28. Bailey-Rose #2
Yun frowned but nodded and continued to wash the rest of my body.
The sweet moment between us had been shattered by my insecurities, and I didn’t know how to fix it.
When he finished, I stepped away to grab the shampoo and wash my hair.
I couldn’t gather the courage to look at Yun, knowing he must be upset with me for rejecting his touch.
The heat of his body came up behind me, and his comforting blueberry scent permeated through the water, telling me how close he was.
When the shampoo was rinsed out of my hair, I grabbed the conditioner, but Yun plucked it out of my hand.
I started to turn around, but he gripped my shoulder, halting my movement.
Submitting to his command, I stood just as I was until he started to massage the conditioner into my hair.
My legs almost collapsed under me as he moved with confidence, using his hands and a wide-tooth comb to work through my loose waves, ensuring they were free of tangles.
Hidden by the water, tears rolled down my cheeks as I was once more shown what it meant to truly show love to someone.
I could tell my request not to touch my scar bothered him, but he was putting that aside to care for me.
The gentle tug on my hair had me tilting my head enough to let the water wash over it, rinsing the conditioner out.
Once Yun decided my hair was clean, he walked away, and the shower turned off, leaving me to stand there.
I waited, praying he’d say something, let me know what was going through his mind, but there was only silence.
Gathering my hair over one shoulder, I started to wring it out, hating the feel of water dripping off my hair onto my skin.
Eyes focused on the tiled floor, I turned and took a few steps forward, only to be blocked by a large fluffy mint green towel being held out.
“Come here, sweetheart,” Yun instructed. His tone held some emotion in it, but I couldn’t quite place what it might be. My head thought it sounded angry, even slightly irritated, but my heart refused to believe that based on his actions.
Thankfully, the towel was as soft as it looked because I wasn’t sure I could handle something rough right now.
Yun wrapped it snuggly around me then reached out to take another towel someone handed him.
My head snapped up, meeting Ulysses’ gaze.
He stood there in low-slung sleep pants, looking tired and slightly distressed about something.
I looked between him and Yun, confused why he suddenly appeared in the bathroom.
Neither of them said a word as Yun, who had a towel wrapped around his hips, worked at drying off my hair.
The confident movements as he gently squeezed out the water led me to believe this wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this.
“Will your hair be all right if we don’t dry it right away?” Yun asked.
Far too anxious to care about something stupid like that, I nodded, unable to speak as my mind raced, leaping from one worst-case scenario to another.
Yun took my hand, threading our fingers together, and gave it a soft squeeze as he led me out of the shower.
Lysse hurried forward to drop slippers with a big pink puffy heart on them at the entrance to the shower for me.
I stepped into them, allowing Yun to draw me out of the bathroom.
There in my bedroom waiting were the rest of my Alphas. Each of them looked like they’d had a rough night, still dressed in loungewear. Finally, I found my voice as my fear and anxiety peaked.
“What’s going on?” I questioned.
Yun drew me to stand in front of him, my back to the guys facing the large full-length mirror they’d gotten me. The others gathered behind so they could see my reflection in the mirror, and I could see them here with me.
“Bailey-Rose, do you still trust me?” Yun asked in a soft voice only I could hear.
Licking my lips nervously, I nodded.
“I need you to say it out loud, sweetheart,” Yun urged.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, trying in vain to calm my anxiety. Even though I was worried and this situation made me uncomfortable, I knew in my soul Yun would never do something to intentionally hurt me. “Yes, I trust you.”
Quick as a flash, Yun tugged on the towel wrapped around me, causing it to fall in a heap at my feet.
I gasped and instinctively wrapped my arms over my chest, trying to cover my nakedness.
A whine of distress slipped out to which Yun responded by wrapping me up in his arms and resting his head on top of mine.
“Shh, omae, you’re safe,” Yun soothed. “We are here in our pack home, standing in your room, surrounded by your Alphas who will stop at nothing to protect you. There is nothing to fear, Bailey-Rose. You are encompassed by nothing but love and support.”
Taking a shaky breath, I looked into the mirror and focused on the faces of the men who gazed back at me tenderly.
He was right. I had nothing to fear from these Alphas—they were mine, and I was theirs.
I had no doubt that being naked around all of them would soon be a common occurrence, or at least I hoped it would be.
Feeling more confident, I dropped my arms and stood there bearing it all, trusting Yun had a point to all this.
“Tell me what you see,” Yun instructed.
Brows scrunching together, I tilted my head back to stare at him. “I don’t get it.”
Yun gave me a sweet smile, dropping a kiss on my head before using his hands to return my focus to the mirror. “It’s simple. I want you to look straight ahead and tell me what you see in the mirror.”
Still not truly understanding the point of this, I let out a sigh and looked at what was before me. “I see someone who got out of the shower and needs to brush her hair, and it might also be a good idea for her to shave the next time she’s in the shower.”
“You can see deeper than that,” Ulysses scolded. I flicked my gaze to where he was standing just to the right of Yun, surprised at him calling me out. “Rosie, I know you and how you see the world. Pretend you’re looking at someone you want to paint to bring that life into your art.”
A different kind of panic bubbled up inside me. “I-I can’t,” I rasped out.
“Why is that?” Yun asked, his voice calm and grounding as he rested his hands on my shoulders.
Tears burned as I shook my head. “To look at someone the way I do when I paint is to strip away the mask and reveal what’s under it. You’re asking me to stand here and emotionally crack open my chest, letting all that I have hidden from even myself spill out in front of all of you.”
Yun brushed my hair to one side so he could kiss the spot where he’d left his temporary mark.
“I refuse to accept there is a flaw you have that we can’t accept.
No one is perfect. Every one of us has our own battle scars.
Yet I believe with all my heart you’re the only one in this pack who’s strong enough to wear it on her chest.” As he spoke that last sentence, he let the tips of his fingers glide between my breasts.
Unable to stop myself, my eyes slammed shut, refusing to watch this man accept something I’ve fought to embrace as part of myself.
It wasn’t the scar I hated—it was the questions.
Once people found out about my condition, then everything about the interaction changed.
Within a matter of seconds, Bailey-Rose was gone only to be replaced by the girl with the bad heart.
Few people took the time to get to know me past that fact.
I went through a phase where I tried to hide it all the time, but that became more work than it was worth.
No matter what I did, eventually, people found out the truth.
I felt Yun step in front of me, the feel of his hands running down my arms to land resting on my hips. At the feel of his lips on the base of the scar, my eyes popped open, my hands grabbing his shoulders to push him away. “You don’t need to do that. Honestly, it’s not a big deal.”
His gaze met mine, and I could easily see he didn’t believe a word I’d said. “Try again, sweetheart,” he said, pressing another kiss between my breasts. “This time, tell me something I’ll believe. If you can do that for me, you’ll be rewarded.”
A hand gripped my neck, urging my head to look up.
I already knew it was Gareth, his unmistakable sweet tea scent made me wish I had a glass to help soothe my parched throat.
Gareth’s gray-blue eyes were full of compassion and affection as he held my gaze.
“Baby girl, we are doing this for a reason, even if it seems like we’re trying to torture you.
It’s become clear to us that you don’t truly see the woman we do, and that is simply not okay with us.
Now be a good girl and listen to your Alphas. ”