Chapter 21 Gracie Mae #2
I keep my eyes on his as he unhooks my legs from his back and plants my feet gently on the floor. I lean against the shower wall for support and watch him in a daze as he takes the bar of soap and a yellow washcloth.
Soaping up the cloth until bubbles cover it he begins to wash me.
And I feel as if this act is more intimate than anything sexual we’ve done.
He swipes the cloth gently across my body, starting with my chest and working his way outwards. He cleans me thoroughly, paying special attention to all the crevices and scrubbing me clean. Once my front is done he takes the shower head and sprays me down.
And then he does the same with my backside. Placing his hand gently on my hip he turns me around and cleans me.
The affection, the tender touches and the care he’s showing me causes tears to build up and press at the back of my eyes.
It’s been so long. So, so long since someone has cared for me. Since someone has taken care of me.
A tear manages to slip free.
I try to press them back but the dam is open. One after another tears stream down my face.
Sensing the shift in my body Oak stops rinsing me with the shower head and spins me back around to face him.
I have my face covered in my hands so he doesn’t see but he doesn’t allow that.
He pries my hands away and cups my face gently in his big rough hands.
His eyes search mine and when they don’t find an answer he asks me softly, “Why are you crying? Was I too rough with you?”
“No!” I assure him immediately. I never want him to think that. Whatever he gives I willingly accept. And for my tastes I don’t think he could ever be too rough with me. “It’s not about that at all. Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Grace. It’s the reason why I’m letting you in. I trust you more than I trust myself.”
God, that causes more tears to fall down my face.
This man.
“Tell me,” he says. “Tell me what it is and I’ll fix it.”
He swipes the tears away from under my eyes and then presses the softest of kisses across my face before landing on my lips.
“I haven’t,” I say to him while swallowing back the sobs, “I haven’t had someone take care of me in such a long time. I almost forgot what it felt like.”
Oak’s face falls sympathetically and then he wraps me in his arms. He kisses the top of my head as the last of my tears fall. “I’ll take care of you from this day forward. I fucking promise that to you.”
And I believe him.
But because I can’t be completely selfish, because being selfish is something I can’t do I promise back to him, “I’ll take care of you, too.”
He tilts my head back and looks deeply in my eyes. His icy blues open and vulnerable. “You’ve fought for me harder than anyone ever has. Believe me, Grace, you take care of me by simply existing.”
With me still wrapped in his arms Oak turns off the water and carries me out of the shower. He then places me on the floor as he grabs two towels for me and one for himself.
I go to take the towel from him but he keeps it of reach. Placing my hand on my damp hip I tell him, “I can dry myself, you know.”
“I know you can but this is me taking care of you. Let me.” And all the fight and sass leaves my body and I let him pat me down dry.
“You know,” I start teasingly, “I could get used to this. Then you’ll have to do it all the time.”
He smirks up at me before turning me around to dry my backside. “You act as if that wasn’t the plan all along.” He then places a kiss on my ass cheek and I can feel the burn in the apples of my cheeks.
When he’s finished drying me he slaps me on the ass and I playfully throw him a glare. “And what was that for?”
“For not asking me to shower with you.”
“Seriously?” I laugh.
He nods his head, his expression serious. “For now on if I’m with you we shower together.”
“Really?”
“We’re saving water if we shower together.”
At that I laugh, the sound coming from my belly. “As if you care about preserving water. You just want to see me naked as much as you can.”
He shrugs and winks at me. “You can’t blame me on that, baby. Your body is the sexiest thing I’ve ever fucking seen.”
I wink back at him. “Right back at ya.”
I’m about to give him another kiss when the door bell rings. I freeze while Oak’s body and face transforms to protective mode.
He immediately places me behind him as if whoever is behind that door is a threat to my life.
But then I remember.
“Fucking Steven,” I mutter under my breath.
Oak looks back at me and asks, “What did you say?”
I expel a long breath and place myself in front of Oak. “Connor’s social worker is here to check out the house and see if it’s suitable for him.”
Oak’s eyes narrow as his jaw clenches. “The very same social worker who is keeping you from gaining custody of him.” He doesn’t question it but states it as fact. And it’s a fact I can’t argue with.
“It’s complicated.” Is all I can say.
The doorbell rings again and I mutter a few choice curse words that would make me have Connor muffling his ears.
“I’ll let him in,” Oak says in a civil tone that does not at all match the glaciers in his eyes.
“Oak,” I begin carefully, “I need you to play nice. Promise me that you’ll do that for me.”
“I can’t do that, Grace,” he says and my eyes widen in disbelief. “If he so much as looks at you the wrong way or lays one of his fucking fingers on you I’ll kill him.”
He’s serious.
He’s absolutely serious.
I place my hand back on my hip and raise a brow. “And just how would you get rid of the body?”
“I’ll call Snake. He knows what to do,” he says nonchalantly, as if we aren’t discussing getting rid of a body.
I blink at that even though I shouldn’t be surprised.
Snake has killed countless of men. I only know of some. And I know Oak has killed men, too.
“Do I need to remind you that this is the man you fought for, Grace?”
I snort. “Don’t be absurd. I know the man I fought for. But I need you to try and be nice because this puts Connor’s life in jeopardy. Do you get that?”
He nods his head. “I get that.”
“Then go out there, bring me my duffel bag, and when you answer the door don’t try and kill him.”
Oak stands at my commands with a smirk on his face. “You bossing me around?”
“Yes, I am. Trust me, big guy, you aren’t the only one who knows how to command.”
He places his hands on my bare hips and pulls me flush against him. We’re both still naked and I can feel his cock hardening against me.
This man’s stamina is unmatched and I honestly can’t keep up with it.
“I think I like the idea of you giving orders.” His voice drops in register.
Keeping my head clear I block out the horny side of my brain and focus on the logical. “Oak, we can’t. Plus, my pussy needs a break or you’re going to break it.”
“Can’t keep up with me?” He teases.
I roll my eyes. “You’re insatiable.”
“Only with you.” His hands roam my body and I pull away from him giving him a leveled stare.
“Oak, please. Duffel bag and then let Steven in and don’t try to kill him.”
“Alright, baby.” He places a quick wet kiss to my lips and parades out into the bedroom butt naked and doesn’t even stop to put on clothes as he leaves the bedroom.
I can’t even remember if there are curtains up or not but whoever is walking by just got a really nice view.
Pulling myself together I start doing the basic necessities first before Oak comes back. I brush my teeth at turbo speed and then rinse. By the time Oak comes back I’m finger combing my mess of a hair.
He’s still naked.
And his cock is still hard.
Dear lord fucking help me.
I raise a brow at him as he hands over the duffel bag. “Aren’t you going to put on clothes?”
“You didn’t say anything about putting on clothes,” he points out.
“Oak,” I say his name in warning and he holds up his hands in mock surrender.
As he leaves the bathroom I see that he has his clothes lying on the bed.
Thank god.
Scrambling through my duffel bag I find my comb and comb out my hair.
Knowing I don’t have enough time to blow dry I just pin it up in a ponytail.
My hair is damp but it will just have to do.
Same goes for makeup. As much as I would love to slap some on I just don’t have the time.
But I’ll at least do mascara so I appear more awake and don’t look as if I just got fucked in the shower.
I swipe on the mascara and look at myself in the mirror.
Yeah, can definitely tell I just got fucked.
Oh fucking well. Can’t really fix that, now can I?
I pull out the light wash skinny jeans with holes in the thighs and knees and my buttoned up cropped lilac cardigan.
Quickly I put on my clothes and do a little dance as I shimmy the jeans up my legs.
I psych myself up in the mirror and head out of the bedroom to hopefully not find Steven dead by the hands of Oak.
Walking down the hallway I can already feel the tension rising in the air like an ocean at high tide.
I find the both of them in the kitchen. Steven is standing primly by the stool with his briefcase strapped over his shoulder and Oak has a knife in his hand.
Oak. Has. A. Knife. In. His. Hand.
My eyes stay widely on the knife until I realize that he’s cutting up vegetables that I didn’t even knew I had in the fridge.
The tension in the air between them is so thick that the knife Oak has wouldn’t even be able to cut it.
One would need a fucking chainsaw.
Placing on a fake smile I make my presence known as I address the both of them. “Sorry I was running a bit late. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Steven smiles, and before where I could’ve perceived it as harmless I now know how sinister it really is.
And it takes everything within me not to crawl out of my skin.
Before Steven can say anything Oak says in a tone that doesn’t sound apologetic at all, “Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to keep you up.” He wears a wolffish grin that looks too good to even be mad at him.
Steven clears his throat and adjusts his tie uncomfortably. “And who are you?” He asks Oak.
Oak winks at me before answering Steven. “I’m her man.”
“Excuse me?”