Taking Care of You
#10 of The Silence of the Savior
Chapter 10
The cold made her shiver. Pulling the satin around her shoulders, she turned, knowing Jared's heat would be there for her. Yet there was nothing. Her brow furrowed as a paw stretched out beside her to find him, but there was still nothing there. Eyes snapping open and gripping the sheets, she sat up and looked around the bedroom, suddenly seeming very large and empty.
The bathroom door was open, the closet closed, not a sign of him anywhere in the room. Clinging the soft satin to her chest, her eyes, worried and on the edge of tears, found the clock. It was only 8:30, no reason to be out of bed yet.
Throwing the covers to the side, she swung her feet-paws over the side of the bed, but the sudden cold drew her attention to herself. She was naked! Pulling the satin back up over her chest, she looked around and found the discarded shirt on Jared's side of the bed. She reached for it, but as she held it up to up it on, the material fell into small heaps in her lap. ‘Pieces?!?' It looked as if the material had been shredded.
Fear filled her mind as she tried to remember what had happened during the night. Everything was fuzzy and unclear; all she could remember was the feeling of immense pleasure, and now Jared was gone. Dashing into the bathroom, she found a full-length towel and wrapped it around herself, holding it tightly as she ran back through the bedroom toward the door. She looked around the main room and the dinning area and glanced in the bathroom before she made for the doorway to the kitchen.
There was a faint smell that made her node wrinkle as she stepped onto the tile. On the island sat several empty beer bottles, one over turned. ‘Jared...' Holding the towel close, she ran around the island and found him, sitting on the floor in only his green sleeping pants, his head leaned against the cabinet behind him and half empty beer bottle, barely in his grip as she realized he was unconscious.
Dropping to the floor beside him, she hesitated, not sure what to do. Grabbing the bottle in his paw, she tried to set it aside, but his grip immediately tightened around it. His eyes popped open lazily, and his head lolled to the side, finding her worried stare.
"God! I'll have nightmares till you leave!" His speech was slurred and his breath smelled strongly of beer, but it was his words that shocked her the most. ‘Till I leave?...He.. he wants he to go?' "How can I... how could I... It doesn't even matter, you're leaving..." A suddenly swelling and a single tear broke through her barriers and ran down her cheek. It was over.
Suddenly his eyes went wide and he tried to sit up straight. His paws went for her face and she immediately jumped back, away from him. Lowering his eyes to the floor, he slumped back. "Of course; I can't touch you. I should never have touched you... He was wrong, not worth trying." Slowly she sat down on the floor, watching him as more tears started to push at her eyes. His own, tears sitting in the corners, slowly rose and met hers again. "Couldn't help but hurt you..." A paw slowly rose again, reaching for her damp cheek, though never making it. "Never should have thought I wouldn't. Not that kind of girl... not the kind of guy." A wet trail formed down one of his own cheeks. "How can I ever apologize? I did it for you... I tried to, couldn't help myself could I." Anger filled his features and he looked back at the bottle in his hand.
Suddenly he leaned forward and chucked it, bouncing it off the counter and into the sink, the sound of it smashing against the metallic basin sending a shiver down her spine. "Thought I could handle it; been around women before. ‘Hurts not to get it', they always said that... Should have known, only wanted me to fuck them! That's not you," his eyes found hers again, still trying to hold back the tears. "You hid it from me, from everyone. You didn't need any help, but the smell." His eyes fell down to her towel-covered lap. "I wanted a reason to help you. Too much heat, hurts too much... Wanted to believe you wanted me..."
Shock stopped her tears, pulled her back from the urge to run, to cover her ears and not hear any more. Heat? ‘Too much heat...' She took in the scene a-new as realization hit her like a brick wall. Last night was fuzzy because she had been in heat. Pouring over the thought brought some of it back; waking up to his fingers inside her, practically throwing herself at him, and passing out as he pounded away at her. He hardly had a choice against a woman in heat, and this is what it brought him to.
Nightmares, because of what he had done. Not because he wanted her to leave, but because he felt he took advantage of her. A new tear pushed past her eye as she leaned forward and lifted his chin so he would look at her. Shock filled his features as he felt her paw touch him, actually felt it. It wasn't a dream! He had just confessed everything to her, really her. But now confusion overtook his shock as he saw her face, her tears that almost seemed... happy. Even more-so was he confused as she flung her arms around him, hugging him close to her.
Fumbling for a grip on her shoulders, he pushed her back till he could see her eyes again, his world spinning a little more than it had been moments ago. Tears were still there, but the hurt he had known he caused... it was gone; the fear like it had never been. She really did seem happy. Suddenly her paw was at his cheek, brushing away the tears he had been shedding without even knowing. Leaning on her knees, she found the top of his head and kissed him softly.
His eyes were wide as he felt her soft lips touch his head. Without any other thought of what to do, he leaned into her and wrapped his own arms around her. "I'm so sorry!" He felt her nuzzle her head against his, a paw on his arm trying to sooth him. He could only hold her tighter.
It seemed hours before either of them moved, but finally she did, sitting back on her heals and looking him over. He hesitated for a moment before he finally found her gaze. The warmth and concern in her smile was almost overwhelming. Getting to her feet, she managed to hook one of his arms and start to pull him upright as well. Finally getting him steady on his feet, Sunn led him back through the apartment to his room and into the bathroom. Setting him on the toilet, she disappeared back into the bedroom for a few moments.
When she reappeared, she held the towel in hand and had redressed herself in her same cloths that had been left at the end of the bed. Setting the towel on the counter top, she moved past him and turned on the shower, making the water relatively warm before she turned back to him. He watched her moving gracefully around, making sure that he could easily get into and out of the shower and reach the towel without a problem. The water warm, she stood him back up and turned him toward the shower. He yipped in surprise as she gripped the band on his pants and took them down and off.
Stepping out of them, he looked back at her over his shoulder, his tail curled shyly between his legs, and watched her fold them over and set them next to his towel on the counter. Glancing back up, her eyes found his, still apologetic and filled with confusion. She only smiled as she practically herded him into the shower. As he stood under the water, taking hold of the curtain, he looked at her again. She smiled and nodded to him before backing out of the bathroom and closing the door.
His thoughts were hardly coherent yet, but the warmth of the water was helping. He had practically taken advantage of her, then got all drunk and weepy, and she was taking care of him. She didn't storm out or try to fight him again; she simply smiled and took care of him. It didn't matter his state of mind, he would never understand her, but the swelling in his chest told him he may not have to.
She couldn't help but smile to herself as she set about cleaning the kitchen; throwing away beer bottles, cleaning the counter and the tile. Poking her head back out the doorway and still hearing water running, she smiled and headed for the fridge, looking for something to make him for breakfast.
His head was ringing slightly, but it was almost clear as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing the towel, he dried off and headed into the bedroom to find a decent set of cloths. Putting on a grey tee-shirt, boxers, and a dark pair of jeans, he wandered back out into the main room, not sure what to be expecting.
Sprinkling a little more pepper onto it, she flipped over the omelet just as Jared looked through the doorway. He sniffed the air and looked to the griddle before their eyes met. She smiled and looked back to her cooking, poking it with the spatula before she set it down and crossed to the cupboard with the plates. Grabbing one, and a fork from the drawer, she went back to the griddle and scooped the bright yellow omelet onto the plate. Turning everything off properly, she grabbed the plate and headed for the table.
Tentatively he followed her, his curiosity reaching its peak as she set down the plate at the chair he usually sat at. Walking around she sat at her usual place and looked at him. Smiling she motioned for him to sit down. Slowly walking over and sitting down, he looked at the pile of eggs. "This is for me?" He glanced at her and she smiled, watching him intently. "Aren't you having anything?" She shook her head and motioned for him to eat.
Slowly he picked up the fork and stabbed the omelet, a perfect piece breaking off. Taking a bite, the flavor exploded in his mouth. Eggs, pepper, ham, extra cheese and a slight tang that he couldn't place. Looking down in amazement, he found a little slice of black olive where he had taken the bite from. It could have been partly from the lack of food mixed with alcohol, but it was the best tasting thing he'd had in a long time! He hardly stopped for breath as he devoured to whole plate.
When he finally set down his fork, she was smiling wider, knowing he had liked it. Standing, she picked up the plate and headed back to the kitchen. Quickly he followed, watching as she clean it and the griddle, and loaded the dishwasher. Glancing up at him, she smiled before turned to wash off the counter once again.
Suddenly his paw was holding her wrist. Turning back to him, she found his face pained. "Please, stop." His eyes met hers and he could see the question in them. "Why are you doing this?" She looked at him for a long moment before her other paw raised to her neck. She touched the scars there before she point to him. "Because I helped you?" She nodded and then put her paw over her heart, patting her chest. "You..." He thought for a moment, "because you want to?" She smiled and nodded again, raising her paw and tracing the line of the color change along his muzzle.
Overcome once again, he couldn't help himself from diving in on her and kissing her, though she hardly seemed surprised by the sudden assault to her maw. It was all he could do to keep from loosing his own calmness, to kiss her and wrap his arms around her, holding him so tightly to him, she had slight difficulty breathing, yet she was content with it. Even if this only lasted as long as she could stay with him, and even if she was held to the old tribal laws this time, she would be happy. Never to mate with another; to know she was forever tied to him, even without his knowledge as he continued on with his life and his women, she would not regret anything.
Yet the thought still made her sad. As her enthusiasm for their kiss wavered, Jared stopped, pulling back, and looking at her. "What's wrong?" After a moments thought, she shook her head and smiled, meeting his eyes again before she leaned in a kissed him softly.