Melina thanks Thomas for walking her to her room before entering. She anticipates him walking over to his room, but instead, he follows her in. Thomas takes her hand in his and leads them to the bed. He makes Melina sit and bends in front of her. He takes her right foot in his hand.
“What are you doing?” Melina asks, puzzled as she looks at him holding her foot in his hand.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, taking off her heel.
“I’m all right. You don’t have to do that.” Melina tries to get her right foot out of his grip, but he holds it tight. He’s probably wondering if she’s feeling better after her little meltdown earlier tonight. He massages her foot lightly and then releases it after kissing her ankle.
“That’s good to hear.” Thomas says as he picks up her left foot and takes off her heel. He massages both feet while they’re resting on the ground.
Melina looks at him, wondering if he is the same Thomas from a few months ago. She can’t believe the same man massaging her feet right now is the same person who did all those horrible things to her a few months ago. It’s as if they’re two different people.
“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” Melina tries to wiggle her feet out of his grasp, but he won’t let go.
“I know, I want to.” He massages it for a few more seconds before giving them one final peck.
“Thank you.” Melina says as she stands up and walks to her vanity table to take off her jewelry.
“Are you going to shower or soak in the bathtub before bed?” Thomas inquires.
“I am planning to soak a little in the tub.”
“Alright,” Thomas says as he starts walking to the bathroom. Melina wonders what he intends to do in her bathroom. She ignores him, takes off her jewelry, and wipes off her makeup.
Thomas walks out of the bathroom and assists her in unzipping her dress. His knuckles lightly brush against Melina’s spine, tingling her skin. A shiver runs down her spine, and her back arches slightly. Melina locks her gaze with him through the mirror for a brief moment before her eyes snap shut when his lips touch her neck. Thomas begins to leave hot, wet kisses on her neck and shoulders.
“Cosi Bello” So beautiful. ” Thomas whispers as he kisses her back. Melina’s eyes open abruptly as his lip touches one of the scars on her back, and reality hits her. She swiftly turns around to face him. She pushes him away with one hand while holding the back of her dress.
“Did I do something wrong, principessa?” Thomas kisses her hand on his chest. He kisses each of her fingers and works his way up her arm. Her eyes roll to the back of her head the moment his lips touch the spot on her neck. Melina pulls her knees together as she feels wetness pool between her legs.
“Thom…” Melina’s words are cut short as Thomas presses his lips against hers. Her eyes immediately close as he sucks the air out of her. She puts her hand on his chest to push him away, but Thomas wraps his left hand around Melina’s lower back and pulls her flush against him. She melts against him, feeling heat creep up her back. Melina abandons her plan to push him away and instead wraps her hand around his neck.
As he grabs her butt and squeezes it hard, her lips part open. Melina fights him as his tongue invades her mouth and tries to dominate it. Her mouth is filled with the taste of cigarettes and bourbon. Melina misses the way he tastes on her tongue. Thomas picks her up and places her on the vanity table, his lips still against hers.
“Thomas,” Melina moans as he kisses her jaw and work his way to her neck. She closes her eyes and enjoys the burning sensation of his lips on her skin.
“Cosi fottutamente Bello,” So fucking beautiful, Thomas says as he kisses every inch of her skin.
He brings his hand to her shoulders and pulls her dress down. Melina pushes Thomas away from her and gets off the vanity table the second she feels a chill from being naked. She quickly picks up her dress from the floor, and covers her body.
“Could you please leave?”
“Did I do something wrong?” Thomas asks, worried. He steps closer to her, but Melina backs away from him.
“No, I just want to be alone,” Melina says, biting her lower lip as tears sting the back of her eyes.
“Mi amore, please tell me what I have done wrong.” He reaches for her arm, but she pushes it behind her back before he can get to it.
“Nothing.” Melina says, her voice cracking slightly as she speaks. Thomas needs to leave before I break down in front of him. That’s not something I desire.
“It can’t be ‘nothing.’ You won’t even let me get close to you. I must have done something wrong. Please tell me what it is so I can fix it.” Melina could tell he’s desperate to figure out what’s wrong and fix it. She bites her lower lip harder as this breaks her heart. Her grip on her dress tightens as she tries to contain her emotions.
“I said you did nothing wrong, so please leave. I just want to be alone!” Melina says in a harsh tone. Thomas stares at her wide-eyed. He looks taken aback by her tone. He opens his mouth to speak but doesn’t.
“I don’t know what I did, but I’m truly sorry for whatever it is, mi amore. I’ll leave you alone now since that’s what you want.”
“Thank you.” Melina says, turning away from him as a tear rolls down her cheek.
“I ran you a bath; you should go in while it’s still warm. Good night, mi amore,” he says before closing the door.
As the door closes, the tears start to fall. Melina lets go of her dress, allowing it to fall to the ground. She looks down at her scarred body and more tears well up in her eyes. She knows how much Thomas is disgusted by her scars. He made it abundantly clear on that day. She turns around and looks at her back in the mirror. Even if Thomas wasn’t disgusted before, he would definitely be now.
Her back looks horrible because of the new scars from James’ whipping; even though it has healed, words can’t describe how horrible it looks. Melina bites her lower lip harder to muffle her sobs. She fears Thomas will hear her as he is next door, and she doesn’t want him to. Melina can’t dare explain why she’s crying while naked. It’s bad enough that she can’t bear the thought of him ever seeing her naked again. He’d be disgusted beyond words once he saw her back. She can bet that any attraction he has for her would vanish the moment he does.
Melina enters the bathroom and steps into the shower. She doesn’t feel like soaking in the tub anymore. She picks up the sponge, lathers it with bath wash, and scrubs her body. Melina truly wishes she could wash her scars away.
It’s bad enough that she doesn’t know what to do with her feelings for Thomas and now this. Even if Melina decides to be with him, it won’t be possible because Thomas will abandon her the moment he sees her naked again. If she chooses not to be with him, she doubts that any man in the world would want someone like her. Her scarred body is repulsive. No one would ever want to be with me, no one.
Melina’s brows furrow in bewilderment as she notices a flash of crimson on the floor. She blinks, trying to clear her blurred vision caused by tears. Her eyes widen as she realizes it’s her blood. She scrubbed a little too hard without realizing it. Melina throws the sponge away, quickly rinses her body, and steps out of the bathroom before she adorns her body with blisters.
She puts on a full-length PJ and walks to her bed to get some sleep. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sleep. Melina cries some more and only stops when she is too exhausted to cry any longer, at which point she falls asleep.