Reaper's Salvation (Road to Salvation A Last Rider's Trilogy 3)

“I’m about to get real dirty.” Reaching between them, he tried to pull her robe free. “Why isn’t it coming off?” he groused.

“It’s tied.”

“That would have been good to know.”

Ginny playfully took little nibbles on his collarbone as he maneuvered her out of the housecoat. Then, one second he was there, and the next, he was jackknifing himself off her and the bed.

“Wha …?”

“Take your shower.” He even sidestepped her when she tried to pull him back down.

Stopping midaction, she saw the pale pallor of his skin. “What’s wrong?” Sitting up, she placed her hands on the mattress where he could see them.

“Nothing. Just take your fucking shower and leave me alone,” he snarled, fumbling with the doorknob to get out of the room.

Ginny quickly bounded off the bed, reaching out to help him open the door. He winced away from her as if he was suddenly afraid of her. Trying not to be hurt by his reaction, she turned the knob and opened the door for him, stepping away to give him plenty of room.

Keeping his eyes on her, he fled through the door.

She wanted to go after him, but instead, she shut the door, giving him privacy. Whatever she had done must have set off a terrible memory.

Despising herself, she wanted nothing more than to go and comfort him, but she forced herself to take a shower to give him time to recover. As she did, Ginny played back what she had been doing before he had freaked out.

Could it have been the love bites she had been placing on his neck? It was the only thing she did differently. Unless she was circling his neck with her arms, Ginny was careful when she touched him. Gavin preferred to do all the intimate touching, even moving her hands away when she tried to touch his dick. A couple of times, she had kissed his chest and tried to move lower to give the same pleasure he had given her, but Gavin would roll away from her or tug her up higher. Ginny received the silent message—he didn’t want oral sex from her. What had been done to him that a little nibble from her could have sent him into a tailspin?

Entering the shower, Ginny saw the towel tied over the nozzle. Leaving the intricate knot alone, she soaped her body before moving under the misty spray. Lifting her face, she let the water wash away any evidence of her telltale tears.

Drying off, she brushed her hair without the benefit of the mirror that was covered before leaving the bathroom, she noticed Gavin had placed her suitcase on the bed. She rummaged through the few belongings and found a pair of faded blue denim shorts and a matching green tank top. Casual and nonchalant were her objectives as she walked out of the bedroom and into the living room.

“Anything in particular you want for lunch?” she asked, opening the freezer.

“No, you choose. Just pick two of the same meal.”

“Can do,” she chirped, pretending normalcy between them. “How about a pizza?”

“That’s fine.”

“Righty ho ….” Taking the frozen pizza out, she set the temperature on the small oven.

“Stop, Ginny. You don’t have to act so fucking cheerful.”

She opened the box of pizza and tore the plastic covering off. “Would you rather I act like a gloomy Gus?”

Raising her eyes up to him, she saw Gavin fixated on the television set. “It was no big deal. Just act normal.”

She could either let it go and spare him further turmoil, or she could force him to confront the situation. Gavin had been tortured for years into complying with Slates demands. Did Killyama tell her everything she knew about Gavin’s capture? Did the ones responsible for rescuing him know the full sickening details of what he suffered? Coming to the conclusion she wasn’t going to fix the damage done to him in three days of having sex with her, if ever, she now understood that they were Gavin’s scars to heal, and much as she loved him only he could be the one who gauge when they no longer hurt.

Putting the pizza in the oven, she sat down on the couch with him, broaching the delicate subject despite her misgivings. “You sure you don’t want to talk—”

“No,” Gavin said harshly, tugging on his ear.

“Oh … okay.” Dropping the subject, she started watching the movie Gavin picked.

Five minutes into it, she realized she was freezing. Had Gavin turned the air conditioner down? Three minutes later, when she started shivering, she didn’t have to assume he had; she could practically see her breath in the chilly air.

Biting her lip, she wondered if he would get upset if she snuggled up to him. It was a couples thing to do, but she was unsure if he considered them a couple or just sexual partners. Regardless of what Gavin had gone through, she didn’t want him shutting her out anytime she accidently hit a raw nerve.