Hardin doesn't even wince as I run the damp towel over his wounds. I dip the towel back into the sink full of water, attempting to dilute the blood from the white fabric.

He looks up at me as I stand over him. He is seated on the edge of the bathtub and I stand between his legs. He holds his hands up once more.

"We need to get something to put on your thumb." I tell him as I twist the towel to wring out the excess water.

"It will be fine." He says.

"No, look how deep it is. The skin is already purely scar tissue and you just keep tearing it back open." I scold him.

He doesn't say anything, he just studies my face.

"What?" I ask him.

I drain the pink water and wait for him to respond.

"Nothing.." He lies.

"Tell me."

"I just can't believe you put up with my shit." He says.

"Me either." I smile.

"It's a lot of shit to put up with."

"Yea it is.." I say and watch as a frown takes over his face.

"It's worth it though." I add, meaning it.

He smiles and I bring my hand to his face, running the pad of my thumb over the pit of his dimple.

"Sure it is." His smile grows.

"I need a shower." He says and stands up.

He removes his shirt before leaning down to turn the shower faucet.

"I'll be in the room then." I tell him.

"Wait.. why? Take one with me?"

"Your mother is in the other room." I explain quietly.

"So.. it's only a shower. Please?"

I can not refuse him, he knows this. The smirk on his face as I sigh in defeat proves it.

"Unzip me?" I request and turn my back to him.

I lift my hair into my hands and his fingers find the zipper immediately. The black fabric falls to the floor and I step out of it.

"I like that dress." He tells me and removes his pants and boxers.

I try not to stare at his naked body as I slide the straps of my bra down my arms. When I am completely naked Hardin steps into the shower, holding his hand out for me. His eyes rake down my body and stop at my thighs with a scowl.

"What?" I try to cover myself with my arms.

"The blood. It's on you." He gestures to the faint marks of dried blood.

"It's fine." I grab the loofa and rub it against my skin.

"Let me." He takes it from me and covers it with soap.

Hardin bends down to his knees and I can't help the goose bumps that form on my skin at the sight of him on his knees in front of me. The loofa moves up and my thighs, slowly circling around. Only Hardin can make washing his blood off of me feel this intimate. He has a direct line to my hormones. He brings his face close to my skin and I try not to squirm as his lips touch my left hip.

He keeps one of his hands wrapped around the back of my thigh, holding me in place as he does the same to the right.

"Hand me the shower head." He says, breaking me from my perverted thoughts.

"What?"

"Hand me it, the shower head." He says again.

I nod and lift the metal from the hook and hand it down to him. He looks up at me with a gleam in his eye, water dripping from his nose as he turns the head in his hand, directly at my lower stomach.

"What.. What are you doing?" I squeak as he moves the object lower.

The hot water pulses against my skin and I watch in anticipation.

'Does that feel good?" He asks as the water strums against the lowest area of my stomach.

I nod.

"If you think it feels good now, let's see how it feels if we move it down, just a little." He seductively says.

Every cell in my body is awakened, dancing under my skin as Hardin teasingly tortures me.

I jump as the water hits me and Hardin smirks.

"How does that feel baby? Should I move it a little lower.. or maybe higher?" He taunts.

The water feels so good, much better than I would have ever assumed it could. My fingers wrap into Hardin's hair and I pull my bottom lip between my teeth to stifle my moans. His mother is in the other room but I can not bring myself to make him stop, it feels too good.

"Tessa.." Hardin probes for an answer.

"Same..stay there." I pant and he chuckles, pressing the water closer to me to add more pressure.

When I feel Hardin's soft tongue run across me just under the water, I nearly lose my balance. It's too much, his tongue lapping with the water pulsing and my knees shaking.

"Hardin.. I can't.." I am not sure what I am trying to say but I can't finish my sentence. His tongue moves faster and I pull his hair, hard. My legs begin to shake and Hardin drops the shower head onto the floor of the tub so he can use both of his hands to hold me up.

"Fuck.." I curse quietly, thankful for the noise of the shower to drown out my moans. I  feel him smile against me before continuing to bring me over the edge.

My eyes  screw shut as I come undone under his tongue. Seconds later, he stands and wraps his arms around my waist to support my body until I am able to return from my euphoric state.

My head rests against his chest and I shiver. I step back and bend down, grabbing the shower head from the floor to put it back where it belongs. I don't want to think about how he learned how pleasurable using that could be.

"I think you're clean now." He smiles, licking his lips.

"I'd say." I breath and grab the shampoo.

Once both of us are clean and ready to get out, I run my hands along his abs, tracing over the skull pattern on his abs. My hand creeps lower but Hardin's finger grip around my wrist to stop me.

"My mum is just in the other room. Have some self control." He teases and I swat at his arm before climbing out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

"I know I am hard to resist but you need to practice some self control, Tess." He whispers with a big goofy grin.

"This coming from someone who just used .." I flush, unable to finish the sentence.

"You liked it didn't you?" He raises his brow and I roll my eyes.

"Go get my clothes from the room." I tell him in a bossy tone.

"Yes ma'am." He wraps the towel around his waist and disappears from the steamy room. I swipe my hand across the mirror after wrapping my soaking hair in a towel. Today has been a hectic and very stressful Christmas. I am going to call Landon later tonight after I talk to Hardin about what he said about moving back to England after college. He has never mentioned it to me and I almost forgot about it with through all the chaos.

"Here." Hardin hands me a pile of clothes and leaves me alone in the bathroom to get dressed.

I am amused to find the red lace bra and panties among the sweats and one of his clean black t-shirts. I can not wear the one he wore today because it was ruined by the blood. Once I am dressed I follow Hardin and Anne's voices to the kitchen.

"I will not apologize, leave it alone." Hardin says.

"Fine, I will leave it alone. Only because I am leaving tomorrow and Christmas has already been ruined." Anne tells her son.

My headache from earlier returns and I pour myself a glass of water, hoping neither of them will acknowledge my presence in the room.

"Are you hungry?" Hardin asks me.

"Not really." I drink the entire glass of water and fill it back up.

"What time is your flight tomorrow." Hardin turns to his mother.

"Seven in the morning."

"We need to leave here at five then." He groans.

"Next Christmas you two are coming to England, no excuses." Anne rubs her temples and smiles.

The thought of Christmas with Hardin a year from now makes my stomach flutter. For the first time since I met him, I can see a future with him. Not necessarily having children and getting married, but for once I feel secure enough about his feelings for me to be able to look a year into our future.

"I am going to call Robin then I want us to have a nice evening, what's left of it anyway." Anne says and grabs her phone from the side table.

"Yell for us when you are finished." Hardin tells her and grabs my hand to lead me to the bedroom. I assume he doesn't want to hear his mother talk to her boyfriend, regardless of how happy he looked when he found out she was seeing someone.

Hardin closes the bedroom door and sits on the edge of the bed while I grab his dirty clothes and place them in the hamper.

I know today has been stressful enough but I have to talk to him about his plans after graduation. If I don't do it now, I will most likely lose the courage or be side tracked by another disaster.

(If you comment and vote like crazy I will do a double update:) Try to keep the negative comments to yourself please :) xo)