“That was everything I imagined and more,” she says to me, and I smile. “I think I need to make more tiramisu if that is what happens when you eat it.” I am a fucking simp as I smile wide back at her beaming face. I’m truly happy. For the first time in my life, despite all the shit that is going down outside of this house, I am actually feeling more content than I have in a long time, and I know this woman is the reason for it.

“Come on, let me shower you,” I say, and she shrieks a little as I swoop her up, holding her in my arms bridal style. As I walk us into the bathroom, her small body molds to mine. She is exhausted, and while it is not unusual for us to be up late talking half the night, it must be all the activity that has her so worn out.

Turning on the shower, I slowly lower her to her feet and step in after her, keeping her close, her small body curling into my chest as the water flows down our naked bodies. Grabbing my soap, I wash her from the top of her shoulders to her toes and back again, as she leans into me and lets me take care of her. It is a first for me. I have never washed a woman before, during or after sex. I never cared that much. Never had any emotion to want to bathe with them, look after them, or spend a lot of time with them. I am protective by nature, but this level of intimacy is new for me, and I can’t imagine doing it with anyone else.

Anyone except Annie.

She looks up at me then, her bright eyes sparkling a little more than usual. She grabs the soap from me and begins to run it over my skin, and I let her. I let her small hands roam my body, discover my scars and my tattoos that all tell a life history of where I have been and what I have done. I watch her look at a few closely, no doubt wondering what they are or how they came to be. I watch her, enamored by her, as her delicate hands continue to roam my skin, her soft touch like electricity through my limbs, my cock already standing to attention again.

“I like your hands on my body, Little Red,” I tell her, wanting to make it clear to her. Her eyes flick to mine, her cheeks blushing a little, but she smiles in return.

“I like my hands on your body too,” she says in a way that makes me fucking smile. How did this even happen? How did this young woman get involved in my life and totally turn me into a grinning asshole?