Page 125

“We are going home,” he says simply.

“Vash. I have things to do,” I complain.

“They are handling it,” he says.

“I should be helping.”

“No, you should be sleeping.” Vash opens the door to the car and pushes me in. I frown and cross my arms over my chest. He smirks as he leans in to hook my seatbelt. “Be a brat all you want, Leli. It won’t make any difference.”

I know I am not going to win this one, so I just shut up. I’m stubborn, but he is the king of stubbornness. Is that a dragon thing, or is that just a Vash thing?

When he gets into the car and we drive toward his house, he takes my hand into his, gently rubbing my palm with his thumb. I’m not mad at him. I am only slightly annoyed that he’s forcing me to go home when I could be working on something. Lilith doesn’t get to take a break, so why should I?

I don’t say anything for the entire ride to the house because I know that he’s about to make me talk about my feelings. I hate talking about my feelings because I always end up crying. Even once we get to the house, I stay quiet.

“Leli,” Vash says.

“Where is the room? I’d like to change,” I say.

“Come on,” he says with a sigh. I follow him down the hallway, and we step into the bedroom. “Go take a bath and relax.”

“I’ll take a shower before bed,” I say dismissively.

“Leli,” he says as he grabs me by the waist and pulls me closer. “You need to slow down, baby.”

“I can’t,” I admit.

“You can and you will,” he says, cupping my cheek.

“You don’t get it,” I say. “If I slow down, I’ll fall apart. I can’t do that.”

“It’s just you and me right now, Leli. You need to slow down and let me in. You can’t keep this up.” His tone is soft and commanding. He’s not letting me get by with this anymore.

“I can’t,” I say quieter.

“You don’t have a choice anymore, Leli. You haven’t slept in two days. You haven’t been eating. You are running on less than fumes at this point,” he says firmly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie. Vash sighs and walks to the bedroom door to get the attention of a maid. He talks in a hushed tone before walking back over to me.

Vash takes my hand and leads me to the bathroom. He leaves me standing there while he draws a bath. He pulls out various bottles from under the sink before pouring some of their contents into the steaming water. Scents of vanilla, jasmine, and rose fill the room. It has a calming effect on me that eases some of the built-up tension in my body.

When Vash shuts the water off, he comes over to me and helps me undress before stepping me into the water. As I submerge myself in the water it unwillingly relaxes my muscles. Vash pulls the chair from the vanity over to sit beside me and starts washing my hair. I give in to his comfort and lie back.

“Vash,” I start to say.

“Shh. Just relax. We can talk later,” he says as he rinses my hair. He takes his time washing my body. I focus on the feeling of his hands rather than the flood of tears that want to come bursting out of me. I swallow the growing lump to keep the emotions at bay.

Vash stands me up and wraps a towel around me before lifting me out of the tub to set me on my feet in front of him. He uses another towel to dry my hair before taking me into the bedroom.

“Lie down,” Vash says.

“Why?” I ask with a frown.

“Lie down,” Vash repeats. I huff and lie down on the bed. I am on my belly with my face in my arms. Vash moves around the room for a moment before getting in the bed. I can’t help but giggle when he straddles my legs.

“What?” Vash asks with humor in his tone.

“What are you doing?” I ask.