“Right, so let me help you.”
He was so damn frustrating.
“Dry, I can’t. You can’t see me.” Tears welled in my eyes thinking of all the marks those assholes left on me. I never wanted him, of all people, to see me like a butchered up piece of meat.
“I won’t look,” he replied.
“Huh?”
“You’re sick. I’m helping you. That’s all this is right now, Katie. Trust me.”
Trust him. Lord, that was a loaded phrase, but if there was anyone I’d trust it would be him.
Fear struck me at what I was about to do. He would see it all. Every gash. Every scar. Every bump and keloid that didn’t heal correctly. All of it. I wasn’t the same woman he had in his bed all those months ago.
I’d changed. And not for the better.
My breathing was rapid as I clutched on to Dryerson’s arm for support. “You’ll have to look, Dry, but I don’t want you to see the mess they made of me.”
When the words were out, I couldn’t believe I’d said them. That vulnerability came through loud and clear, and I hated myself for showing it. Even if it were true.
“You’re not a mess. You’d never be a mess, Katie. Don’t ever think that. You’re beautiful on the inside and out.”
I felt a tear fall down my cheek. Why did he have to be so sweet about this kind of stuff?
“Dryerson, you don’t understand what you’ll see. I’m…”
“I don’t care if your entire body is burned from head to toe. You’re beautiful in my eyes. Always have been, always will be. You do not give those fuckers control over you. You are in control. I’ve got you.”
He always seemed to have me. Even when I pushed him away.
Taking a fortifying breath, I nodded once. Every part of my body turned burning hot, and it wasn’t from fever. No, it was from embarrassment. Trust him… Trust him…
He helped me take my sweat-soaked clothes off, clothes that I hadn’t remembered changing into considering I was in my work clothes and now had pajamas on. That was for another time.
I tried covering my body with my arms and stepping into the shower at the same time. It wasn’t easy, and I wobbled a bit, but he caught me with ease.
Dryerson went down to his underwear and got into the warm spray with me. My tub was super small with an older tub and shower head combination deal. One person was tight. Two people, one being a huge sexy man, was cramped, but he didn’t waver.
When my arms got tired from shampooing, he rinsed my hair for me. I couldn’t get down to my legs because bending hurt from the aches, so he got down on his knees—I have no idea how he did this—and washed them for me.
He was seeing everything. He had to look. There was no way to get around it. My heart squeezed. Daniel and his friends did a number on my body. I hated that those marks would never go away, always reminding me of their abuse.
The water went off, and Dryerson helped me out and covered me with a towel. He was dripping wet and quickly dried himself. I never understood why guys could look so gorgeous with wet hair.
He wrapped the towel around his waist and took his boxers off, his penis making himself known. He picked the boxers up and tossed them in the tub.
“Are you expecting me to do your laundry?” I joked, feeling a little more like me. What was it between us that his presence always soothed me in a way no one else could?
“Hell yeah. I took care of your ass for days now. What’s a pair of underwear?” The chuckle made his shoulders shake as he wrapped a towel around my hair and proceeded to dry me off.
The bathroom was about as big as a postage stamp, and every so often Dryerson cursed under his breath when he knocked into something.
“Babe, we seriously need a bigger bathroom.”
“We…” I emphasized that word. “Don’t need one.”
He stood in front of me, eyes blazing, and my body tingled. It wasn’t just him here in this moment. No, it was him taking care of me. Him being there for me. Him not making me feel like a scarred-up monster. Him … just him. And I really wanted to kiss him.
Turning my head away, I grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste and scrubbed my teeth. Hopefully by the time I finished, my body would knock off the vibes for him.
He didn’t leave me for a second, standing behind me and bracing me in case I was about to fall. Looking in the bathroom mirror, him behind me, my head came to the middle of his broad chest. His hair was sending drop after drop of water down it. Gorgeous. That was exactly how I’d describe him.
Shaking my head to clear the hot thoughts of the man behind me, I went back to brushing and looking at the basin instead of the mirror.
Spitting and rinsing, I stood straight up. “I have to get dressed.”
“Unfortunately,” he said, sending tingles down my spine, then his touch on my back added to the feeling.
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs.
Life just wasn’t fair.
“Let’s go,” he responded, opening the door and leading me into my bedroom. Hesitantly I sat on the bed, naked. With a naked Dryerson in front of me.
“Do you want me to help you get dressed, or do you want Ensley?”
“Ensley!” I answered quickly.
He chuckled deep in his throat. “I’ll get her and then get dressed.”
“Good, you do that.” My voice was a bit higher, and I needed him to go away so I could get my walls up again.
I felt my body relax just a bit as he left the room.
“Woman,” Ensley said, coming in and closing the door. “I love my man, but that guy’s chest is defined, and don’t think I missed the tent in his towel.”
“Stop. I’m tired. Can you get me some clothes so I can lay down?”
She went into the dresser and pulled out some underwear, sweatpants, and t-shirt, slammed the drawer shut, and continued. “What is going on with you?” She handed me the clothes.
“I’m sick.”
Her head shook like I was dumb, but I knew exactly what she was talking about. I didn’t have the energy to argue with her.
“You deserve to be happy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t. Just don’t. I’m tired and don’t feel good. Let’s do this another time.” I pulled on the t-shirt and fell to the bed. “Thanks for changing the sheets,” I grumbled, inhaling the fresh smell.
Dryerson opened the door without knocking and came into the room. “Got club business. Ensley, can you stay?”
“Yeah. Does Micah have to go?”
“Yeah.”
He came over to the bed, leaned down, and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Be safe.”
He smiled, and then he was gone.
“You need to lock that man in. Kissing you on the forehead. That man has game.”
As if I didn’t already know that.
Most nights he was all I thought about. Same with tonight, when I finally fell asleep.
13
DRYERSON
We had feelers out everywhere for information on what had happened at that warehouse. We all had come to the conclusion that this was a setup by someone who didn’t give two shits about killing people who were supposedly part of his crew.