Christ my head hurt. And my throat. And why did it feel like I had cotton in it? Fuck I felt horrible. I am never drinking again! Whimpering I tried to massage the pounding that took up residence in my temples only to have my hands swatted away.
Larger fingers replaced mine as I sighed in temporarily relief as they rubbed. Oh that felt good.
"How you feeling today darling?" He said as he kissed my forehead.
"Like shit...I am never drinking again. What happened last night?" I whispered against his chest.
"Well you downed about a bottle of vodka. I brought you back up here to sleep it off. But before that could happened you spent about another hour puking up all the contents of your stomach, hugging the toilet. You finally passed out after I managed to get you changed."
Glimpses of the night flittered through my brain, only they were in random order not making much sense. The last thing I remember is demanding the bottle of vodka from the Prospect and arguing with Mac. The rest was pretty much a blur with only moments of clarity and those were few.
"I am so sorry Axel, I didn't mean..."
"Shh...it was exactly what you needed. Mac and I watched over you. Now here take these and drink some water and then we can go back to bed. You definitely need more rest, hell I would not be surprised if you were still slightly drunk." He chuckled as he helped me sit up.
Painfully I tossed back several pain killers and a full glass of water. Sliding out of the bed I headed for a much needed bathroom break. The reflection that greeted me was definitely not my best look, shit I looked like a zombie from one of those terrible scary movies. After scrubbing my teeth, trying to remove the horrible taste in my mouth I decided on a shower.
I could still smell the puke and it was not helping matters. Leaning against the wall I waited as the water heated up.
"Hey what are you doing?"
"Shower...the smell on me...oh no."
Holding my hand over my mouth I tried to breath deep to calm my stomach. Laughing, Axel approached and slowly pulled up the large shirt that covered my body. Embarrassed I covered my breasts with my hands.
"You are in no position to do this on your own. You can barely stand. Let's get you into the shower and then back to bed, I just changed the sheets." He said as he eased down my panties.
I hated when he was right. My head hurt so bad I could barely see straight, let alone protest the fact that I was once again naked in front of him. And why the hell did my body ache so fucking much, it wasn't like I ran a marathon or anything.
"Oh god...how the hell do people do this all the time?"
"Well darling, for starters they don't start off with a bottle of vodka. You have to build up your tolerance."
With humor in his eyes he helped me in the warm shower, joining me moments later...naked.
I started at his bare chest as the warm water showered down on my sore muscles. Apparently it didn't matter how horrible I felt, seeing Axel naked still had an effect on me as my body began to heat up...and not from the water. "Um Axel..."
"Relax baby...we are just going to shower and then get you back into bed. I can see the pain etched in your face even if you think you are feeling better."
"But um well you are um..."
"Hard a fuck. Hell yeah. I have a gorgeous, wet naked woman standing in front of me. Of course my cock is hard. Ignore it. Let's get you washed up, now turn around so I can wash your hair."
He wanted me to turn around? I know that he already saw it briefly in the clinic that day but this seemed a bit more up close? I wasn't used to people seeing my scars, hell I didn't even look at them. All of my shirts covered them for a reason.
"Darling look at me. They don't matter. They make you who you are today. A strong fiery woman that has survived. Now turn around so I can wash your hair before you collapse from exhaustion."
Without waiting for my reply he physically turned me allowing the water to caress my breasts as he lathered soap in my hair. Once he rinsed it he repeated the process with the conditioner. I have never experienced someone handling me so gently before, taking care of me. I blinked my eyes trying to rid the tears that threatened to fall. I hated how weak he made me feel.
"Hey now what is all this about? Harley talk to me." He whispered as his thumbs erased the tears from my cheeks. Even though the shower stall was filled with steam my body still shivered at our close contact.
"This is all new to me Axel...Someone taking care of me...I have been on my own for so long that I don't know how to process all of this. You seem to knock down every wall I have erected over the years and that scares me."
"Good. I don't want you to have any walls around me. I like seeing the real you. You are beautiful, all of you."
It was then that I finally believed him. The sincerity in his eyes was hard to ignore. There was also something else there too but I didn't know what it was.
"Dammit woman if you didn't feel so horrible I would be taking you against this shower wall."
Giggling I tucked my face in his neck as his hands soaped up my back.
"And these don't matter to me...they show me how strong you are and darling that is sexy as fuck. So don't ever be afraid to show them around me."
Pushing me back slightly, the water washed off the suds from my body. Once I was clean he turned off the shower and proceeded to dry me off, never taking his eyes from mine.
Dressed in one of his shirts, he tucked me back in bed against his chest.
"Rest now...I've got you."