“Wait, did you just tell me you want me to give you a bath?”
Harper had been in the cabin with Alex for weeks now, and she'd learned to and cook and generally clean up after him―slightly against her will. Now, Alex had just asked her to help him bathe, a responsibility that she never thought she would undertake, especially for Alex.
"Yes, you heard me right." Alex watched her intently as he said this, trying to gauge her reaction.
“Why?”
“I feel like I haven’t taken a bath in ages. I stink. And as my fiancée, I am asking you to bathe me. That shouldn’t really be too hard, should it? I mean, I’m sure you have seen me naked before.”
“No! I haven’t.”
“Really? Interesting. Well, I’m still having a hard time moving around without falling down and kissing the floor. So, you will help me. Is there a problem?”
"Hmmm... N-no,” Harper stuttered. “I’ll be back.” She rushed out of Alex’s room and ran up to her own, and quickly dialed Kendal’s number.
“He wants me to give him a bath!” she immediately said as soon as she heard her call being picked up. She restlessly and worriedly started to pace around her room.
“What? Who?”
“Alex, Kendal. He just told me now that he wants me to bathe him!”
“Oh! That’s cute,” Kendal teased.
“No, it isn’t! What should I do? I can’t bathe him!”
“Then don’t.”
“But what should I tell him?”
“Tell him you’ve just recently joined a cult, right before his accident, and it’s now forbidden for you to see a naked man…even if it’s your fiancé.”
“You’re kidding me, are you? A cult?”
Kendal laughed. “Harper, you don’t really have much choice here. You can either tell her you’re extremely traditional and prude. Or you could just give him a bath. It’s not that you like him or anything. So, it shouldn’t really matter. Just keep your hands off his dick, and you’ll be fine.”
“Of course!” Harper made a face. She wanted to tell her she had seen Alex in his glorious nakedness more than once before, but she knew her friend would only be interested in knowing the nitty-gritty. Something she was not keen on talking about at the moment.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Yeah. I mean, you could have really told him you’re his friend or best friend, and you wouldn’t have this kind of problem in your hands…”
The door suddenly opened. “Harper. Your fiancé is calling you,” Libby said, smiling, teasing her.
Harper sighed, annoyed. “I’ll call you back,” she said, then ended her quick call with Kendal and turned to Libby. “Please stop.”
Libby’s smiled turned to a full grin.
Harper walked back to Alex’s room.
“Ready?” Alex asked.
“Wait,” she told him curtly and went straight to the bathroom and proceeded to lay out the towels. She turned the faucet on, opened the cabinet, and found a bottle of shampoo and shower gel. She filled the bathtub with hot water and some salts. She grabbed a sponged and a bottle of shower gel. When the tub was almost filled, she tested the water with her wrist.
"Alex, I have prepared everything for you here. You’re not expecting me to scrub your skin, too, are you?" she called out. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply. Her memories of Alex’s nakedness were still etched vividly in her mind. For some reason.
Alex slowly entered the bathroom with the help of a quad cane. He then stood still and smirked. "I’m sure it’ll be better and safer for me to have some assistance. And who else should undress and bathe me other than my fiancée?" He watched as Harper turned blushed when the reality of the situation dawned on her.
Harper was already spitting curses deep down, but she wouldn’t let this faze her now, no matter how uncomfortable it might make her.
“Fine.” She had seen Alex’s naked body before, but what didn’t sit well with her was the fact that she was going to be touching him now. And she'd never been so mortified in her life.
"Look at me, Harper," Alex said, wanting her to look into his dark blue eyes. "I know things are weird between us ever since I lost my memory. But, I guess, I just want us to be comfortable around each other again."
“And your first step to achieve that goal is for me to give you a bath?”
He smiled shyly. “Why not? We have to start somewhere.”
Harper just sighed and nodded. She knew it was pointless to argue with him, so she would just have to suck it up and deal with the situation.
"Okay, let’s start with baby steps. Turn around while I get undressed,” Alex said softly. “So, this will be less uncomfortable for you.”
“Gee, thanks.” Harper turned around, averting her gaze quickly. As she waited until Alex was fully emerged in the water before turning around, she realized he would need her for support. So, without giving it much thinking, she turned around just to see him lift one leg and put it in the water. Her eyes followed Alex’s broad backside down to his naked bottom. It looked round and soft, just like how she had seen it before.
She swallowed thickly and hurried towards Alex and helped him down the tub carefully. She was so distracted by watching the scars on his chest that she registered too late that her entire arms were now under the water.
“Shit,” she muttered and quickly pulled the sleeves up her arms.
"Maybe you should start by washing my hair?" Alex casually suggested.
"Okay. Lean back,” she told him and started to run some water over his messy, brown hair.
Alex quirked one eyebrow before Harper rubbed a dollop of vanilla-scented shampoo on his head. “Have we always been this awkward with each other?”
Harper’s eyebrows creased as she started to massage his scalp with her fingers. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Most of the time, I feel like I’m more of a job to you than your fiancé…” Alex trailed off, and she could only shake her head. Because he was right, but she couldn’t tell him that.
She shrugged. “Well, you’re wrong. You’re more of a master to me…”
Alex briefly craned his neck to her and smiled. “Were we into role-playing?”
It took a minute for Harper to understand what he was asking, and as soon as she did, she blushed. “What? No!” Her heart constricting ever so slightly in her chest.
Her reaction earned a light chuckle from Alex.
She took a washcloth and rubbed it with soap to form a soft lather. Carefully, she began to caress Alex’s face with it gently. He sighed in satisfaction.
Alex suddenly stilled when she brought a soft and soapy sponge round to his back and gently pressed it against the top of his spine.
Harper watched as foam trickled down his back and disappeared into the water. Slowly, she swept her hand along his shoulders, casually caressing his skin with the sponge. She leaned close, and he could feel her hot shaky breath against his skin. Her hands went deep further into the water, brushing down Alex’s sides. They grew intimately closer when she started to wash his chest. Her heart pounded, and her breath caught when she got to his nipples because, suddenly, Alex took the sponge from her hand and guided her bare fingers to lather some soap onto them.
Every ounce of blood in Alex’s body seemed to rush to his cock, and he was immediately aroused when she felt Harper’s fingers. He let out a soft moan of desire that made Harper jump.
"I'm sorry. That was…it was… it felt so good.” He cleared his throat to suppress a sudden surge of desire welling up inside him.
Harper pulled back slightly. “We’re almost done,” she muttered and went on to rinse him. Alex continued to savor in the sensations of the warm water and her hands on him.
"All done." She immediately stood up.
However, Alex didn't know what to say or do next, so he stood up and faced her in all his glory. His cock was almost flat against his stomach, fully aroused.
Harper gasped and turned a bright shade of red. “Alex!” She looked down at her shaking hands.
But Alex only smirked and pretended that nothing was amiss. "Are you okay, Harper?" He tried to sound nonchalant. “Can you help me dry myself, please?”
Harper looked like she's fighting a battle with herself. She would normally reprimand Alex, give him a piece of her mind, just like what she did in the elevator, without even caring about what Alex would say, but now that they were supposed to be engaged, she knew that it would be extremely odd for her to do that.
“O-okay.” She finally found her voice, taking a deep breath before facing the naked man in front of her.
Immediately, her eyes took on every inch of him: his muscular chest, the deep v-shaped cut in his abs, his long legs. She stopped before her eyes could land further down south. Her face was completely red now.
"Let me help you dry off." Without looking down at his body, she helped him out of the tub and quickly wrapped a towel around him. She gave him another to pat himself dry, but when he didn't make an effort to take the towel, she gave him a quizzical look. “Okay, fine.”
The bathroom started to feel entirely too hot as she stepped in closer and began to dry Alex’s hair with the towel. He tilted his head forward to give her better access to the back of his head, bringing his face inches from hers. Then his hands moved to her hips; his eyes flicked to her mouth for a split second.
When he touched his forehead to hers, he saw her eyes flutter shut briefly.
Harper took a step back. "I think you’re all set,” she said, and before she could even turn around and head for the door, Alex grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to him before capturing her lips in his.
He kissed her.
Harper’s brain was screaming, and her heart was racing. She inhaled deeply through her nose, utterly surprised at how good his lips felt against her own. She attempted to push him back, but the kiss soon drowned her, and then she felt her defenses melt. Her hands wound through his wet hair as she kissed him back.
Alex wrapped his arms around the small of her back, feeling her respond to him and the panicked, anxious admission of his lips against hers. His body heated in response.
The kiss would have lasted longer had it not for Harper’s vibrating phone in her pocket. Quickly, she pulled back. She stood for a moment, her face was a deeper shade of pink before she brought her hand up and slapped Alex across his face. She gasped, shocked at what she just did.
She bit her bottom lip, inhaled deeply, and said, "I am sorry.” Then she stormed out of the bathroom.