Chapter 56 Tonight

Claire's POV

My injuries required rest, so Colin took me home to take care of me.

At first, I was worried. Colin doesn't do chores well, and even cooking is a challenge. With me injured, I feared the house would be in chaos.

However, the moment he carried me through the door, my vision brightened. The house was clean and orderly, everything just as it was before I got hurt.

"Not bad, right? I'm not as clumsy as you might think," Colin asked me with a low chuckle.

His gaze held mine, expectant like a little boy waiting for his teacher's approval.

I smiled warmly.

I always found Colin enigmatic, mostly seeing him switch effortlessly between financial news in multiple languages.

To my surprise, at home, he's quite the expert! In no time, he served up two dishes.

The taste was okay, if a tad salty.

But I was pleasantly surprised, "I always say, my husband is the most capable and the best!" I looked up at him, grinning from ear-to-ear, my teeth on display, "It seems getting hurt was a blessing in disguise, having someone to take care of me all the time!"

"Yeah," Colin replied with a faint smile, his deep gaze and husky voice reaching my ears, "So tonight, I'll take extra good care of you, how does that sound?"

My face instantly flushed, and my heart thumped uncontrollably. He watched me laugh, then began to serve me vegetables from the table.

Aside from bathing, I could manage everything else with my injury. When Colin offered to help, I flatly refused him.

He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, "We're husband and wife, what's there to worry about? It's only right for me to help you bathe since you're having trouble moving around."

With my eyes cast downward, silent, I clung to the hem of my clothes. Colin sensed my nervousness and did not insist.
Colin's POV

Claire's demure behavior, biting her cherry lips and looking downward, was extremely innocent, shy, and flustered.

It made me lose my composure, finding it hard to restrain myself. I caught the scent of vanilla ice cream on her, a comforting reminder of walking past a sweet shop in childhood.

No, Claire was a human girl; I took a deep breath, "Go on, then." I handed her a clean towel, "I'll be right outside the door, just call if you need anything."

Claire nodded quickly and rushed into the bathroom. An hour went by, and I paced anxiously outside the door.

"Are you okay in there?" I knocked on the door, and the sound of the water paused.

"I could come in and help you..."

"No need!" Claire shouted back, "I can manage on my own!"

The sound of rushing water was almost too much for me.

Thinking about Claire's leg in a cast, struggling alone in the slippery bathtub, careful on the tiled floor...

I frowned.

Better go in, just in case she fell.
With that thought, I pushed the door open only to see Claire attempting to climb out of the tub...

Her delicate, translucent skin, a beauty just out of a bath, her bare skin. My Adam's apple bobbed, my mouth dry, and I felt a rush of blood to my head!

Claire was clearly startled.

Because of a leg injury that couldn't be exposed to water, her leg was always stretched outside the bathtub.

Now as she attempted to climb out, her legs wide apart, I couldn’t help noticing her even and shapely legs and suddenly felt a wave of heat wash over me. Claire was indeed a woman of considerable beauty.

“Ah!” Claire let out a sharp scream, her face turning crimson with embarrassment as she became visibly nervous. Her foot slipped and she tumbled towards the tiled floor.

I quickly moved towards her, caught her in my arms, and reached for a towel to cover her.

“Don't, don’t look!” she stammered, turning her face away in shame, her little hands frantically trying to cover her chest.

“Okay, I won’t look,” I said with a gentle laugh, bending down to lift her into my arms.

“Just looking isn’t really that interesting, is it?” I whispered in her ear.

Clearly taken aback, Claire was frozen.

By the time she came to her senses, I had carefully placed her on the bed in the bedroom.

I removed my jacket and lay down on top of Claire.

Breathing rapidly, she looked up at me with shyness in her eyes, her slender arms reaching for my shoulders.

I wasn’t asking for Claire’s opinion, my tone authoritative as I breathed three words into her ear: "Do you want to?"

Restless, Claire shifted slightly beneath me, her large doe eyes shy and confused as she gave a slight nod.

I smiled, carefully avoiding her injured left leg.

“Don’t be afraid,” I said in a deep, reassuring voice, “You can trust yourself to me, you’re going to be very happy!”