“I . . . I . . .” She dropped her gaze, looking embarrassed. “I’m not the girl I was.”
“And I’m no longer a boy. We’ve both got years between us. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t get to know each other again, does it?”
“I’m just not sure . . . I mean, my body, it’s not . . . it’s not attractive anymore.”
Oh no. He couldn’t have her thinking that. Turning, he straddled her legs, making sure that she didn’t have to take any of his weight. Then he cupped her face between his hands. “You, Genevieve Amelia, are still the most beautiful, courageous woman I have ever met. I know you’ve changed. So have I. But you cannot change how gorgeous you are.”
“I don’t feel beautiful.”
“Then we’ll work to change that, won’t we? Starting now. Let me take care of you, please.”
“Okay,” she whispered, shocking him. He’d thought she would put up more of a fight.
He gave her a gentle smile. “Okay. Do you need to use the toilet?”
“At least you didn’t say potty like Caleb.”
He grinned. “Caleb cannot wait to meet your Little.”
“And if she never shows herself?”
“Then that’s fine too. All we need is you, Vivi. Just you. You’re more than enough. Toilet?”
“Umm, yes.”
He let her use the bathroom alone, even though he insisted on carrying her. Then he quickly told Caleb and Wolfe what was going on. A hint of hunger entered Caleb’s face while Wolfe just nodded.
He knocked on the bathroom door. “Can I come in, baby girl?”
“Yep.”
He walked in to find her standing in front of the vanity. This bathroom was insane for a plane. Even if it wasn’t that big, it still screamed luxury.
“What are you doing, standing up?” he grumbled, moving over to wrap his hands around her waist. She was leaning against the counter, all her weight on one foot.
“I needed to brush my teeth. Hope you don’t mind, I found a new toothbrush in the cabinets and used it.”
“What’s ours is yours. Well, in this case, what’s the princes’ is yours.”
“They won’t mind?”
“Baby girl, they’d be horrified if you needed something and didn’t take it. Trust me. You should have waited for me to carry you.”
“I’m okay, Aleki,” she told him, staring at him through the mirror.
“Just let us take care of you. Please. For our sake as much as yours.”
He stared at her until she nodded. Then she sighed. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“Good girl. We just want to fuss a bit. It will make us feel better.”
“A bit?” she asked.
He grinned. “All right, a lot.”
Turning her gently, he lifted her onto the counter. “You warm enough, baby girl?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” she whispered.
He filled the sink with water and grabbed some soap and a cloth. Then with sure hands, he drew off the T-shirt. The sight of her body nearly made him stop breathing.
After spending a minute or two staring, he finally realized how stiff she was. Her hands were caught into fists by her side.
She was thin, yes. He could see every one of her ribs and her collar bones were pronounced and if he checked in the mirror, he was sure he’d see her spine. But that didn’t make her any less gorgeous to him.
Leaning in, he lightly kissed each nipple lightly.
“Aleki!”
He leaned back. “Fucking beautiful.”
Tears filled her eyes and he leaned in to kiss her forehead. “That wasn’t meant to make you cry.”
“Sorry, like I said, I haven’t felt beautiful in a long time.”
“Well, when you’re not feeling that way, just look to me and you’ll see just how gorgeous I think you are.”
She nodded and he wrung out the rag and started washing her. He didn’t linger in any one place, much as he wanted to.
“I really need a shower,” she muttered.
“When we get back to our house, I’ll run you a bath.”
“Are you sure you won’t be in trouble for bringing me with you?”
“Course not, baby doll. There was never any chance of us leaving you, but even if we had and the princes found out, they’d likely kick our asses. Well, they’d try to.” He grinned. “This ass ain’t so easily kicked.”
She grinned. “Did you just call yourself an ass?”
He sighed and winked as she giggled.
“I’ve missed the sound of that.”
“What?” she asked.
“Your laugh. Sweetest thing I ever did hear.”
“I missed the sound of yours too. So big and booming, sometimes it felt like it rattled my bones, but I always knew that no matter how bad things were, you’d cheer me up.”
“And I always will,” he told her.
She let out a shuddering breath as he reached her panties. Her nipples were calling to him, begging him to touch them again.
But right now, she needed care. And he wasn’t going to mess up again. Not when the stakes were so high. He breathed through the knot in his stomach.
Don’t think about that right now. Maybe he didn’t deserve her. But she needed him.
He’d get over this feeling of failing her. He just needed some time. He lifted her with one arm and pulled her panties down with the other. That’s how light she was. It wasn’t any harder than helping a small child undress.
She squeaked a bit as he set her back down, her hand covering her pussy. He raised an eyebrow. “Gonna be hard to clean you if you’re covering yourself up.”
“I can do that part.”
“Well, I want to do it, guess who will win.”
“Stubborn goat,” she muttered.
He had to grin at the insult. Someone else might call him a bastard or asshole. Not his girl. He ran his lips down her neck, kissing her soft skin. She smelled like the soap he’d just used and he missed her usual jasmine scent. They’d need to remedy that.
“Move your hand, Vivi.”
“I haven’t had a chance to groom down there in a while.”
“Baby girl, I don’t care.”
She groaned but moved her hand. He continued to wash her tummy then moved to her feet and legs. Finally, he reached her pussy. He spread her legs wide, cleaning her pussy with gentle wipes of the cloth.
He heard her breath quicken. Before he could be tempted to do more, he lifted her in his arms and using the mirror, washed her bottom.
“Aleki,” she squeaked.
“Hush,” he told her. “This is what I need to do to make sure you’re all right. Wolfe might fuss over your food and safety. Caleb gets to lead the way and lay down the law. I do the things for you that you can’t or don’t need to do for yourself. Like this.”
He placed her back down and grabbed a towel to dry her. Then he rested his hands on the counter on either side of her. “Now for my reward.”
“Your reward?” she squeaked.
“Fuck yes, you don’t think I did this out of the goodness of my heart, do you?” He winked at her.
She rolled her eyes.