Her King

Ten

After slowly making my way to the bathroom, I close and lock the door behind me. I turn on the shower before leaning against the bathroom counter to steady me as I peel myself out of my completely soaked clothes.

Once the shower is steaming I step under the warm cascading water, a warmth that covers me but doesn't fill me, not in the way Claudius' warmth had completely drenched me in. I stand there, completely still under the water as I so desperately will it to warm me to my bones, but it doesn't. As I move to begin washing myself another wave of dizziness crashes down on me, I clutch one hand to the wall to steady myself. But the dizzy spell doesn't pass on its own like the others had, instead this one just keeps hitting me like the waves of a tsunami trying to drown me.

It is as I'm falling to the tiled floor of the shower, unable to control myself anymore, that I regret having locked the bathroom door. I want to call out to Claudius, to bang on something, anything to indicate to him that I've collapsed in the shower, but I cannot find the strength.

The bathroom door came crashing down seconds after I'd collapsed from the dizziness. "Rose!" He called out to me in a panicked voice. "Mi bebé." [My baby.] He whispers as he scoops me into his arms and sits with me on the floor of the shower, his back is against the wall of the shower while he holds me cradled against him, my naked body pressed into his clothed one as if he's trying to cover my intimates. "I'm right here." He whispers in my ear. "Are you ok? Did you get dizzy again?"

I manage a small nod.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone." Claudius' voice is heavy with regret. "I've got you now, and I won't let you out of my sight again." He tells me firmly. Claudius hugs me tightly to him. "We'll sit here for a couple minutes and then when you're ready I'm going to help you get clean, dried, and dressed. And then we'll go to bed so you can get some proper rest."

He's going to clean me? That means he's going to touch my naked body more than he currently is, and he's going to see me... no that can't happen. I quickly shake my head.

"Kitten, we don't have any choice in the matter right now. I know you're very shy and don't know me very well right now, but I need you to trust me and trust that I won't try anything or hurt you in any way. Right now my only priority is to take care of you, and seeing as you're a little weak with a concussion, then cleaning you also falls onto me." He tells me in a soft tone but there is something about that tone that also leaves no room for arguments.

Oh, how humiliating. I feel my face flushing with embarrassment and press myself into his chest to hide my face from him.

I could feel Claudius sigh. "You don't need to be embarrassed, Rose, not with me." He tells me firmly. "I am your... I am here to protect you and look after you. I would never take advantage of you, nor would I ever hold anything against you."

He's only saying that because he pities me. If only he knew the truth.

"Do you think you're ready now? I'll hold you up the entire time, you don't need to worry about that." Claudius asks.

I give the smallest of nods, just wanting to get this over and done with as fast as possible.

Claudius stands while holding onto me tightly, he holds me bridal style for another minute before lowering me to my feet. True to his word Claudius keeps at least one hand on me at all times to keep me up right. He cleans my hair and body with cleansers that smelt like him, was this his bathroom and his products? 

I had never expected to feel the way I had as Claudius' hands roamed my naked body as he cleaned me. His hands covered every inch of my skin, setting alight a trail of heat and fireworks everywhere he touched me until I was completely consumed within the feeling he provided.

"¿Mi toque es demasiado para ti?" [Is my touch too much for you?] He whispers softly with his lips pressed to my ear. "Let's get you dried and dressed." Claudius says as he turns off the shower. He lifts me up and carries me over to the bathroom counter and sits me next to the sink. He towel dries me very slowly and precisely before wrapping the towel around my body and blowdrying my hair. Claudius then makes fast work of dressing me in a loose loungewear set. He then puts butterfly stitches on my forehead with delicate precision and covers it with a thick padded bandage.

I hold the towel out to him, telling him to get dry too.

Claudius lets out a soft chuckle. "As you wish." He slowly unbuttons his shirt, his eyes stay locked on mine.

I flush and look away, wishing my body was strong enough so I could walk out and give him privacy, but I was stuck here while Claudius stripped down completely in front of me.

"You do not need to be so shy around me. No one else gets to see me the way you do." Claudius tells me cryptically.

I keep my eyes off him, despite his cryptic message.

Claudius places his warm hand up to cup the side of my thigh. "I'm dressed now, kitten, you can look at me again." He says with amusement.

Slowly and cautiously I peak up at him to see him dressed again in another one of his suits, his usual attire, I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Let's get you tucked up into bed, I have a quick business matter to attend to but I'll wait until you've gone to sleep." He tells me softly. "Hold onto me, the way you did before."

I instantly know he's talking about how I held onto him in the forest. I wrap my arms around his neck and as he comes to stand between my parted legs I wrap my legs around his hips too. Holding onto him again, feeling his warmth completely filling me even through our clothing, it makes me never want to let go again.

Claudius' hands fist the material at my hips as he dips his head down to my neck. He inhales deeply. When he pulls back to look me in the eyes, his own eyes are so dark that it's unmistakable that he's angry. "Those scars on your body, and all those bruises, did he do it all?" His voice is so soft, so quiet.

I stay as still as stone, too scared to answer him.

"Let's get you to bed." Claudius says with a sigh when it becomes apparent to him that I won't answer him. His hands grasp my waist tightly as he lifts me off the bathroom counter. Claudius carries me out to the bedroom where the blankets are neatly pulled back to create a triangle exposing the bed beneath, which is exactly where Claudius sets me down. He lays me down before pulling the blankets up to my chest and tucks me in. 

I grab one of his hands as he's smoothing out the blanket, I look up at him nervously and meet his eyeline.

Claudius sits on the bed next to me. "I'm right here." He tells me softly. With his free hand, Claudius gently strokes my cheek. "I'll be here until you fall asleep, and I have someone downstairs to stay here to protect you while I'm gone, I'll be back before you wake up with any luck." 

I leaned into his touch without realizing it. I found comfort in his touch, I found comfort in the warmth of his skin, I found comfort in the strange electrical charge that was between us as if we were magnets being pulled to each other. 

"Close your eyes now, kitten." His voice is now a whisper.

I closed my eyes, but I kept my hold on his hand. And with Claudius being here, I found it strangely easy to fall asleep, I was falling within seconds of closing my eyes and for once I wasn't afraid.