by Susan Stoker
Gumby snickered and Rocco did his best to hide his smile, without much luck.
“What?” Ace asked defensively.
Gumby clapped his hand on Ace’s back and said, “Nothing. I’ll see what Phantom and I can find.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Ace’s gaze went to the makeshift bed in the middle of the floor, and he saw that Piper had found a piece of paper somewhere, probably the small desk at the back of the room, and she was writing as Rani and Sinta watched with wide eyes from beside to her. She was on her knees in the middle of the mattress and was talking quietly with the girls as her hand moved over the paper.
Curious, Ace moved closer. She was drawing something. After several minutes, she handed the sketch to Sinta, put down the pen, and sat back.
Rani clapped her hands enthusiastically, and Sinta exclaimed, “Us!”
“Exactly right, Sinta, it is us,” Piper said.
Ace couldn’t help himself; he leaned closer and looked at the paper in Sinta’s hands.
Piper had drawn herself in the back of a pickup truck. Next to her were the three girls. She’d drawn all four of them smiling and the wind was blowing their hair wildly.
It wasn’t a finished image, merely a line drawing, but it was still obvious who the people in the picture were. Ace had figured Piper had to be a good artist in order to make a living as a cartoonist. He’d seen some of her drawings before, but was even more impressed at this display of her raw talent.
“Ace, look!” Sinta said as she climbed to her feet and brought the paper closer. “Us!”
“I see that, Sinta. Four beautiful ladies.”
The little girl beamed even more and brought the paper over to where Kemala was standing. She was leaning against one of the bunk beds, staring out the small window covered with bars.
The teenager glanced at it, said something in Tetum to Sinta, and turned back to the window. Sinta frowned and stomped back to Piper.
“Who’s ready for a shower?” Rex asked the group.
Piper’s head whipped around, and Ace could see the longing in her eyes from where he stood. But instead of leaping up, she turned to the girls. “Come on. It’s spa time.”
All three stared at her, obviously not understanding.
Piper smiled and climbed off the mattress. She put the pen back on the desk and held out her hands. Rani grabbed hold immediately but Sinta went to the desk and carefully placed the drawing Piper had made on top. Then she went back to Piper’s side and grabbed hold of her free hand.
“Kemala?” Piper asked quietly.
Sighing as if she’d been asked to run a marathon, the teenager pushed off the wall and trudged to the others with her head bent low, staring at the floor.
Ace wanted to reprimand her. To suggest she have a little more respect for the woman who’d saved her life, but he kept quiet. Out of all the girls, she was the only one who had any idea how much her life was about to change. They were no longer in the mountains, they were in the city, and they had a very uncertain future.
Piper walked them toward the door, but Sinta stopped when they were about to exit and she turned and held out a hand toward Ace. “Ace too,” she said.
Piper shook her head. “Not this time, sweetie. Girls only.”
Ace was shocked when Sinta’s lips pressed together and her brows furrowed. She actually stomped her foot and wiggled her hand. “Ace come too!” she said again.
Piper looked up at him, clearly at a loss. He knew he couldn’t shower with them, but he moved toward the group. He kneeled in front of Sinta and said, “Piper will take you to get clean. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
He was dismayed when her large brown eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. “Ace protect from bad men!”
He couldn’t have stopped himself from reaching out for the little girl if his life depended on it. If Sinta thought he could protect her from the bad guys, he would make sure he didn’t leave her side until he absolutely had to. “Piper isn’t going to let anything happen to you, Sinta. You’re safe with her.”
The little girl nodded. She stroked his beard with one hand while resting her head on his shoulder. “Ace protect Piper. Piper protect girls.”
“Guess we’re all going to shower,” Ace said softly.
“Phantom and I’ll head out now and see what we can find nearby for them to put on when they’re done,” Gumby said. “Then we’ll head out again and find the other stuff on your list.”
Ace nodded. “’Preciate it.”
Gumby just rolled his eyes at his friend.
“Be careful out there,” Rocco warned. “It doesn’t look like the rebellion has made it down to the city yet, but that could change in a heartbeat. The commander says it’s only a matter of time.”
Both Phantom and Gumby nodded and turned the opposite way down the hall from where Ace and the girls were headed.
“They’re going to get us clothes?” Piper asked as she headed for the bathroom after Kemala pointed it out.
“Yeah. Unless you want to put back on what you’re wearing now,” Ace told her.
Piper shook her head. “No…I’d put on a flour sack if it was available.”
Ace chuckled. “I’m sure they’ll be able to find something more suitable than that.”
Piper stopped walking and put her free hand on Ace’s arm. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
She looked confused. “For what? For everything!” she exclaimed. “For being so great with the girls, for keeping the creepy-crawlies away, for saving us, making sure the rebels didn’t find us, for getting us clothes…all of it.”
Ace had picked up Sinta and was holding her in the crook of one of his arms, but he used his free hand to palm the side of her face. “You don’t have to thank me for any of that.”
“But—”
“None of it, Piper. I’d do it again a thousand times over and wouldn’t expect a thanks then either.”
They stared at each other for a long moment before Sinta lightened the mood by putting her hand on Piper’s other cheek. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Piper laughed, and Ace chuckled again.
“You ready to get clean, squirt?” he asked Sinta.
She nodded, but didn’t look too sure.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like being clean?” Ace asked.
Sinta bit her lip and looked away from them both.
Piper gave him a confused look, and Ace could only shrug. The little girl had seemed content enough a second ago.
“We no like baths,” Kemala said from a few steps ahead of them.
“Why?” Piper asked.
“Hurt.”
“Baths hurt?” Ace asked in confusion.
Kemala nodded. “Cold hurts.”
Piper caught Ace’s eye, then smiled at Kemala. “I think you’ll find you like today’s bath,” she said.
Kemala just scowled.
Sinta shivered in Ace’s arms, and he could see Rani holding on to Piper’s hand with a death grip. He hoped like hell the hostel had hot water. It was supposed to, but if not, the hell with it—he’d personally rent a hotel room just for the day if it meant giving these precious children their first warm shower experience.
Kemala pushed open the door to the women’s bathroom, and Ace hesitated.
“Hello?” Piper called out. When no one answered her, she turned to him. “It’s okay. No one’s inside.”
“This isn’t right,” Ace argued as he followed Piper into the room. He looked around. There were two bathroom stalls and sinks on one side of the room, and on the other were two shower stalls with flimsy plastic shower curtains pulled to the side.
He leaned over and put Sinta on the floor and stood there awkwardly as Piper went into one of the toilet stalls with Rani.
“Do you need to potty?” Ace asked Sinta. She stared up at him with a sad expression and tears in her eyes, and shook her head.
Ace kneeled down in front of her. “Do
n’t cry, pumpkin. It’ll be okay.”
At his words, she tilted her head. “Pum-kin?”
He grinned. “It’s a term of affection.”
She still looked confused.
Ace searched his mind to find a word to explain what pumpkin meant, that she’d understand. “It’s a fun name that means I like you a lot.”
She nodded. “Ace, pump-kin.”
He couldn’t help it; he threw back his head and laughed. He’d have to be careful about what he said around the girls until they could understand better.
And that thought made his humor die. He wouldn’t be around them long enough to teach them English. It was a sobering thought. And a depressing one.
“I don’t know what’s so funny, but I can hear the water calling my name,” Piper said as she came out of the stall with Rani.
“I’ll just wait outside,” Ace said as he stood and gestured to the door with his thumb.
“No!” Sinta yelled and grabbed him around the waist.
“Okay, okay, I won’t go anywhere,” Ace assured her, not able to stand the little girl’s terror.
Piper gathered Sinta to her and crouched down on the floor in front of her and Rani. She included Kemala in her pep talk by constantly looking up at her as she spoke. “I promise this isn’t going to hurt. Remember when we were in that crawlspace and I swore to do everything in my power to keep you safe? This is the same thing. I would never ask you to do something that would hurt you. I care about you all too much. I don’t know how warm this water is going to be, but if it’s not, I won’t make you take a shower. Okay?”
She waited a beat, and it was obvious to Ace that the girls hadn’t understood everything Piper had said, but Sinta was the first to nod…reluctantly. Rani then nodded too, likely because Sinta had. Kemala simply stared down at Piper, hiding her thoughts behind a stoic mask.
Sighing, Piper stood. “Okay, I’m thinking since our clothes are so dirty, that we might as well shower in them, at least to start with.”
“Shoes off, Piper,” Ace ordered.
She looked over at him and smiled. “Of course.” Then she leaned over and untied the laces of her now mud-colored sneakers. She toed them off and placed them under one of the sinks, taking off the socks he’d lent her and putting them inside the shoes. “I’ll clean the socks tonight,” she told him softly.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ace responded, staring her feet. He’d seen them before, when he was doctoring them up, but at the time, he’d been more concerned about her medically. Seeing her standing on the tile floor of the bathroom in her bare feet seemed much more intimate. The peeling polish on her toenails made her appear even more vulnerable somehow.
“I’ll go first, how about that?” Piper said as she turned away from Ace’s intense stare. She leaned into one of the shower stalls and turned on the water. The pipes creaked and moaned. The water pressure left something to be desired, but it was a shower. Ace wished once more Rocco had told their commander to stuff it and had gotten them rooms in a nicer place. One with beds for them all, and real showers.
But Piper acted as if the shower was the best thing she’d ever experienced in her life. She grinned at the girls and held her hand under the small stream. Ace couldn’t tell if the water was hot or cold, as Piper gave nothing away with her plastered-on smile. Finally, she looked over at him and nodded.
Ace sighed in relief.
“Come here, Sinta. It’s warm. I promise.”
The little girl refused to go any closer to what she thought would be a horrible experience.
“Kemala? I know you’re upset and don’t want anything to do with me, but would you please come here and feel the water? The girls look up to you, and if they see that you’re okay with it, they will be too.”
The teenager didn’t move.
“Please?” Piper begged.
After another long pause, Kemala finally walked toward Piper with about the same enthusiasm as if she were headed for the guillotine. She stood as far away from the water as she could get and held out her hand, leaning way over so no stray water could accidentally hit the rest of her.
The second her hand touched the stream, she flinched and yanked her hand back.
Piper gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s warm,” she said unnecessarily.
Kemala’s hand slowly returned to the stream and she held it under the water, staring as the droplets splashed over her hand onto the tile floor.
Ace’s knees nearly gave out when she turned to Sinta and Rani and smiled so big, it practically lit up the room. She said something in their native language to the little girls, and they hesitantly came closer to the shower.
Ace watched as all four of his girls stood hip to hip in the small shower stall, grinning as if they’d just been given the greatest present of their lives.
“See? It’s warm. It won’t hurt you. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee you’ve never felt anything as heavenly as a hot shower,” Piper said.
There was an old bar of soap on a ledge in the corner of the shower, and Ace suspected in any other circumstance she never would’ve touched the nasty thing, but Piper reached for it and worked up a lather in her hands. Then she grabbed Rani’s hands and transferred the bubbles into them.
“Scrub your hands together, like this,” she demonstrated.
As Rani washed her hands, she soaped up Sinta’s hands then handed the soap to Kemala. The four of them laughed and giggled as they washed their hands and arms.
Ace continued to stand by quietly and watch as his girls bonded over hot water and soap. They could’ve spread out and used the other shower stall, but all four seemed content to stand close and experience together the joy that was a hot shower after a hard day.
Soon enough they were all dripping wet. Their clothes hung off their bodies, and Piper stripped Rani and Sinta of their T-shirt and shorts. She lathered up their little bodies and gently and carefully did her best to wash their hair as well. She lifted Rani to rinse her hair of the soap so it didn’t go into her eyes.
Both Kemala and Piper kept their clothes on as they showered.
Ace knew he was an asshole for not leaving the room, but he couldn’t take his eyes from Piper’s body. Her wet T-shirt molded to her curves, and he could clearly see her nipples poking through the bra she was wearing. Her legs were covered by the khaki pants she’d been wearing since he’d first seen her, but even those were now clinging to her in all the right places.
Even after her ordeal, she was curvy and lush, and his fingers actually curled into his palms as he thought about touching her. About helping her out of her sopping-wet clothes and making sure she was squeaky clean all over.
When all four of the girls were dripping wet and as clean as they were going to get for the moment, Piper looked over at him and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t suppose there are any towels we can use?”
Shaking his head to clear it, Ace said, “I’ll go see what I can scrounge up.”
“Thanks. Maybe you can take Rani and Sinta when you come back and get them dry, while Kemala and I finish our showers?”
The thought of Piper standing under the water, soap running down her naked body, made him more than aware of how long it had been since he’d had a woman. Months. No, at least a year. Shit.
Ace turned to hide his erection and headed for the door. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”
“Thanks, Ace,” Piper said.
Nodding but not turning around, Ace pushed open the door to the women’s restroom and took a deep breath once he was in the hallway. Sweat dripped down the side of his face from both the heat of the small bathroom and the naturally hot climate.
God, he had to get control of himself. The last thing he wanted was to put any kind of pressure on Piper. She had enough of that without having to worry about a horny SEAL lusting after her.
Within moments, he’d found a stack of what he assumed were towels for guest use. They weren’t very large, and were pretty threadbare, but
they’d have to work.
Picking up six, thinking Piper and Kemala could easily use two each, he headed back to the restroom. Knocking, he waited for Piper to give him the all clear to enter.
And when he did, he stopped and just stared.
Sinta and Rani were dancing around in front of the shower while Piper and Kemala took turns splashing them with water from the light stream. All four were laughing, and Ace wished he had a camera at that moment to preserve the scene.
When Piper saw him standing by the door with the towels, she turned off the water and came toward him. She took one of the towels from him and leaned over to wrap it around Rani.
Ace looked away when her tits pressed against her wet shirt as she bent over. He put four towels on one of the sinks and took the last one and began to dry Sinta. The little girl was skinny and was all arms and legs.
He’d seen Phantom and Gumby return when he’d been in the hall getting towels and knew they’d put the clothes they’d bought in the room they were staying in. When the girls were fairly dry, he leaned over and picked them both up at the same time. They were still giggling, obviously overstimulated by the warm shower and their antics afterward.
“Phantom and Gumby returned while you guys were showering. I’ll take these two little monkeys to the room and get them dressed. I’ll have Rocco bring whatever they got for you two down here in a second. Don’t get naked until he leaves, though.”
Piper smiled at him and nodded. “Thanks.”
“What’d I say about thanking me?” he returned gently. Then he turned and headed for the door once more, with two damp little girls in his arms. “Come on, let’s go see if Gumby found a hairbrush, and then see what we can do with these rat nests, shall we?”
Obviously not understanding him, both Sinta and Rani nodded eagerly.
Ace took one more look at Piper before forcing himself to exit the bathroom.
Piper let out a long sigh of relief when Ace left the room. She swore her ovaries ached every time he displayed tenderness toward Rani and Sinta. He would make an incredible father. It was obvious from the way he treated both little girls. He was sympathetic and understanding toward Kemala too.