My Shades of Gray

Shade 56 ~ Past

As I shared my plan with everyone, I was overwhelmed with the support pouring in from all sides. They were ready to lend a hand and help in any way they could. Even Rachel seemed to be considering pitching in, although she said nothing explicitly.

Once everyone had left, I helped Hunter to the restroom. He insisted on taking a bath, saying he still felt sticky even after the doctor cleaned him up. I tried to reason with him, pointing out that he couldn’t risk his newly stitched wounds getting wet. But the guy was as stubborn as they had come. Knowing it was useless to argue with his thick head, I decided to give him a sponge bath.

So here I was helping him take his shirt off as he sat in the bathtub like a toddler getting ready for a bath by his mother. The only difference was I wasn’t his mother, and he wasn’t a toddler. I gulped when he took off his pants and was only in his boxers.

“You’re keeping that,” I mumbled, hiding my blush as I put his clothes aside.

“Yes, ma’am.” He smirked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

I had a feeling he did this on purpose but said nothing and checked the temperature of the water I filled in the separate container. When it was warm enough, I added a splash of body wash and dipped the soft cloth in it. Wringing out the excess, I walked up to Hunter and sat on the stool beside the bathtub. He closed his eyes and reclined back, clearly enjoying the moment and I was glad he wasn’t watching me as I began with his firm shoulders.

I felt his muscles twitch at first, but soon he relaxed and I carefully wiped his body, taking care to avoid his wounds. His bandages got a little wet, but the doctor was due to arrive soon to redo them, so I wasn’t too worried. 

I picked up his right arm and ran the cloth gently over his tattoo. I had never seen the tattoos on his right arm before, and I took this opportunity to scrutinize them.

It was a dragon whose head started from his biceps and ended with its claw on his wrist, giving his arm an intimidating yet alluring vibe. I gently placed his arm on the side of the tub and moved on to wash his other arm. I peeked at Hunter to see his eyes, and his breathing was steady. I wondered if he had fallen asleep.

My attention was drawn to his chest, and I couldn’t resist tracing the cloth over his well-defined abs. I stopped just above his boxers, feeling an itch inside me. But before I could even process my thoughts, Hunter’s voice suddenly jolted me out of my trance.

“Bella.” My heart skipped a beat as I heard him say my name in a warning tone. 

I looked up and found his intense gaze on me. I tried to compose myself, but failed miserably and jumped out of my seat. 

“Your back,” I muttered and stood behind him, trying to hide my nervousness.

Hunter leaned forward to give me access to his back. The temperature in the room shot up, and my body warmed up. The tiger tattoo on his back stared back at me as I placed the cloth on his back and noticed something strange. 

When I traced over the scar on his back, he flinched, and my heart dropped in my stomach. It wasn’t just a scar; there were many of them as if he had been cut multiple times.

I recalled Scarlett mentioning how difficult it was to tattoo his back because of the scars, but changed the topic before I could ask her more.

“How did you get these?” I gathered the courage to ask him, but when he remained silent, my shoulder dropped in defeat.

There was still a lot I didn’t know about Hunter like his stepfather and how his life was before we met-

“I got it thanks to my stepfather,” Hunter uttered after a deadly minute.