She nods her head, the tears still falling. “I know.” She sniffles and wipes the tears. “Then there’s conceptualizing that I’m the devil’s fucking daughter and that how I felt my whole life could have easily been explained. I’ve been up there suffering, Dax. He lied to me. He had so many chances to tell me what I was. And apparently I’m a liar just like him.”

I look down at her blood-stained clothes. Not knowing how I can make this better for her. I don’t think there’s much I can say. So I decide to offer comfort. “Would you like to take a bath?” I ask her.

“Will… will you take one with me?” I nod my head. She’s shaken and trying to wrap her mind around everything that’s happened. I don’t touch her as we walk to the en suite. A massive ceramic claw-foot tub is in the middle of the room. My hand grips the faucet as I turn the water on and plug the drain. Blair stands behind me, not undressing.

“May I undress you?” I ask her and she nods her head. Tenderly, I remove her clothes, starting with her top. It clings to her skin tightly from the dried blood. I kiss the spot where I stabbed her. There isn’t even a mark there, but I know the spot. A small sigh leaves her lips and her hand pets my head as I get to my knees to remove her shoes, skirt, and panties.

I undress myself quickly and hold out an arm for Blair to step into the warm water. Once she’s settled, I place myself behind her. Scared of how she will react, but needing her to know how much I care, I wrap my arms around her middle and rock her back against my body.

She relaxes against my chest, the back of her head resting on my shoulder. Her hands wrap around my forearms as the warm water smooths her muscles.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

“Me too. I should have been there.”

She spins slightly so she can look at me. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Dax.”

“You’re mine to protect, Blair. I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight knowing Mara was still out there. It was reckless.”

“I hurt you,” she said.

“Yes,” I say, not knowing how else to respond. She did hurt me. It’s not as simple of a thing as saying sorry. I forgive her, but rebuilding the trust that we lost will take time. Not to mention I don’t plan on letting her out of my sight ever again.

“Is everything okay with Ryan?” she asks.

“Not sure. I told him everything and told him that I wanted to be better. I also told him I couldn’t give you up.”

“What did he say?”