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Rares usually did this himself, but the offer of help had been tempting, especially given how sore his body was. He let her move his head, tilting it out of the way to allow her more room to work. When she began he grimaced a little as the needle pierced his flesh and then he relaxed again, like the pain didn't exist. Checking out of the moment entirely while she worked, his amber eyes unfocused, staring off into the soft glow of the lights and how it illuminated the steam from the shower subtly.

Then she finished, her words brought him back to the moment and he carefully returned his head to neutral. "Thanks." He felt the pressure of her chin against his shoulder and he raised his hand to cup the side of her head, listening as she answered his question. He seemed to contemplate her words for a time, unsure if it made him feel better or if it just made him realize he couldn't feel better about what he was. He stood slowly and turned to face her, pulling her in close, his eyes searching hers. "And what about those who do unforgivable things on purpose?"

He backed her into the shower again, just enough so the warm water would run down her back. He kissed her neck, the soft flesh behind her ear and under her jaw. "What about someone who hurts and kills others?" His gaze returned to hers, dark, serious, burning. The light reflected subtly off his gold jewelry as his fingers slid down her spine to the small of her back, pressing her close to him again.

"What if I did those things? If I liked doing those things? How could you justify my goodness when I do what is unforgivable? When no matter where I go I am seen as a blight. Cursed blood. Why would you want to stay knowing that?" He wasn't going to let her be blind to the reality of what she was walking into. It didn't make sense to lie to her. Not now.

'I don't believe in unforgivable.' Really? How was that even possible? No one he had ever met seemed to possess that quality. Now here stood Vadoma, claiming she didn't believe in it. He didn't know if he believed her but he wanted to, more than anything. He wanted to believe he could live another life if given the chance. When she asked if that was what he did Rares' gaze flicked away for a moment, as if trying to decide if he really should answer her.

When his eyes found hers again he answered. "Yes." It was simple, but while he made it appear effortless the word had been hard to say to her. The truth had been harder to admit than he'd expected it would be. Where there was normally comfort in that darkness he now, in her presence, felt only shame and pain. Normally he didn't care if people knew what he did, there were enough rumors that they usually made their own assumptions anyway, none of them based in truth. But here he was. Admitting it to this woman he'd met only days before. A woman who had walked into his life and turned everything he knew, everything he was used to feeling, on its head.

Her reason hit him hard. When she said it and looked away he felt a kind of heavy guilt crush him. He was causing her pain, he knew he was. He hated it. But he was so confused by her, she was an absolute anomaly in his world. What seemed so cut and dry and simple to her he had never experienced, not first hand, and not directed at him. He struggled because he was lost. Adrift in an unfamiliar sea. But he was guided by the light she exhuded. He wasn't oblivious to what was happening between them. He just struggled to accept it.

He lifted his free hand, curling his fingers under her chin, turning her face gently towards him. "I care about you too... I do. I just don't want you to get hurt." He did, he knew he did. It was impossible to ignore. But it also scared him too deeply. He didn't want to go through the pain of admitting to himself that this was real if it meant something bad might happen to her. "I don't want to put you in danger and that's what's going to happen if you want to be in my life, Vadoma."

Rares kept his gaze locked onto hers, unwavering as he searched her mesmerizing eyes for any sign that this wasn't real. That she was just saying it. But all he saw in her eyes was that she meant it and he felt the walls begin to fall. He didn't care how much he hurt, he wanted her. If the stitches came out he'd just sew them back up again later. He leaned into the kiss as her lips found his, closing his eyes and losing himself in the sensation. In her scent. In her energy. Whatever the thread was that had been woven between them it was strong, he'd never felt connection like this. It felt unbelievable.

Rares moved forward, backing her up into the wall which was surprisingly warm from the heat of the shower. One hand pressed against it to steady himself, the other sliding up her side and down her arm, lacing his fingers between hers. He deepened the kiss, his tongue grazing her bottom lip softly before it began to seek hers. He pressed his body up against Vadoma, that fire between them raging again, like it had the first night they'd spent together. Something told him the heat of the fire that had been sparked between them would never extinguish, ever.

The hand not laced with hers came down to find her other hand and his fingers wove between the fingers of that hand as well. He brought her arms up over her head, pressing them to the wall as his lips lifted away from hers and reconnected with her neck, following the length of muscle down to the curve between neck and shoulder. She stirred the part of him he buried deep beneath his anger and pain. The part that he'd been warned to kill before it ruined him and destroyed his family.

He remembered being so different when he was small, before the weight of the world crushed him beneath its heel and he'd had to grow a skin of iron and hide who he was behind wall after wall. He didn't have to do that with her. He lifted his head, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. "I didn't think anyone like you could be real." He breathed softly, his eyes opening as he kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheek, then back to her lips. His kiss was passionate, full of that ache and desire and something new. Trust. The golden glow of the steam enveloped the two as Rares released her arms and slid his hands down to cup her face. Never wanting the kiss to end.

Rares wondered if this was actually possible. If he could have someone like Vadoma be in his life. She seemed so sure that she couldn't get hurt, he didn't quite understand how but he was choosing to trust her. His claws slid down to her top and he found the knot that held it in place, claws untying it and tossing the fabric onto the tub.

He held her close to him, never breaking the kiss. She was all he'd ever wanted but never believed he could have. She was brave but soft, fierce but kind, she honestly cared and he admired the way she didn't let herself be pushed around or bullied. What normally had kats scrambling to get away from him hadn't seemed to phase her at all.

With a soft growl he broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, the desire in them burning brightly as he slid his hand down to her waist. "Stay with me tonight." His voice was almost soft, the gravelly tone smooth and relaxed. He wanted more time with her than the brief moment they'd shared before sleep had claimed them and she'd left abruptly. He still didn't understand why. He didn't honestly care. She'd come back. That's all that mattered.

The males eyes brightened a little as he stared into her intense but beautiful crimson gaze. He could have lost himself in them so easily, all he wanted in that moment was to be with her. Maybe that's all he really wanted period. ******** the rest of the world. He didn't need to be loved by them, but her... he wanted that from her. He was spiraling. Rares pulled himself back emotionally a bit. He was getting ahead of himself. She made his head swim.

His hands slid down her sides to the cloth at her hips which he began to undo as she agreed to stay. A smoky smile lifting his lips at her words. He felt a warmth in his chest, spreading out and enveloping him. She wanted to stay.

He kissed her neck, her collar bone, savoring the scent of her skin. If he could have stayed here forever, with her, he would have done so in a heartbeat. This person who saw through every wall, who overlooked his darkness, who came back because they missed him. He didnt want to lose this. He didnt want to lose her. No matter what the cost.

Fade to blaaaaack~