[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

As Esme lay in the tub with her eyes closed, she smiled at the first part of what Duke said, then it faded at the last part. She knew how bad it could have been if he hadn’t had shown up when he did, and she was grateful he showed up. “I can’t disagree with you there.” she said in almost a whisper. Her mind drifted back to her being tied to the chair and being tortured by the demon, causing her eyebrows to knit together and her body to tense up. If Duke hadn’t shown up when he did, the only way they could have gotten out of the situation was if she had gone nuclear as she did before. A heavy sigh escaped her nose at the thought of going nuclear again. In the shape she was in, she would have been out cold soon after, and out for a few days. She shook the thought from her mind before it could get the better of her and began to relax again. 

When she heard his frustrated sigh, she was about to open her eyes before she heard him say he’d be back, to which she gave a small nod. She could hear his footsteps as he walked away from the tub and to the door of the bathroom, then listened as he kicked off his boots. As she heard him unbuckle his belt, she opened her eyes and looked at the bathroom door to see him opening his jeans, causing her eyebrows to raise. “What are you…… You’re not….” she started softly, then trailed off, not being able to finish her sentences as he took off his pants and boxers. [i]Hellfire! He is![/i] she thought to herself. [i]This is unexpected. We’ve never been naked in the same room. Let alone in a bath together.[/i] she continued to think. Her eyes had shot up to his face as he shook out his shoulders, and feeling his nerves grow stronger. [i]I would have never thought he would get in with me to help.[/i] she thought. 

Every incident that she could remember of them being naked was an accident, then they would quickly cover up with a laugh before either could see much of the other. This was definitely a new moment between them, one that really stirred up the nerves. As Duke stepped back up to the bath and placed a hand on her upper back, she found herself holding her breath as he asked her to lean up. She couldn’t stop the soft smile coming to her lips as he used her nickname as she leaned forward with his help, wincing a bit at her sore stomach muscles. As Duke stepped into the bath, she slowly let out the breath she was holding while being aware of his every move as he lowered himself into the water. When his legs were placed on either side of her, she could feel her nerves rising more, since she half expected him to curl up behind her. 

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on keeping her breath even and not letting her nerves take control of her, which wasn’t easy with Duke’s nervousness rising. As he sighed and pulled her back against his chest, she opened her eyes and nodded her head softly. [i]That’s easier said than done.[/i] she thought to herself. Esme looked at the ceiling as he wet her hair with the cloth and pulled her head back against his shoulder. It was then she felt his heart hammering against her back from his nervousness. It felt as if he could have a heart attack at any moment. Before she could think more about it, he spoke again, and it caused her to laugh, as she knew it was completely true. “Don’t I know it. I remember how you were then.” she laughed. After he put the shampoo in her hair, her eyes closed as he massaged the shampoo into her hair and scalp after leaning her forward a bit.

One eyebrow went up when he chuckled again and said he was a calm and respectful gentleman now, followed by a smirk. “Psh….. I can agree with being a respectful gentleman, but you are far from calm right now.” she said with a laugh in her tone as she opened her eyes. Carefully shifting to one side, Esme carefully adjusted herself to where she was just about laying at an angle to look at him, a warm smile resting on her lips. “You’re going to have a heart attack if you don’t calm yourself.” she told him. Yes, her nerves were heightened as well and her heart was beating fast, but nowhere near as fast as his. As she lay there, she scanned his face, then brought up a hand to lie gently on his chest, still feeling his heart hammer against it. “Your heart feels like it could jump out of your chest at any moment.” As she spoke, she looked down at her hand on his chest a moment, then looked back up into his eyes. 

She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him so nervous around her, but then again, they had never been like this together. She inwardly smiled at the thought of his nervousness being caused by her, and his fear of crossing any boundaries with her or scaring her. He was one person who scared her the least out of all those she knew. Pulling herself back from her thoughts, she held his gaze and softly sighed. “You need to breathe, Bright Eyes.” she spoke softly. “We don’t need you popping a blood vessel or worse.” she added, throwing a little tease to lighten things. Taking in a calm breath, she did a soft projection of calm emotion to him. It would be just enough to get the job done, but not enough to drain her of what energy she had. As she held his gaze and projected the emotion, Esme realized that this was the first time she had done a projection of emotion on him. It also felt different from all the other times she had to project emotion to someone. 

She couldn’t quite put her finger on why it felt so different and it confused her greatly. Maybe it was because, deep down, she knew she caused his nervousness and was the one who could remedy it. She could calm the nervousness that bubbled up in him that was caused by her and the moment they were sharing. She also knew that with her projecting calm to him, he could pick up on how quickly his nervousness faded. Which at some point could lead to her finally telling him she was an Empath. It was something she was a little nervous about confessing to him after all this time.