Chapter 16
“You and the other maids may leave,” he says to Maggie.
“Yes, sir,” Maggie bustles through the door, and I can hear the shuffle of everyone leaving the villa.
“How is your bath?” Ansel asks roughly.
I part my lips but close them again. Joy’s words and teaching cross my mind. This is the perfect time to put them to use. Returning his gaze, I bit my lip. “Why don’t you join me and find out?” Ansel furrows his brow, and I extend one of my legs from the basin for him to see. I lower my voice to a sultry whisper, “Come.”
He stands in silence, and his jaw flexes slightly.
Shit!
I think to myself. I may not be as experienced as others, but even I know that his reaction wasn’t the one that I was hoping for.
“No. You come to me,” he says with an even tone.
“What?”
“You heard me. Be the brazen little wolf I know you to be.” The bite in his words made me realize that it’s a challenge. The water of the tub still masks all of my body, leaving only peeks of it for him to see.
Okay, I see how he wants to play this.
“Not a problem.” I slowly exited the bath and lightly swayed my hips as I walked to him. Water drips from my body, leaving puddles on the tile. Drawing closer to him, I watch his nose twitch, and he reaches out and grabs me. “Now what?” I say and press myself against him. He winces and I pull back. “What’s wrong?”
He rips the towel from his waist and lets it fall to the floor. I look down and my face turns as white as a sheet when I see the deep gash at the base of his thigh. I dropped to my knees to inspect it. “This is deep. You probably are going to need stitches.” I hear nothing above me, and I look up and notice Ansel’s face is tomato red.
“Do you have to be so close?” he says.
I scrunch my face. “How else am I going to get a good look?”
“Yes, but…” he clears his throat, and I fight to hold my laugh in.
He’s embarrassed!
He looks as flustered as he used to when we were younger. It’s adorable, and I can’t help but poke fun at him. I lean in closer, and he goes rigid. “Yeah, you’re going to need stitches, especially for this part right here.” I glanced up again and saw that his face was almost purple. “You know, you’re lucky that it didn’t go any higher or that would have been the end of our contract.”
As quickly as his embarrassment showed, his anger replaced it. The lines of his face harden, and I immediately rise. I take a step away from him, and he exhales sharply through his nose. “Is that all you ever think about?”
“I-I” I stammer, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t mean to make you angry, I just meant that we made a deal, and—”
“I know the deal we made. I don’t need you to remind me,” he says, cutting me off. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your precious money and then we can be rid of one another.”
His words were like a slap in the face. I lower my head and remain silent.
“Why must you evoke such contradicting emotions from me? The angrier you make me, the more….” He trails off, then sighs. “I don’t want anyone in the manor to know that I’m injured,” he says.
“Is that why you came here?” I ask, lifting my head.
“Yes. I tried to shower, but when the water hits it, it burns. I needed somewhere with discretion.” He doesn’t say the words, but I understand.
I grabbed my robe and put it on. “You need my help.” I don’t give him a chance to respond out of fear that it will start another fight. “I’ll help,” I say as I place my arm around his waist. He limps slightly, and I realize how much pain he’s really in. “Hold on to the bathtub. I’ll prepare you a bath.” I work quickly, and help him in. “Stand, and I’ll wash you. That way the water and soap won’t get on it. Will you allow me to call the doctor? He needs to look at it.”
“No doctor.”
“Ansel…”
“No. doctor.”
“Okay.” Shakingly, I pick up the washcloth and soap and carefully bathe him. Soapy water slides down his torso, making his muscles glisten. It’s awkward; not because I don’t want to help, but because I can’t stop my body from reacting. With every stroke of the cloth to clean him, his scent grows stronger. I run my hands down his taunt legs and will myself to keep my thoughts pure.
When I reach the top again, I almost gasp. His penis is hard. Absentmindedly, I reach out then recoil my hand. “Sorry,” I whisper. “I’m sure you probably want to do that part yourself.”
Ansel continues to look at me, and I feel even more embarrassed. He extends his hand and I give him the cloth. He washes himself, but his erection doesn’t go away. “Help me out…please,” he says in a burly voice.
“Okay.” I help him out of the basin and try to pull away, but Ansel brings me closer. He slid the fabric from my robe off my shoulder and kissed the bare skin. My legs buckle, and he runs his tongue down my neck in response. Removing my robe, Ansel tangles his fingers in my hair and kisses me hard. He backs me to the wall and turns me around. Placing my hands on the wall, I roll my hips into him. He growls deeply and grabs my hips. He digs his nails into me and repositions himself.
“Fuck!” he shouts and backs away. I whip around and see the agony on his face. Blood stains the floor from his wound. It looks deeper than before. He doubles over, and I catch him before he falls. Through pain, we managed to get to the bed. He starts to protest, but the pain hits him again. “Bring me a shirt or something that I can use to stop the bleeding,” he says.
Rushing, I grab a shirt and bring it to him. He rips it and wraps his wound. I wait.
Please be okay.
Ansel lays his head on the pillow. “I’ll take that doctor now,” he said with a heavy breath.
“It’s a good thing that you called me when you did. Your leg was in terrible shape,” the doctor says to Ansel as he tends to his wound.
Ansel shrugs. “Eh, it would have healed soon, like the others.”
“Maybe, but it wouldn’t have healed well. Just because we can heal quickly doesn’t mean that medical assistance isn’t required sometimes. You are strong, Sir Ansel, but you are not invincible.”
Ansel grumbles under his breath, making me laugh. His temperament reminds me of a child receiving a scolding. “He is a stubborn one,” I say to the doctor. Ansel scowls at me. “Well you are. I’m glad that the pain became too much or else you would have never let me call the doctor.”
“It wouldn’t have been too much to bear if I wasn’t taking part in strenuous activities,” he replies.
The doctor tilts his head. “What were you doing?”
I fight the urge to cover Ansel’s mouth. The smirk on his face tells me he’s contemplating whether or not he should share.
The blue of his eyes twinkled at me. “Let’s just say I wasn’t being the perfect gentleman…but let’s also add that it was under circumstances where being one wouldn’t have worked in my favor.” He grins. “Or desired.” It’s my turn to scowl at him.
The doctor clears his throat. “Yes, well, um, those activities will have to wait until your leg is healed or your stitches will pop and we’re going to be right back here.”
“Noted, but maybe you should also reiterate it to a certain little wol—”
“Thank you doctor!” I shout, cutting him off.
Ansel’s grin is so wide it covers his entire face. “Yes. Thank you.”
The doctor tilts his hat and leaves.
“That was not funny,” I say to Ansel.
“You started the battle. I was just finishing the war.”
“Whatever,” I mutter. Seeing him get comfortable in the bed, I can’t help but grow nervous. I hadn’t expected him to stay the night, especially after everything that happened. He closes his eyes, and I can tell the medicine the doctor gave him is kicking in. I turn off the lights and hesitantly lie beside him, but I can’t sleep. With the dust of the night settling, the image of Ansel in pain remains in my mind.
There was so much blood it looked as if it would stain the tiles in the bathroom forever. I can still hear his wails of agony as he almost collapsed. Seeing him like that terrified me more than any coldness he could display.
‘You are strong, Sir Ansel, but you are not invincible.’
Somehow, I’d forgotten why I always dreaded sleeping when we were younger. To sleep meant that there was a chance Ansel wouldn’t be okay, and the price I’d pay for my dreams would be the nightmare of him never waking up.
I watch Ansel’s chest rise and fall as he lightly snores, and I fight the urge to pull him in my arms. My bottom lip trembles.
Please be okay tomorrow.
I need to know what he’s thinking about, and what things have weaved themselves inside his dreams. I know I shouldn’t use my powers, but it’s the only way I’ll know for sure things will be okay. I reach out and place my hand on his chest gently. I could feel his heartbeat and I let out the breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding. I raise my hand, but he grabs it. His snoring stops, and he opens his eyes, causing panic to seep into me. “Little Wolf,” he says. “Did anyone ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?”
