Take Courage, My Heart

Chapter Sixteen

Both of my arms were extended forward, palms splayed on the tiles of the shower wall, and I stared at them in disbelief. The bruising on them was slowly but surely fading with each moment that passed and it was so bizarre to look at, that I couldn't help but be mesmerized.

All the bruising and aching muscles were the results of six hours of training. Ezra and I had sparred until Leander told us it was enough for the first official day of my training. By that point, I craved nothing short of death itself. I could barely breathe, every single movement hurt, and my brain could no longer function. There was only white noise and pain.

I had laid on the floor for about half an hour, rethinking whether it was worth it. Considering Leander was going after Vincent regardless of my intentions, I almost decided to give up right then and there. Vincent posed a threat to me, but he was not aware that I was alive. So, was he truly a threat?

Just as my breath had evened out and my body had started healing itself it hit me though. Without Vincent in the picture, I had nothing. I could go after Gerald Turner; return to the behavior modification facility I had been sent off to and shut it down if I so wished. I was a vampire now; I definitely could do that much. But then? My family... it didn't feel like I had a family to return to. I didn't have friends or a boyfriend. I had nothing. So, I settled on starting over.

I had gotten off the floor and gone up to the bathroom in Leander's room, in order to wash off the sweat and thoughts swirling in my mind. Each step hurt. Every breath made me struggle. But I somehow made it there and stripped out of my clothes. The warm spray of water had been so welcoming that I stayed under it for far too many minutes before I remembered that I had been planning on showering.

The bruises were all but faded now, as suds were washed away from my hair and down my body. The door to the bathroom opened and I flinched but didn't cover myself as Leander slipped into the room. His bedroom's bathroom was quite spacious, with a large walk-in shower and enough space to fit a single bed between the glass panel of the shower and the enormous sink counter. The entire wall above the countertop was lined with a mirror and right opposite the door was a porcelain bathtub. This entire penthouse was so luxurious it honestly made me want to cry when I thought about it.

Wordlessly, Leander removed his clothing, not shying away as I stood and watched from behind the see-through glass. Last night, the atmosphere had been too heavy to focus on, but now I could tell that his second tattoo was a design of lightning bolts.

He ignored my blatant stare and came into the shower as I turned around to face him. I watched him pour soap into his palm and massage it into his hair, his gaze boring into mine, but not saying anything yet. There was something so undeniably delectable about his indifference. Less than twenty-four hours ago we made out and I had all but asked him to take me apart. And he hadn't. But here he was now, naked and so close to me that with less than a step our bodies would be touching.

"What were you thinking just now?" he asked and moved closer to me. Instinctively, I took half a step back and my lower back touched the lever of the shower behind me, but Leander didn't touch me. He only came close enough to allow the spray of the steaming water to wash the suds off him too.

"How do you know I was thinking of something?" I replied in a hushed tone. He reached up and took my chin between his thumb and index finger, his thumb roughly going over my lips.

"Your eyes get clouded when something troubles you," he said. The sound of the water hitting us was so much louder than both of our voices, but all I could focus on was him.

He let go of my chin and brushed his thumb on my cheekbone up my eyebrow bone and then down the length of my nose until he pressed against my lips again. He tapped on my lips two times, and I darted my tongue out, licking his fingers lightly.