Rogue got out of the SUV at the same time I did, which I knew drove him nuts. He always liked to get my door for me whether we were getting into or out of the car. When I'd protested, he'd grinned at me and asked how I could possibly think of depriving him of the sight of my legs swinging out of the car, especially when I was in a dress or a skirt.
So, he'd won that battle.
We'd walked into my place and he'd turned me to him. "Can I get you something? Tea? Beer? Something harder?"
"Maybe a beer?" I wasn't sure of anything other than my adrenaline rush was fading fast and what had gone down tonight was trying to push its way into my mind despite my attempts to elbow it back.
Bat's face exploding.
Rogue's brother and the president getting shot.
Gel getting shot and dying in Dag's arms.
The gun being pointed at me.
The Feroce Body storming in and killing almost everyone before I could blink.
The bodies littering the floor after the bullets stopped flying.
I drew in a sharp breath as I began shaking, wondering if I was actually going to faint. That seemed overly melodramatic and I started laughing, which quickly turned into laughing sobs. Rogue looked at me sharply and then manhandled me onto the couch, crouching in front of me, briskly rubbing my hands between his.
"Stay with me, Euphemia," he demanded. "Try to slow down your breathing if you can. Slow it down, lady."
He held my eyes and breathed in and out slowly for a few minutes until I caught the rhythm and was no longer in danger of hyperventilating. My shaking lessened, and I tried to tell him I was all right but words were beyond me at just that moment.
"Your hands are freezing," he said. "I'm going to go run you a hot bubble bath, make you a hot cup of tea so we can get you warm inside and out, and while you're in there, I'll put your bathrobe and towel in the dryer so they're warm when you're ready to get out of the tub."
He stood and then gently tugged me up and held my hand as he walked me to the bathroom. Fortunately, today wasn't a laundry day, so there weren't any silky bras and panties hanging over the bathtub. He started running the water, adding a huge splash of my Lollia flowering willow and lotus bubble bath. Then he grabbed one of my large claw clips and twisted my hair up into a...mess.
Taking a clean towel from the linen closet and my bathrobe from behind the door, he continued to boss me around.
"Get undressed, Euphemia. Get in the tub and relax. I'll bring your tea in a few minutes, after I get these in the dryer. Don't lock the door, and keep it open a bit, just in case."
Just in case what? Did he think I was still going to pass out?
"Euphemia," he said sharply, the same way you'd talk to someone to snap them out of their hysteria, "be in the tub by the time I get back."
Rogue walked out and I nodded to myself. I was actually glad he was giving me tasks to complete because it helped to focus me and prevent me from just standing in the middle of the room, unable to escape those images and events from tonight. So I stripped, threw my clothes in the hamper -- tomorrow I'd decide whether to wash them and keep them or give them away -- readjusted my hair in the clip, then felt the water. A bit too toasty, so I added some cold water and soon I was sinking into the fragrant bubbles up to my neck.
Two knocks sounded on the door about ten minutes later. "I have your tea," Rogue said. "Can I bring it in to you?"
I looked down to make sure all the important parts were covered by the thick bubbles. "Come on in," I said.
YOU ARE READING
The Body #3: Rogue and Euphemia
RomanceI watched as my boyfriend saved another woman when a rival club shot up the clubhouse. He never even checked on me as he took her to the hospital -- and I almost died. So I disappeared for a year, and when I came back, he was waiting for me. He want...
