The World Keeps Changing

Chapter 25

He stopped me scooting off the bed, scooping me up in his arms.

"I'm sure I can walk, Buck." I protested quietly as I wrapped his arms around his neck.

He shushed me, peppering kisses down my cheek and neck. "You don't have to argue with me every time I want to take care of you, Cookie."

I made a non-commital sound as he walked us into the bathroom. "It just feels weird. Having someone just do things for me."

He looked at me as he set me on the edge of the tub, reaching for the faucet. "What about your husband?"

I shrugged, "Paul was different. He was usually busy, a lot like Bruce and Tony, buried in his work. So when we spent time together he was always worried about doing the best thing for me, making me happy, and it was easier for him to always ask. It's not that he didn't want to. He just wanted me to tell him what I wanted. Usually, it was easier for me to just take care of whatever I needed myself before that."

He scrutinized me as I spoke. I knew that look. "Bucky, I'm never going to say Paul and I had a perfect relationship, but we worked. He was my best friend, and the father of my children. I will always cherish his memory and how much I loved him." I touched his cheek. "I'm also never going to compare him to anyone else. You don't need to either." I leaned down and kissed him. "He was him. You are you. I can cherish both of you as different, wonderful people." I kissed him again and he shifted, kneeling between my legs and slipping his arms around my waist. "Stop trying to justify why we are here now, or whether you deserve it."

His eyes snapped up to me, his mouth setting into a firmer line, obviously about to protest.

I pushed his hair back and leaned down to kiss him again. "Hey, if I have to stop protesting when you want to take care of me, then you need to not protest when I tell you to not punish yourself."

He huffed against my lips and kissed me back. "Fair enough."

He turned off the water and turned on the jets before helping me swing my legs over and into the water. I slid down with a hiss as the warm water shocked my slightly chilled skin. He leaned over and kissed my head. "But, I'm telling you right now, I'm going to make sure you stay here and rest for at least another day. I'm not taking you on the grand tour until you can walk without looking like you're going to pitch over." He handed me soap and a washcloth.

My fingers lingered down his arm until they caught his as he pulled away. "You aren't joining me?"

He smiled, "Not this time, Cookie. Gonna wash up and get us some breakfast." Then, something changed in his eyes and they slid down my body and back up. "If I join you, you won't be resting," he bent down again and brought his lips to my ear as he slid one hand in the water. "Because all I wanna do is bury myself in that sweet, perfect pussy again." His hand dipped down and he sunk two fingers through my folds as he nipped the edge of my ear.

I yelped and jumped at the drag against my swollen folds and then laughed, shoving his hand away. "Beat it, then, if you're gonna be a menace."

He laughed and headed for the shower, and I enjoyed the view of the spread of his shoulders, the sculpted wedge of his back with the divots at the base of it, the round swell of his ass and the lines of his muscular legs. It might have been an even better view than the front, and I couldn't wait for him to let me give him a massage. He looked back at me as he opened the shower door and reached in to turn it on. "Enjoying yourself, sweetheart?"

I wasn't being subtle about it, my arms crossed on the edge of the tub. I smiled wolfishly, resting my chin on my arms. "Absolutely. I just discovered my new favorite view." He laughed and got in the shower. I watched him through the glass for a minute before settling in among the jacuzzi jets again, closing my eyes.