THE DEVIL'S AFFECTION

29. BARE

HANES BROUGHT ME out of the bathroom to sit on the bed while he fills the bath.

I take a deep breath, calmed from my flashback and just trying to focus on how good this day has been aside from the past fifteen minutes or so. I hear him run the taps and the water sloshing around. I lay back on the bed and wait for him to come back.

The water stops after a few minutes and he returns back out to me. He walks over and I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face to his torso. He smells like cedar wood and vanilla.

He runs his hands through my hair, pulling my head back to look up at him with his strokes. He cups my cheeks in his hands before dragging his hands back into my hair.

"My pretty baby..." he whispers.

I'm immediately filled with comfort and I even find myself nearly smiling at the comment. I look up into his eyes, remember how intimidating they used to be. Now, I seek comfort in them. He really has me hooked.

"Let's get you in that bath." He says, letting go of my hair and letting his hand fall down my arm and to my hand.

I take his hand and follow him into the bathroom. The bath in here is pretty big but I've never really thought to use it. As I've expressed, I don't like being naked for very long.

He closes the door and comes up behind me, running his hands up from my hips to just below the hem of my t-shirt. I'm hesitant to let him move any further. I worry what he'll think when he sees me. I don't want him to look at me any differently when he sees my scars. I don't have that many, but more than most girls he's been with, I'm sure. Austin's men were never very nice to me.

He lifts up my shirt and I raise my arms to let him as he slides it off. I can't see his expression but I hear him take in a sharp breath and it takes him a second to move back to take off my bra. This time, his fingers are much more gentle and careful, slowly unhooking my bra and sliding it off. I take a deep breath, feeling more vulnerable than I have in a while.

He turns me to face him and looks down at me with worried eyes.

"Who did this to you?" He asks concerned.

"It's not as bad as it looks..." I grab my arm, feeling a little uncomfortable.

He doesn't say anything more but instead pulls me into a hug, one that is shocking to me. He holds the back of my head close to him and wraps his other arm around my back. I wrap my arms around him and give into it. This is a hug I didn't know I needed, one that's far more emotional than any one I've had before.

My cheeks burn as I try not to cry but my chest feels so heavy, it's hard to not let some tears fall.

"I'm not gonna let anyone do this to you again..." he mumbles against my hair. "I promise."

A part of me worries that he can't promise that. So long as I'm in his arms, I know no one will hurt me.

We part and he seems hesitant to touch me again, as if he's afraid I'll break. This is what I feared. So, to ease his mind, I pull off his jacket and begin to unbutton his shirt. This gives him enough reassurance to unbutton my jeans, unzipping them by the time I finish unbuttoning his shirt. I then unbutton and unzip his pants and pull them down so they drop. I pull down on my own pants, showing more scars but stepping out as if he had seen them a thousand times before.

I pull my panties down too and step out of them, kicking them aside as I turn and step into the bath. The hot water engulfing my legs, then ass and thighs as I sit down. The water comes up to just below my breasts.

I look back at him, waiting for him to join. He has stepped out of his boxers and socks before he tosses his shirt aside. I admire his naked body as he steps closer.

He walks over slowly. I slide forward in the tub, allowing him to get in behind me. When he does so, he gently pulls me back, closer to him, to lay against his chest.

I look back up at him. I've placed my full trust in him by letting him do this — see me fully naked. I can tell he acknowledges and appreciates that fact.

He raises his wet hand to run it through my hair again, dampening it as I look up at him and he looks down at me.

He takes a deep breath when he looks down at our bodies. I know he's still shocked by what he sees, not expecting the scars. His other hand drifts to a scar on my side, one just below my ribs. That one was just happenstance. I was cut on the street while being robbed. It was right out front of the hotel Austin had be stay at with some guy.

"I had no idea." He nearly whispers, his voice so quiet and worried.

I raise my hand to his cheek. "You don't have to look at me like that. I'm okay."

"I don't mean to... I just... how could someone do this to someone like you?"

"Bad people don't need a reason to do bad things." I whisper.

He takes a deep breath, overcome with emotion as he hears my words, looking from my eyes back to my scars. I can see his eyes beginning to well up with tears and I turn over to face him better, wiping his, now fallen, tears with my wet fingers.

"Don't be sad." I look into his eyes, feeling my eyes beginning to water too.

"I'm just so sorry that you had to have a life like that... that any of that happened to you." His voice is shaky and heavy.

"It's over now." But it's not. It's all still in my memories, flooding my mind with every chance it gets. Staying in this hotel all day means I have no other choice but to reflect on those bad nights.

He takes a shaky deep breath. "You deserve a better life."

"My life is already better because of you." I admit.

He shakes his head, tears falling once more. "Not as good as you deserve."

I wipe his tears again. "You saved me." I hold his face to my chest.

He wraps his arms around me as we hold each other; completely naked, full of emotion, completely detached from any motives.

"Thank you," I whisper as I hold him.

"You never needed me. You just needed a way out."

"And you gave me a way."

We sit holding each other for a few minutes, just taking each other in while processing this moment that may seem so small but is really so very big.