House of Goths

Chapter 14

"Poor little thing," he crooned, loving the way she cuddled into him. He had missed it terribly, the way she needed him. He would never tire of it. If he wasn't so purposeful at the moment, his knees would have buckled from the sheer wave of emotion that swept through him. "How did this happen?"

"I was trying to hang a towel over the window," she said, looking up at him with sorrowful eyes as he placed her gently on her bed. Sadly, she felt the loss of his hands on her body when he pulled them away. Thankfully, it wasn't long before he placed them on her again.

She tensed momentarily when he attempted to look under the towel that covered her midsection. "Don't worry, nothing I haven't seen before," he said with a crooked smile, wanting to put her at ease. Becky blushed and nodded, allowing him free rein while wondering if he meant women in general, or if he was referring to her specifically.

Turning her slightly onto her side, he ran his hand over her lower back, inspecting her for damage.

Becky could only hold her breath while he once again perused her body for injury, running his warm hands over her sensitive skin.

"Why?" He winced, finding a great big bruise on her right arm and another large one on her otherwise flawless bottom. Before he could help it, he soothed the sore spot with a gentle caress of his hand.

"Well, I wanted to take a shower, and you see, the window is right there," she explained.

"Oh, I do see," he said, guilt-ridden. Why hadn't he thought of that? He supposed it was because it hadn't really mattered to him since the bathroom faced the backyard. Besides, being a guy, that sort of thing never crossed his mind. "Sorry, Becky. You should have said something. I would have picked up some blinds."

"I know, but I didn't want to trouble you. All I ever seem to do is need your help. You've been so good about everything," she said, averting her eyes from him.

"Obviously, I haven't," he said with a troubled frown. He realized that his hot and cold attitude towards her hadn't exactly helped to put her at ease. In fact, it had worked so well that she felt she couldn't even ask him for a simple thing as a set of blinds for the bathroom window. What else had she gone without because of his self-imposed aloofness?

"Kelley..." She put her hand on his forearm.

"No, Becky, it's true. I've been unnecessarily cruel to you," he said, patting her hand. "You should feel comfortable in approaching me with your needs. Whatever they may be." He paused, giving his head a slight shake at where his mind was taking him. "Ahem..." He cleared his suddenly dry throat. "What else do you need me to do? Please tell me."

"Just the blinds for now," she said with a shy smile, blushing slightly at his choice of words. "Oh, and maybe a mirror somewhere on the bathroom wall where I can reach to see my reflection."

"Oh... Becky, poor little thing." He chuckled, leaning forward and resting his forehead against hers. "Of course."

The very next day, a proper set of blinds were hung in place at the bathroom window along with an ergonomically correct mirror for Becky's personal use. She watched from the hall as Kelley attached the blinds and Crispin hung the mirror.

"How's this, Becky?" Crispin asked, gesturing for her to step up next to him. He chuckled when he still had to lower it a few more inches to accommodate her.

"Thank you," she said, looking bashfully between Crispin and Kelley.

"Now you can take your showers without worrying about exposing your girlie bits to the world," Crispin teased.

"Right..." She blushed.

"No more falling in the tub," Kelley said, ruffling her hair.

"And now with this mirror, you can primp all you want for when Jax comes to call," Crispin said with a conspiring wink.