I about died when I realized that the box he went into... yeah, it was the one with the tampons and vibrator.
"What's the matter?" he asked a second later and I realized I was standing there with my eyes squeezed shut as if I was anticipating him grabbing the vibrator and waving it around while laughing at me. If how hot my cheeks were was any indication, I was blushing too. When I said nothing, his brows drew together as he held up my matching light blue shampoo and conditioner bottles. "Ready?"
"I, um, yeah," I said, tossing my body pillow on the bed and moving into the bathroom.
Duke went and grabbed a towel then moved toward the shower, pulling open the curtain and putting the bottles down on the ledge. "Here, kneel on the edge. I can pull the shower head down. If you hang your head over a little, we should be able to do this without pulling at your stitches."
With that, he turned on the tap and felt for the temperature as I knelt and hung my head as far as the pain in my back would allow. There was a pause before I felt the spray on my head. It went on for a couple minutes before it stopped and I could hear Duke snapping open the shampoo before I felt his hands move into my hair.
Right then, I decided- forget back rubs, foot massages, wining and dining, flowers, candy, jewelry, long, drawn-out make-out sessions.
The absolute ultimate form of foreplay?
Yeah, it was having a man wash your hair.
His fingers scrubbed into my scalp, making not only that area tingle, but another area that was decidedly lower than my head tingle as well. It took damn near all my self-control to not moan while his fingers worked their magic. I was vaguely aware of the water and more scrubbing before I was pulled my my little sensual daydream by the feel of him squeezing the water out then scrubbing a towel over my head.
"Alright, all done," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder and pushing me straight again, watching my face. Really, there was no way he missed it. My eyes felt heavy, my lips were parted, my breathing was shallow. I was turned on. I watched as the realization crossed his face, as his own eyes got a tad heavier, as his breathing deepened. His head tilted to the side and his lips tipped up into a ghost of a smile. "Yeah, like it when someone toys with my hair too," he said, acknowledging the moment and diminishing my embarrassment.
He said that while continuing to dry my ends with the towel and while it was nothing compared to the scrubbing, yeah, it was still effective. My sex clenched hard and I wavered toward him.
He shook his head slightly, denying us both. "Did you just move to the area?" he asked, surprising me enough to jerk back slightly.
"Ah, yeah. Um, my grandmother broke her hip so I decided to move back to keep an eye on her." When he didn't say anything, I felt the need to fill the silence. "I'm from here, well, Jersey, originally. I moved to Florida after high school. But, um, yeah. I'm back."
Well, that was about the least eloquent I could have possibly been.
Duke nodded and said something that sounded like 'clean' under his breath. Figuring he meant my hair, I rose my hand to it, raking my fingers through the knots.
"Yeah, it feels so much better." Duke took a step back and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Thank you," I added, dropping my hands, feeling awkward.
He shook his head at me. "Want some food?"
"God yes," I said before I could stop myself, making him stop on his way toward the bedroom.
"You know you could help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen," he said, looking worried that I hadn't eaten.
"I know, but I felt weird. And everyone is keeping a distance from me like I'm catching or something."
To that, he looked a little sheepish as he ran a hand across the back of his neck. "Guess I shouldn't have told them all to leave you the fuck alone then, huh?"
"Should have guessed you were behind it," I said with a smile as I brushed past him and into the room.
"Didn't want you to worry about any of them getting ideas."
"Because Reign banned the, ah, what did Cash call them? Clubwhores?" I asked, scrunching my nose up at the term, making Duke chuckle. "Is that what I think that is?"
"Probably slightly less sinister. But only slightly," he admitted and I appreciated the honesty.
"You guys have a strange life going on here."
To that, he shrugged as he led me into the kitchen. "Most of these guys already come from violent backgrounds so it's the norm for us."