41. Asher #2
Her posture deflated a little, a small smile touching her lips. “Drastic.”
“Accurate,” I challenged back.
She grabbed my hand and I helped her out of the car.
The second we were at Iris’s, she was pulled into a gentle hug, some whispered words between them.
“What are you doing up, sweet girl?” I asked as Sophie screamed for me from her playpen in the middle of the living room.
She reached for me and I scooped her up, tucking her into my side.
Her head went to rest on my shoulder. I saw her pacifier on the table and grabbed it.
She happily took it, the sucking soothing for her as she settled.
“She was not going down,” Iris said, her hand still on Sutton’s arm. “She might have sensed something was off.”
Sutton reached over and squeezed Iris’s hand before moving over toward us. Sophie reached for her and I let her go. Both of them let out a breath, like they needed each other.
“Thanks, Iris.” Sutton’s voice cracked as she pressed a kiss to Sophie’s head.
Iris waved her off. “You don’t need to thank family for taking care of each other.”
I saw Sutton gulp, tears coming to her eyes. “I love you.”
“Of course you do,” Iris scoffed with a small eye roll and a smile. “I love you both too. Now,” she looked over at me, “are you getting them out of here?”
“I’ve got ’em.” I looked over at Sutton.
“I know you do.” Iris patted my shoulder as she walked by. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Do you want to come stay at my place?” I asked, moving to grab Sophie’s diaper bag.
“Me?” Iris asked, touching a hand to her chest, looking between Sutton and me.
I nodded. “I’ve got lots of rooms if you want to be close.” I cleared my throat. I didn’t even question the offer. I’d only ever had the men or Sutton stay in my space but this was different. This was Sutton’s family.
“Thank you for the offer but she looks like she’s going to crash.” She tilted her chin over at Sutton. “Why don’t I bring coffee over in the morning?”
“That sounds great.” Sutton moved to place a kiss on Iris’s cheek before the older woman shooed us out of her apartment.
I stayed by Sutton’s side after we got home, managing to get her to eat some toast before we did Sophie’s bathtime routine.
“We never got to eat pancakes,” Sutton muttered as she carefully poured some water over Sophie’s head while I kept her distracted with a toy.
Both of us were kneeling on the floor in front of the tub, our arms in the water.
My shirt was still wet from where Sophie had splashed me.
Her joyous little one-year-old energy calmed the murderous rage running through me.
At least for now.
I waited a few beats, deciding that perhaps she was ready to talk. “How are you feeling?”
“I don’t even know how to answer that question.” She looked over at me. “I mean…this can’t be good for his custody case. But…I just never expected him to attack me like that.”
“All of your feelings are valid here, Sutton. What you experienced tonight…you’re not just going to get over it. But we’ll sort through it all together.”
She nodded, sending me a grateful look. “I like the sound of that.”
Sophie started crying, spurring both of us into action. Twenty minutes later she was in her onesie, the sound machine on as she slow-blinked in her crib.
Sutton was holding the monitor, standing in the doorway with me behind her, my arms wrapped around her waist.
“Come with me.” I kissed the back of her neck and then unlocked my arms from around her, threading our fingers together.
“Another bath?” she asked as we went into the bathroom.
“You don’t look like you’ll stay awake that long,” I muttered as I turned the water on in the shower.
I looked back at her, clenching and unclenching my fists. I needed to do something to make her feel better, to take care of her. This was the only thing I could think of before tucking her into my bed.
“It’s going to hurt,” she murmured as she touched her forehead. I knew she would still have blood in her hair.
“Only for a minute.”
“Had a lot of cuts?”
“Knight and I got in a few scraps back in school and I split my knuckles when I first started boxing.”
She made a sound as I came to where she was leaning against the counter, her eyes looking heavy. I reached out, my hands pausing just before touching her, as I looked up at her with a raised brow.
“I’m not scared of you,” she said as she reached out and grabbed my hand.
“You’ve had enough taken from you today.” Her eyes softened as I kissed her hand and turned around. “Get in the shower.”
I went to the walk-in closet and grabbed one of my shirts and a sweater before taking a breath and returning back to the bathroom.
The steam was fogging up the glass but I could see Sutton’s outline. “Are you going to join me or just stand there?” she asked, wiping a hand on the glass so she could see me. “I want you in here with me, Ash. I want you close. You make me feel safe.”
I stripped quickly and then stepped into the shower. When I came up to Sutton, she looked me up and down but instead of leaning in, I turned her around.
“What are you doing?” she asked as I reached over her shoulder to the shampoo she kept here.
“Taking care of you,” I muttered as I squeezed shampoo into her hair. “You’ll tell me if anything hurts.”
“You don’t have to do this—” Her objection was cut off when my hands gently went into her hair, lathering the soap.
“How do you get this scent to stick to you all day?” I asked as the coconut smell that made me think about her filled the space. She shrugged as I kept washing.
I could feel the tension loosening in her chest and body as I washed her hair. I moved her under the water to rinse out the shampoo, letting out a hiss when the spray touched me. “Did you turn the heat up?”
She let out a small laugh as I went back to rinsing her hair. “Yeah, it was lukewarm at best.”
“Well, it’s your call if you want to burn your skin off.” I shook my head and moved her out of the spray once again. I repeated the head massage, this time with conditioner.
I focused on her, being as gentle as possible. When I finished rinsing out the conditioner Sutton wrapped her arms around me and pressed a kiss to my chest before resting her head there.
We may have both been naked but there was nothing sexual about the moment. This was about taking care of her. Except for the fact that I was a little hard, but that was because I was attracted to Sutton in any situation. Being in her presence turned me on.
“Thank you,” she mumbled. Her sleepy voice meant it was time to get her to bed.
I stepped out first, grabbing one of my fluffy towels. I held it out for her as she stepped into me. I wrapped her up then pressed another kiss to her shoulder. “Want me to blow dry your hair?”
She looked at me over her shoulder with a smirk. “Do you know how to do that?”
I just blinked at her. I had no idea. But I would figure it out if she wanted me to.
“I just want to crawl into bed. I’m exhausted.”
“I laid out clothes for you. They’re on the bed.”
She smiled as she slipped out and I went to get myself dressed. By the time I came out, Sutton was in bed, her eyes closed with the baby monitor on the nightstand beside her, facing me. I grabbed the towel she’d dropped and put it away.
“Sutton?” I asked as I came back into the room.
“Mhhm?”
“Can I go get Sophie to sleep in here with us tonight? I can grab the fold up crib from downstairs.”
Her eyes popped open and she propped her head up. “You want her to sleep in here?”
“If that’s okay? I just want you both with me.”
I thought it would be good for both of us.
“It’s okay,” she said after a moment. I didn’t wait to see if she’d change her mind.
I moved the folding crib upstairs next to me, slipped into Sophie’s room, picking her up as gently as possible. Her eyes fluttered open but then closed again as she sighed. I held her in bed for a while until Sutton was asleep before I transferred her to the crib.
Lying back down and letting out a contented sigh, I finally relaxed. I felt better with both girls safe with me.