as intense as it was. He held her hips down as he continued, and smiled against her core when she draped her legs over his shoulders and brought him closer to her. He didn’t let up until she had her first orgasm, and as she enjoyed it, he reached for a condom, slipped it on, and crawled up her body. He paused until she opened her eyes to look at him and smiled down at her dazed expression.
“Ready for more?”
“Mmm,” she moaned, then nodded her head. “Yes.”
That was all the encouragement Scott needed before he slowly slipped into her. He didn’t take his eyes from hers, nor did he stop until he was all the way in. He paused for her to adjust to him, then while still looking her directly in the eyes, he began to move. He smiled at her when her eyes flared, then told her to keep them open when they started to close.
At one point, Julie reached up and put her arms around his back and he moved just right to cause her to embed her nails into his back. He jerked and started moving faster. When she repeated the move, he shook his head.
“Move your hands, please.”
She immediately moved them to his sides and saw relief come over his face. It didn’t take long to get back in the swing of things, and as Julie had her second orgasm, she laid one hand on his jaw as he reared back and roared out his own release. He fell on top of her and breathed roughly. It took a couple of minutes before he could move. When he did, he slowly unstuck them, rose up onto his fisted hands, and stared down at her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it was perfect. What happened?” she asked, then scowled when he wouldn’t look at her. She sat up when he rolled off her and headed to the bathroom. She let out a little scream and tried to get out of the bed to rush after him, but he was right there beside her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your back, you’re bleeding.” She looked at him with wide eyes, then in fear. “Did I do that?”
“I don’t know, I have to look at it in the mirror.” He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, setting her on the counter between the two sinks. He disposed of the condom, then turned to try to look at his back. He sighed in relief when Julie handed him a smaller mirror so he could look. Before he could get a good look, Julie’s hands were all over him and he sighed as she forcefully turned him, then gave a little screech.
“Why didn’t you tell me I broke open one of your healing wounds?”
“I didn’t know you did,” he admitted.
“Turn on the water, then go get my crutches. This needs to be cleaned.” Her tone brooked no argument, so he did as instructed. In less than five minutes they both stood beneath the spray of the shower. Scott liked that it had dual shower heads so they could both shower at the same time. Julie must have done a quick job, because Scott had washed, but stood there with his head bent and allowed the spray to beat down on his neck and back. He didn’t moved until he felt her hands on his back.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just enjoying the hot water.” He looked over his shoulder at her with a wry grin. “Another one of my secrets.” He turned off the water and took the towel she handed him, then waited for her to exit the shower.
“Talk to me, Scott. The lights being on when you go to sleep, I can understand, but why the water?”
Scott didn’t want to answer, but he knew if he wanted to have a relationship with Julie, it was time for him to come clean. He waited until they were in her bedroom, and he sat on the bed as she began to dress. Since his clothes were still in the other room, he remained in his towel.
He still remained silent while she dressed, put her leg on, then went back into the bathroom to brush her hair and when she returned she had several medical supplies in her hands. Scott just automatically turned so she could look at his back. Knowing she couldn’t see his expression, he began to talk, “The day before we left for that last mission that went FUBAR, I took a shower in the morning before heading into the office. We did our exercises on the beach then went to the gym. An hour after we left for the day, we were called back in and given the mission.”
“Okay, I can understand that, but it still doesn’t explain about your shower secret.”
“I’m getting to it.” Scott sighed and scrubbed his face with both hands. He jerked when she put something on the spot that had bled, then continued, “As I said, I showered, then worked, out, then went on that mission. We were there for three days before everything went FUBAR, then we were held captive in that dark, dank basement for twenty days. No lights unless they were torturing us. The fuckheads would flip the lights on and off before they entered. That’s when Manny and I knew the torture would continue.”
“Fuck me,” Julie said as she put a small gauze pad over the wound and placed tape around the edges. “Go on,” she said as she inspected the other scars on his back.
“As I said, it was twenty days of torture. I know you’ve never been tortured, but I imagine when you knew of the predicament you found yourself in with your leg being trapped, then you had some sweat rolling down your back.”
“Back, forehead, pits, chest, hell, my entire body was sweat soaked by the time they found me. It was panic sweat too. When I thought no one would ever fine me, there was the stench of fear sweat mixed in.”
“So, you understand about my torture. Anyway, after being rescued, I was taken to the military hospital in Germany. Well, I wasn’t in a coma, they had me on enough pain killers to knock me out and keep me out for at least three weeks. They wanted the worst of the cuts to start to heal before they woke me up.”
“Oh shit, that means that you didn’t have a shower that entire time. Now I understand.”
“Correct, then when they weaned me off the painkillers enough to stay awake during the day, they still wouldn’t let me shower with the open wounds. All I was given for the next fucking month was a sponge bath, and that was given every other day.” He paused long enough to shake his head. “So, my secret is that when I can, I take a shower for as long as the hot water runs. I wash when I first get in, then I just stand there and allow the water to wash over me.”
“Shit.” Julie shook her head as she stood and nodded to him. “It wasn’t bad, I think my fingernails opened the wound just a little. I’m so sorry.”
Scott stood and took her hands in his. He didn’t say anything until she looked directly at him. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Of course.”
“Then no harm done.” He grinned and bent down to give her a quick kiss before he said he had to go get his clothes in the other bathroom. He had just dropped his towel when the door opened and there was an ear-piercing scream coming from the doorway.