4
Jessa
Warmth.It’s everywhere. My body feels weird, like when you fall asleep by the pool and forget to put sunscreen on. My skin hurts, in fact, my entire body hurts, and I groan loudly as I shift against the sheets.I blink my eyes open and find Trey staring at me, then the events of the past day come rushing back to the surface, plowing through my brain like a freight train.
“Morning.”
“Morning? How long was I asleep?” I ask, my voice croaky. A painful ache forms in my gut, reminding me that I haven’t eaten anything in a really long time.
“Awhile,” Trey mumbles, his eyes still on me. I glance past him, and out the window noticing that it’s still dark outside.
“How do you feel, Princess?” Wes’s voice meets my ears and I roll over, finding him on the other side of me. No wonder I was so warm. I was sandwiched between the two of them all night.
“Like crap.” And I do. Simply breathing hurts, and with every move I make my body aches more. I need a bath or shower, but first I need to eat.
“Hungry?” Trey asks, and I nod my head yes.
“We figured, so I made some food already. Just need to go heat it up for you,” Wes explains as he gets up from the bed and heads out of the room. In a flash, he’s back at the side of the bed with a glass in his hand.
“First, drink this, I’ll heat up the food and bring it to you.” He hands me the glass, and I peer inside to see what it is. Orange juice. I watch him leave the room again while Trey helps me sit up. There’s a slight ache between my thighs that I’m certain I’ll be feeling for a few days. I lean my back against the headboard and sip at the juice. Trey doesn’t say anything and I’m thankful. I not really in the mood or ready to talk about everything that happened yesterday.
A few minutes later Wes reappears with a plate of food in his hand. Trey puts a pillow on my lap and Wes sets the plate on top of it, handing me a fork. I look between the two of them completely perplexed. Their demeanor has changed completely from what it was two days ago, and I can’t help but wonder why.
They’ve gone from wanting to take from me to wanting to take care of me in one night and I feel that something isn’t right about their behavior. Are they really sorry about what Declan did to me? Or are they playing me? I can’t forget that I am their prisoner, no matter how close I feel to them physically. I can’t trust them, not ever.
“Eat some food and then you can take a bath,” Trey interrupts my train of thought. I look down at the steaming omelet with pieces of cheese and ham in it and my mouth starts watering. I spear a bite-size portion of it with my fork and bring it to my mouth. The savory flavor hits my taste buds and I almost moan.
The guys watch me eat in silence and I use that time to form some questions in my mind. When I can’t eat another bite, I hand the plate to Wes who puts it on the nightstand.
“I want to know what’s happening,” I declare. “Why am I really here and why are you not letting me go? My father surely must have contacted you by now.”
Wes and Trey exchange glances before Trey says, “Why don’t you take a bath and then we’ll talk.”
“I don’t want to go back downstairs,” I blurt out, feeling like I need to tell them, in case they plan on taking me back down there. I might not be able to trust them, but I don’t want to be kept in that cell. I’d rather be in the company of them, then be alone with nothing more than my thoughts.
“You won’t be going back downstairs anymore. Things have changed,” Wes answers, giving me a soft smile, something I’ve never seen before. The look on his face is foreign to me. Why is he smiling? Where is the cruelness that I’ve come to know? Confusion like I’ve never felt before builds inside me. I don’t understand what is happening.
“Bath, then we’ll talk,” Trey orders.
I agree, partially because I really want to take a bath and partially because I really don’t have a choice in the matter. They might be being kind to me now, but who is to say their attitudes won’t change. If I push, they may push back and though parts of me enjoyed what happened with Declan yesterday, I’m not ready to experience something like that again. It was too intense, physically and emotionally.
Wes disappears into the bathroom and I hear the water being turned on. A few minutes later he comes and gets me, helping me out of the bed and leading me into the bathroom. My legs are shaky, and my muscles ache with each step I take. Who knew sex could make you feel so exhausted.
The bathtub is already half filled when I step into the hot, bubble-filled water. I submerge my body slowly, enjoying how the warmth soothes my aching muscles as I sink lower into the suds. Wes and Trey watch me cautiously as if I might disappear into thin air or something. It’s strange the way they’re looking at me, the way they’re hovering like a mother hen and honestly it kind of worries me. I push the feelings away at least for now and force myself to enjoy the bath.
I soak in the hot water for a while before I ask for shampoo so I can wash my hair. Trey gets a small bottle and hands it to me. I tip my head back to wet my hair and almost slip under the water.
“You want me to help you? I can wash your hair,” Wes offers.
“Sure.” I don’t want to turn away his kindness. Even if he is being nice for some reason I’m not quite sure of yet. I’ll take whatever I can get at this point.
He comes to kneel next to the tub, sliding an arm under my shoulders so I can lean back without drowning. I get my hair wet and watch as Trey squirts some shampoo into Wes’s palm. He starts washing my hair, massaging my scalp gently, far gentler than expected, sending little jolts of pleasure down my spine. My eyes drift closed, and I relish in the feeling of his fingers threading through my locks, and massaging the tender flesh. It feels so good to be cared for. No one has ever washed my hair, and for some reason, that resonates within me. Wes is being kind, showing compassion, and it scares me as much as it makes me happy.
“Where did Declan go?” I ask as Wes rinses my hair.
“Out. You don’t need to worry about him. He won’t hurt you again.” Trey’s response surprises me, mostly because he thinks Declan hurt me. I think about correcting them, telling them that he didn’t hurt me, at least not like they think. All I wanted was for him to not discard me after sex. I wanted him to hold me instead of pushing me away. I consider that maybe the only reason they are being nice to me right now is because they think Declan hurt me and I don’t want their kindness to end. I decide not to say anything and hear them out on whatever it is they need to tell me first.
Trey helps me out of the bath and wraps my body up in a towel while Wes wraps up my hair in a second one. When we get back to the bedroom, I find a pile of clothes waiting for me on the bed.