West sighed. “You can’t stand for too long, especially not in a steamy shower. Might faint. Let’s move the stool in there, okay? And you can sit while I wash both of us.”
It was a compromise I could accept, especially since he was right.
Leaning on the wall, I let him move the stool and help me over to it. I tried to reach the zipper of my dress so I could drop it to the floor, but my arms were too sore and shaky to reach.
He was there to help me before I had to ask. With careful fingers he undid the zipper and worked the dress down over my hips, then helped me step out of it and tossed it into the hamper. My bra and panties he left untouched, and I didn’t take them off.
His underwear stayed on too, and he turned the water on to drench us in our few remaining pieces of clothing.
I gasped at the sudden cold on my legs, but then he was there, blocking the water with his broad shoulders so it could warm to a more reasonable temperature. My cheeks flushed—sitting on the stool, I was eye level with his crotch. My heat had taken a turn away from arousal, but I knew it could have come roaring back if he’d been wearing nothing right in front of me like this.
I didn’t want that, though.
West and I deserved a better beginning to our relationship. A better first time.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” he grunted. “Should be warmer now.”
He moved out of the way, and the water was indeed warmer. It ran down my legs, wetting the bandages on my knees and making the fresh wounds sting beneath.
I winced, and West looked pained. “Does it hurt too badly?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
The sting was the least of my worries. If I waited too long before satisfying at least one of my heat urges—nesting—I’d endup prone and overwhelmed with pain again. We would have to shower fast.
Reaching for the body wash, I’d gotten it half open before West snatched it from me. “I’ll be doing that, little omega.”
“Doing what?”
“Cleaning you. Can’t have you wasting energy when there’s nesting to be done.”
I couldn’t disagree. I’d need all I could salvage if I wanted to create any sort of comfort for this heat. And I didn’t know how long the heat was going to last, either.
My suppressants had failed, but it was the first time they’d failed, so my heat might be short. The trauma I’d been through at the beginning of it, though... It could have odd effects on how my body reacted. There was the heat-reduction medication to factor in, too.
Leaning back against the cold tile wall, I let West rub soap down his body first, and then mine. I closed my eyes and relished the gentle touch, the warm water washing away the dirt and grime of the horrible night.
He washed my hair too, making me spin around so he could lather shampoo and then conditioner through the thick strands. When he’d rinsed the products out, he turned off the water and kissed the top of my head.
“I’ll get a towel to dry you off. Be right back.”
He returned a second later with a fluffy white towel and a smaller one for my hair.
Before this pack, I’d never realized how much I liked being bathed and washed. Cared for like this. Now, I never wanted to give it up. It was so comfortable knowing I was safe that I was half-asleep by the time I’d been laid down in the nest, wearing a baggy t-shirt and a new pair of underwear.
West tried to leave me there, heading toward the nesting room door, but I caught his shirt in my fist. “Lay with me. I’m tired.”
“Alright, little omega. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
He laid down and I settled myself half on top of him, our legs entwined. His body ran warm, keeping me in that cloud of comfort. With his hand stroking my side and his heartbeat pounding a solid rhythm beneath my ear, it was easy to drop into a deep sleep.
Chapter
Six
MERCER
A tight metal cuff around my wrist kept me seated, back to the wall. As the haze of the tranquilizer cleared, I tried to tug at it, but there was no use.
