“Shou (hands)” he demanded impatiently, one hand on his hip. 

When Viv hesitated, he reached forward and snatched her wrist, capturing it easily in his hand. With surprising gentleness, he took the hand towel from the counter and patted her hands dry. His mouth quirked up a little as he watched her. She tried to slow her breathing because they were standing quite close together and she wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do. Her breathing hitched a little when he reached into his back pocket and withdrew a tube of hand cream. Still watching her in the mirror, he squirted a generous amount into one palm and then began to massage it into her skin, gently rubbing the delicate bones of her wrist and then the centre of her palms, and then her fingers. His look was appraising now, curious, and tinged with something thicker and darker that she didn’t want to know about. 

Viv tried to pull away but his hand was suddenly iron clamped around her and he frowned at her admonishingly. He turned her then so that she was caged within his arms, her back up against him. A spurt of embarrassment and awareness shot through her as he pressed her against one jeaned leg. Carefully, he leaned her back into him more fully, and continued rubbing in slow mesmerizing circles. He played with her as skillfully as a cat toying with a mouse, but she wasn’t certain that she was trying to escape anyway.

She closed her eyes trying not to squirm, thinking that she might die from the sensory overload. His face was right next to hers, his chin almost resting against her shoulder. His eyes were hooded, and he watched her from under his eyelashes. She sighed and gave herself up to it, knowing that if she resisted any further, it would probably only become a physical tussle and while she was a little bewildered, she could tell that he was quite determined about it. He only released her as she was starting to come apart from tension and then kissed the inside of both her elbows for good measure.

He deliberately left her in the bathroom, leaning limp against the counter. The image of him sauntering away with a smile burned an afterimage on her eyes. She stood there, trembling. It took her quite some time to catch her breath and she was certain it would have been better if she had just turned on the tap and had a cold shower.

And of course, when she finally came out, she found that he had silently left the house.