He sauntered across the room and turned on the shower. Water fell from the ceiling, and it took me a moment to realize the showerhead was built into the very walls of the place.
I glanced down at my ripped and soiled dress, which had been so beautiful earlier. The bodice was no longer blue but instead the color of a dark bruise. At the sight, the entire hellish evening came back to me and I began to shake uncontrollably.
Andre scooped me up and set me on the bathroom counter. “Here,” he said gently, “I’ll help you.”
He slid his hands to my shoes and removed them one by one. Once he finished, he straightened back up, took my hand, and tugged me to my feet. “Turn around.”
I did as he said. Behind me Andre pulled at the laces of the corset I wore, and gradually the bodice of my dress loosened.
I held it to me and turned to him. “Please don’t leave me right now,” I whispered. I didn’t care that he’d see me naked. I wasn’t even thinking along those terms at the moment. I just wanted someone to help me stay in the present. Otherwise, my mind would relive my night with the devil over and over again.
He watched me for a beat, then nodded.
I let the dress drop, barely noticing how Andre’s guarded gaze fluttered and then moved over me.
I removed the rest of my clothing and then entered the shower, not sure whether Andre would follow me or simply stay in the same room. Considering the clear glass walls of the shower, I’d rather have him in here with me than feel like I was a specimen to study across the room.
A noise escaped my lips at the sight of the water that puddled at my feet. Blood and bones discolored the liquid that swirled down the drain.
Behind me the shower door opened, and Andre came in. He wrapped his arms around my shaking torso, his bare chest pressing into my back as he enveloped me in a hug. I could honestly say this was the first naked hug I’d ever received, and it was way more wonderful than I would’ve imagined.
Andre turned me in his arms and lifted my chin until our eyes met. In his own eyes I saw something that surprised me—pain. “I’m not going to ask you about this evening until you want to talk about it, okay?” he said.
I nodded to him. The Politia required that official statements be made either alone or in the presence of a lawyer, so Andre hadn’t heard me recount the events I’d been through.
“Are you comfortable washing off the . . . grime, or would you prefer I do it?”
I remembered the last awful shower I had to take. I had stood under a weak facet in the girl’s dormitory bathrooms and whimpered as I rinsed off my blood, Theodore’s, and a bit of Caleb’s.
The thought of someone else helping me . . . The offer had never been extended to me until now, and at the moment I wasn’t proud enough to turn it down.
“Can you?” The words came out soft.
He caressed the side of my face. “Of course.” He dropped his hand to reach around me and grab a bar of soap and a washcloth.
He hesitated. “This moment,” he said, “I want you to know it doesn’t count. Tonight I’m not the guy that wants you physically, I’m just the guy who cares about you.”
It struck me again that this was love. Me allowing someone to take care of me for once, and Andre doing something for me solely because he was concerned for my well-being. It had nothing to do with how we looked and everything to do with who we were.
I took a deep breath and studied the way water beaded along Andre’s torso. “I’ll tell you what happened tonight, that way I won’t have to relive it at another time.”
Before he could question whether I was ready to talk, I jumped into the story. “As soon as I disappeared, the devil took me to a cathedral made of bones . . .”
As I recounted the events, he moved the sudsy cloth around my hairline, over my neck, and down my back. I pinched my eyes shut as flakes of blood swirled into the drain at my feet. He moved the cloth along my quivering arms and across my chest.
His brows pinched together and his lips had thinned at each new piece of information.
After I finished Andre silently ran the washcloth over me a few more times. My skin had a pleasant pink hue to it where the heat and the washcloth had buffed it, but I still felt dirty. I’d need several more showers to psychologically wipe away the events.
Andre took his time setting the soap and washcloth aside before facing me. “Before you become a vampire, your human body has to die,” he said. I blinked at what seemed like a random topic. “Considering how fast you’re already changing, I give you a little over a year before that happens. Which means that we’ve got a lot to do in a short amount of time.”
“What are you talking about?”
Andre worked his jaw, indicating that he wasn’t happy about what he was about to say. “We’re going to have to equip you to face him.”
Chapter 27
The next morning Leanne and I huddled together under Andre’s blanket and watched the choppy surf. The sun had thankfully disappeared behind the thick coastal fog. My skin appreciated it.