Chapter 10 #2
He shifted, lifting his hand to touch her chin. “Whatever happens tonight, whatever we do or don’t do, it is going to be fine. It’s not going to make or break us. If our love is that superficial, it doesn’t deserve to be called ‘love’.”
He was right, of course. Kelly nodded, agreeing with him.
“You know, it’d be really nice if at some point you could be the one of the two of us freaking out and then I get to be the one to console you.”
Grumpy snorted. Bending down, he kissed her gently. “We’ll plan that for next year.”
* * *
Grumpy tried to hide his wince, but of course, Kelly felt or sensed it.
They were lying on one of the queen beds on their sides.
Some trial and error had gotten them to this position, with their arms wrapped around each other, a pillow from the living room between them, and Kelly’s leg over his knees rather than his hip.
But as wonderful as kissing Kelly was, as complete as it made him feel, he couldn’t ignore the incessant itch on his back that continued to pull him from the moment.
Who the fuck needed water boarding as a torture method when there was such a thing as itching powder?
Jesus, if he knew nuclear codes, he’d give them up just to make this stop!
And the worst part was that he couldn't just scratch the area and get some relief.
Because of the grafts and nerve damage, scratching could cause him immense pain that made him miss the itching.
Then the cycle would start all over again.
Kelly broke away from his lips, pushing herself back. She removed her leg from over his. “Nope, nope. I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Grumpy’s back seized painfully for a heartbeat as worry filled him. “Can’t, what? What’s wrong?”
“Are you serious?” Though her voice sounded amused, her expression was anything but.
“Grumpy, you’re in pain. I know you said that you were sore, but this is different.
Something else is going on that you’re not telling me about.
And feeling you struggle is doing absolutely nothing for me.
I’m drier than the Sahara in a drought down there, and I’d bet all the money in my bank account that you’re not aroused under that pillow either. ”
Grumpy’s face heated, though he told himself it was with frustration, not embarrassment. He’d been hoping to power through. The pillow hadn’t been there to hide anything from her, but to hopefully keep the friction of their bodies’ movements from aggravating his chest grafts.
Rolling onto his back, Grumpy closed his eyes. His right arm was still outstretched under Kelly’s head. “It’s my fucking back,” he confessed. “It won’t stop itching.”
Before they’d originally crawled into bed, Kelly had turned the air conditioner to a much cooler temperature than she was normally comfortable with.
While Grumpy remained over the covers, Kelly was burrowed under them.
She’d made a comment that this made her feel like Bella, but Grumpy had no idea who that was or why their positions on the bed would make her feel like someone else.
They also chose to leave the lights on, neither one wanting to miss seeing the other.
Grumpy felt Kelly remove the pillow between them and press closer to him without putting any of her weight on his side. “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”
Grumpy opened his eyes, grateful she was on the right side of his body. Even after six months, the immediate lack of vision on his left still took his mind a second to comprehend. “Always.”
Smiling gently, Kelly craned her neck forward to kiss him.
She slipped out from beneath the covers and headed through the open bedroom door to the hotel bathroom.
The room was similar to the one they’d stayed in the night before with a living room area, kitchenette, large bathroom, and separate bedroom.
Grumpy’s eye tracked her. He didn’t give a shit if it was cliché of him to think she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
It was true. He’d never felt so strongly for a woman before, not even Tanya or Nadine.
Maybe their lack of faith in him had tainted his memories of the women, but he knew down to the marrow of his bones that his feelings for Kelly were different. Deeper, irrevocable.
He saw her leave the bathroom and head into the living room.
They hadn’t touched their pile of luggage since entering, both too eager to be with the other to care about it.
Grumpy now heard a couple of zippers and then her rummaging around.
Not knowing if she intended to return to the bedroom or the bathroom, Grumpy remained where he was.
Lying on his back didn’t feel particularly good, but it gave him the position to watch the door and the bathroom entryway.
Kelly headed back into the bathroom. He was too distracted by the knowledge that she was now wearing her bathrobe instead of her street clothes to pick up on what was in her hands right away.
He knew that Bear had tossed his shower chair into the back of the SUV, but Grumpy had yet to use it on the trip.
Why would Kelly have it now?
There were some more noises from the bathroom that Grumpy couldn’t identify before Kelly popped back into the bedroom. Her warm brown hair was now loose of its braid. Her mint green robe was thin enough that it hinted at her nudity underneath while thick enough to still keep the mystery alive.
She held out her hand to him. “Come shower with me.”
Grumpy’s ears, and cock, perked up at that thought.
The image of Kelly beneath the heated stream of water, droplets falling off her delectable breasts, the curve of her back, and her incredible legs was mouthwateringly delicious.
He knew Kelly thought herself plump—or whatever ridiculous word women used when they had a belly pooch—and felt that her legs were too muscular after serving tables for twenty years. But she was wrong.
She was fucking perfect—and his opinion was the only one that mattered in this instance.
Kelly shifted on her bare feet. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He had no idea in what way he was looking at her, but he knew his answer anyway. “Because you’re beautiful.”
Her cheeks flamed, and she flexed her outstretched hand to emphasize its presence. “Come on.”
Grumpy couldn’t just take her hand, though. He had to shift into a seated position, get his stiff legs over the side of the bed, and then stand, using the nightstand for balance. Then he took her hand.
That itching increased with every step, but he still followed her into the large bathroom.
For a standard hotel, it was decent sized and looked like it had been upgraded, or at least refurbished, recently.
The vanity across from the bathtub had lots of counter space that was now covered in haircare and body products.
Though the water wasn’t running, the shower curtain was pushed all the way against the wall.
Kelly had coiled the curtain up and draped it over the back of the toilet.
His white shower chair was already in the tub.
Kelly guided him to the closed toilet seat.
“Okay. Here’s my plan. We get you undressed and out of these compression wraps.
Then I wash you.” Her eyes landed longingly on his hair.
“And I finally get my hands on this mane of yours. Then,” she took a step back and removed her robe.
It pooled at her feet as she stood bare before him, her cheeks slightly pink. “You get to wash me.”
Grumpy’s eye made a slow trail down her incredible body.
Heat filled him, and despite the continued back itch, there was no stopping his body’s reaction to her this time.
He loved everything he saw, from the full weight of her breasts to the roundness of her belly to the trimmed patch of brown between her legs.
He understood the courage it must have taken her to drop her robe like that.
He did not think she needed courage. He would have thought her beautiful, even if she had a third nipple and hairy legs.
But he understood the vulnerability on her part.
It would be the same for him.
Grumpy had never been ashamed of his body before. It wasn’t vanity when he’d been told his entire life how good looking he was. Add his long hair and his heavily inked muscles, and for some reason women flocked to him. Even his sour attitude couldn’t chase some away.
But now? He’d lost a lot of muscle mass these past six months. He was scarred, disfigured in some places, and had more metal in his body that some days he felt more machine than man. Grumpy was not the same man who had kissed Kelly in the diner what felt like a lifetime ago.
Grumpy crooked a finger at her. Kelly stepped forward, fitting herself between his thighs. As he took her into the circle of his arms, Kelly slid her fingers into his hair. “I fucking love this plan,” he declared, a low rumble of arousal in his voice.
Kelly lowered her head to kiss him. “I’m glad.” Gently, she touched the compression wrap on his arm. “You’re going to need to walk me through how to remove these.” Then she lowered her hands to the hem of his loose shirt. “But first, let’s get this off you.”
Even after she’d been so vulnerable with him, Grumpy still hesitated.
It wasn’t a fear of her looking at him differently.
At least, he didn’t think it was. Grumpy put his hands over her wrists.
“I’m not sure what you know or have seen of my wounds, Kells.
I can handle you being grossed out, even angry by what you’re about to see.
But don’t pity me. I get enough of that from everyone else. I won’t be able to take that from you.”