Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Layla POV

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After saying goodnight to all of the guys, AJ’s words follow me upstairs like a buoy I didn’t know I needed. ‘Then don’t you dare feel weird about anything. Not with me.‘

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It settled something deep inside me. Something quiet and coiled. Something I didn’t even realize I’d been holding onto until he said those words. Something that felt a lot like a knot untying in the center of my chest.

I close my bedroom door behind me and rest my back against it for a second. The house is silent now, except for the familiar creaks of the old wood shifting into place for the night, while the distant hum of the guys‘ voices downstairs is fading like the tail end of a lullaby. The night has tipped into way past midnight, but I’m not ready for sleep. Not yet.

I’m sore. Tender in ways I expected, but also in ways I didn’t. Not just between my legs, but in the deeper, more fragile corners of myself. I remember reading somewhere–an article or maybe a blog post—that a warm bath could help ease some of the aches after a girl’s very first time. So I decide to listen to the advice of the ‘experts‘.

The bathroom light is soft and golden as I open the taps and let the tub fill, adding just enough bubble bath to lace the surface with soft and foamy spheres. The scent of vanilla and coconut wraps

around me, and it’s equal parts comforting and nostalgic, like the smell of warm cookies and suntan lotion mixed with ocean air. Steam curls upward in lazy swirls, fogging the lower part of the mirror, and the sound of water rushing into the tub is steady and soothing.

I peel off my clothes slowly, each movement deliberate and gentle. My muscles protest with every shift, but only slightly. It’s the good kind of ache, though. The kind that comes from something you chose. Something that mattered.

Wrapping a fluffy bath sheet around myself, I walk over to check the water’s temperature. It’s perfect -just shy of scalding. My toes curl against the cool tiles as I lean in slightly to swirl the water with

my hand.

And that’s when I hear it–the creak of my bedroom door.

My body stills for a beat, but I don’t panic. Something in my gut tells me not to, because I don’t need to. There’s no fear in the silence. Just something waiting.

A second later, Hunter steps into my bathroom like he belongs here, and his gaze meets mine and holds it. “You okay, Beautiful?” His voice is soft but steady, as if it’s carrying more than the obvious question. Like he’s asking about all of me.

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Chapter 129. Layla POV

Physically. Emotionally. Mentally.

I nod once. “Never been better.”

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He studies me for another beat, then gives a slight nod and walks over to the tub. Without saying a word, he turns the taps off and reaches for the edge of his shirt. I watch, with my breath caught, as he tugs it over his head and drops it onto the bathroom floor. The overhead light catches on the lines of his shoulders, the subtle flex of muscle, the worn softness of his jeans as he unbuttons them and slides them down in one fluid motion, leaving only his boxer briefs behind.

I cock an eyebrow as I ask, “What exactly are you doing?”

He lifts a shoulder like it’s the simplest thing in the world. “Making sure you’re not sore tomorrow.”

Something in me warms at that. Not heat, exactly. And not lust. Something more profound. Something that feels a lot like being cared for in a language I’ve never been fluent in, but always needed to hear.

He steps into the tub first and lowers himself down with a hiss. “Fuck woman. You weren’t kidding when you once mentioned you like your bathwater hot.”

A laugh escapes me, and he smirks at that. Then he holds out a hand to me, and just…waits.

I drop my towel without ceremony and step into the water that feels like a balm to my skin. It wraps around me like silk and safety, all rolled into one.

His eyes rake down the length of my body openly and reverently as I move, but he doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t make a joke, and he doesn’t break the silent moment. He just watches me, letting his gaze memorize the curves of my body.

I slowly sink between his legs, my back pressing against his chest as the water ripples around us, warm and soothing. His arms wrap around me, and they’re firm and solid, as I melt into him like I was always meant to fit right there.

After a few silent minutes, he reaches for a bottle of body wash that’s standing on the bath’s ledge, pours a little into his one hand, and lathers it slowly. He starts with my shoulders, working his way down my arms with patient, thorough strokes, as his fingers trace over every line of me like I’m something worth studying.

There’s no rush in his movements. And no pressure. Just quiet affection in the way he tends to me. I watch as the suds slide down my arms and into the water, like little clouds dissolving beneath the

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Chapter 129: Layla POV

surface.

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He moves to my back next, his fingertips slipping beneath the water to glide along my spine. I close

my eyes as I breathe in the moment, allowing it to soothe places inside me that even the warmest of

water can’t reach. Every pass of his hand is like a whispered promise.

He shifts slightly, and his one hand trails across my stomach, while the other brushes suds over my

thighs. Every touch is deliberate, carefully considered, and lovingly worshipful. The water sloshes

gently as he moves his hands, the sound barely louder than our breathing.

He saves my most intimate parts for last–and even then, he’s gentle. He’s not hesitant, but reverent,

as if I’m something hallowed. As if this moment is something sacred.

When he’s done, he rinses his hands in the water and then leans in to press a lingering kiss to my

temple. His lips are warm, soft, and unhurried against my steam–dampened skin.

Neither of us speaks during or after for what feels like ages. But we don’t need to.

As the steam clings to the whole of the mirror now, and the room’s dim and golden and dreamlike, I

sit there, wrapped in the hush and heat of the moment, wrapped in him, and let myself be loved.

And for the first time since everything started spiraling, I feel completely…whole.

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19:46 Mon, Sep 15