Chapter 15 - Lily
Lily
The truck rocked as salty water came through the open windows. It shook and rolled towards the nearby trees. I screamed Dean’s name to warn him.
“You’re safe. The wind can’t hurt you in here.” Comforting hands stroked my cheeks and down my arms. “I’m right here.”
The earthquake stopped as I drifted back to sleep.
Rain pelted down, soaking me as the fire grew. The wind raced, nature’s anger raging at us for our sins, creating a storm to frighten the world. I ran to Dean, pushing him forward before the tsunami hit.
It disappeared as a familiar body wrapped itself around mine. “Nothing will hurt you. Go back to sleep.”
The nightmare faded and didn’t return.
I jolted awake.
A familiar gray world showed through the curtains. I was alone.
“Dean?” No answer. I shrugged the blanket off and shivered despite the fire’s heat. Where did he go?
The front door was bolted from the inside. Did he take the truck? I ran to the back door, threw it open, and stumbled out.
He stood on the deck like it was an ordinary day. “Good morning. How’d you sleep?” Dean flashed a boyish grin I’d never seen before.
“I…fine.” I willed my breathing to slow. “You?”
“I woke up next to you.” His smile deepened, turning almost shy, as he blushed despite the cool weather. He stood in the morning’s drizzle, clad in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. “Go back inside out of the rain. I have a surprise for you.”
My birthday was months away. “Like a present?”
“Well, it’s not wrapped.” Dean pulled the elastic on his briefs. “Maybe it is.” He nodded toward the door. “Go, I’m right behind you.”
I returned to the kitchen, where several bowls filled with water covered the countertops. “Rainwater?”
“I collected them. The owners left us a feast. Come see.”
Dean took my hand, leading me back into the living room. “I found an indoor grill for the fireplace last night. Still in its box. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Food?”
“Sweet potatoes with cinnamon and olive oil.”
My stomach rumbled. I forgot what actual food looked like. “What else?”
“Canned chicken,” he said in a less eager voice.
“Amazing.”
“Plus, oranges. I already pulled out the wedges.” He picked up a bowl to show me. “Also, a muffin box mix. An old trick I learned. Pour the batter into the orange peels to cook them. Saves you from cleaning up. Adds flavor.”
Our first hot meal in days. “Actual food.” My legs threatened to give way. “When did you do all this?”
His smile softened. “I can go without sleep when the need arises, and this way, it’s ready for you. Also, they’re blueberry muffins. Hope you’re a fan.”
We ate in silence, so caught up in our feast that it left no time for words.
Did this meal come from genuine kindness, or was it another one of Dean’s odd seduction techniques? His silky words bordered on the obscene when they weren’t outright twisted. He wavered between moments of genuine connection and rough comments, either to scare me or thrill me. I wasn’t sure which.
Accepting Dean meant accepting both the cruel and the sweet, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about wanting him. Because I did, and what did that reveal about me?
“What are the bowls of water for?” I asked after emptying my plate.
My full belly twisted at the thought of more food.
I’d once complained about the luxury of so much food.
When would I experience that again? “We should see if they have ingredients for soup. We can figure out how to keep it warm for later.”
Dean pointed at me with his fork. “Smart woman. Is it any wonder I chose you as my partner?”
Was that flirting or a calculated statement meant to disarm?
“We can heat the water over this fire and use it to clean ourselves. I want to lose some of this.” Dean rubbed the week-old scruff on his jaw and neck. “Plus, I smell. I thought you might enjoy the same.”
“Do I stink?” I asked, before laughing at his stricken expression.
“No awful odors. I mean, lovely. You smell wonderful. That’s what I meant. Do you want a bath?”
Our adorable red brick house had become my heaven. “I’m teasing you.”
“Oh, yes. That makes sense.” He spoke as if the idea had never occurred to him before.
“Clean body and clean clothes,” I said. What better way to woo me than with hot water and a sponge bath? “I cannot wait.”
“On one condition,” Dean started. He wore a wicked grin. “I get to watch.”
I wrapped the towel around my chest and tucked in the end. The cherry-scented body wash and lotion permeated the small bathroom.
A bath, or almost a bath. It reinvigorated me, erasing more than a week of misery and stress. I combed my hair, wondering what to do with it. Some cold water remained in the house pipes, but I wasn’t that brave. Flipping my hair over the bathtub edge would turn it into a snarled mess.
“Bummer. I hoped you’d be naked,” Dean said as the bathroom door flew open. His thumb grazed my sage-green towel. “Do you want help? I washed my mom’s hair a few times before she died. I know how difficult it can be.” He picked up and dropped a few strands of hair.
Steam rose from two small pots of water in his hands, tempting me. “I’d love that.” Dean planned the setup, and I didn’t care.
“On your knees.”
“Is that an order?” I asked.
“It will be. Soon.” He pressed on my shoulders until I sat on the bathtub’s edge. “Lean your head back. My mother said gentle with the shampoo and generous with the conditioner.” Dean spilled warm water onto my head, and I moaned from the sensation. “Your reaction means I’m doing this right.”
“Keep going.”
He chuckled. “That’s a yes.” He massaged my scalp, rubbing the cherry-scented shampoo through my wet hair before picking up the warm water. It washed over me and down the drain, taking the comet’s filth with it.
“Conditioner next. Close your eyes,” he said.
Dean worked the thick cream into my hair, combing and separating the strands with his fingers. I kept my eyes shut, letting my body focus on his touch and its magic. Heaven, an orgasmic heaven, with his hands on my body and his lips against mine.
I moaned again.
“No, that’s for later.”
My eyes flew open. “You planned this,” I said, knowing it was true. “Finding my shampoo back at that drugstore. This is a setup.”
He woke up with these plans.
“From the moment you opened your apartment door, you knew that. Don’t be surprised.” He gave me a dark chuckle, amused that I hadn’t expected it.
“That far back?”
“Earlier, from my first visit. You wouldn’t remember.” Dean yanked the towel, and its weak knot fell apart, leaving me exposed in front of him. “I like you this way. Maybe I’ll keep you naked the rest of the way home. Should I do that?”
“It’s cold. You can’t mean that.”
“You still don’t listen. I can do whatever I want to you. Will you stop me, or should I keep going?”
Dear Father in the heavens above, I wasn’t sure whether to trust him with my heart. He didn’t want to be in Deer Lake, while I longed for it. Had he told me the truth the night before?
I was also tired of lonely. I was tired of believing I wasn’t enough. The comet changed everything, and Dean believed rules no longer applied. Maybe he was correct, and they didn’t.
“I won’t stop you.”