Charlotte’s POV
Kieran gently wiped the washcloth across my lower back with a touch that was surprisingly careful and methodical. The warm water felt good against my overheated skin, soothing the sting from the whip and cleaning away the evidence of what we’d just done.
I sat patiently on the bed, my arms still aching from being held above my head for so long, and watched him work. His face was almost clinically focused as he carefully dabbed at the red marks on my thighs and lower back, but there was something softer in his expression now. Something I hadn’t seen before.
Once my back was clean, he moved to my wrists. He examined them closely, running his thumb over the faint red marks left by the cuffs.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. It’s just a littl
