How could I have not thought about this? Anger at himself crossed his face in a flicker. But it was enough for Sloane to notice and flinch.

"Why would I be mad?" He grasped her elbows with ease, pulling her close to him with the hope that he could reassure her none of this was her fault.

All she did was shrug, still staring at the floor. There were tears in her eyes, threatening to spill.

"Come on. We'll eat after we get you cleaned up." Carter released his hold and stepped around her to the bed.

She heard the rustle of the sheets as he pulled them off the mattress. All she wanted was to hide away in shame and embarrassment.

Once he had the sheets in his arms, he led the way up the stairs and then to the bathroom. Sloane followed without a word, never raising her head, prepared for his mood to shift and lash out with some form of punishment.

When he stepped forward, she allowed him to undress her. Standing in the nude with blood drying on her inner thighs, she watched him set up the tub while she remained on the verge of tears. As he placed her bloody panties and shorts to the side with the sheets, she peeked up. "Can…"

"Yeah?" He was leaned over, testing the temperature of the water

"Bath oil." Not sure she should be asking for anything, she kept her eyes averted as she squeaked out her request.

"Yeah." He gave her a gentle smile before adding in some of the oil. After swishing his hand around, he turned and motioned for her to get into the tub.

Ready to be in the water and clean the mess away, she stepped forward. As she slipped her hand into his, he gave a gentle squeeze. His other hand went to her hip to help steady her as she lifted one leg over the edge followed by the other. Once sitting, she slid down a little, covering as much of herself with the water as she could. Something about the feeling of the water coating her body took away some of the shame and helped her to relax a little.

"I'll be back." He stood up and grabbed the dirty laundry before disappearing from the bathroom. It was several minutes before she began to wash herself.

Despite the pink tinged water, she felt herself starting to nod off. Sloane pulled the plug and leaned over the edge of the tub as she waited for Carter to return.

The wait was short lived.

His eyes widened when he walked into the bathroom and noticed the water was gone. “Come on.” He grabbed the towel, opening it wide to wrap around her.

“Thank you. But…” Snuggling into the towel, she still wasn’t sure if he was going to be angry that she’d bled onto the sheets.

“But?”

“Um, I need…”

“I can look to see if there’s anything for you to use tonight. I’ll go to town to buy you what you need in the morning. Just tell me what exactly you use.”

“Just some pads will be okay.” She stood with her legs crossed as he rummaged through the cabinets and drawers.

“Would an old towel work?” A little frustrated that he hadn’t found anything else that could act as a makeshift pad, he held up what he’d found.

“Yeah. If it’s a hand towel, I can fold it.”

“Here.” The towel he gave her was a little bigger than she had expected, but she folded it and slid it against herself. He had brought in a pair of his underwear, unsure if it would work. But she managed to adjust everything.

“Thanks. I just can’t move around too much.” To emphasize her point, she kept her legs pressed together and put on the shirt he had brought to her.

A pleased smirk crossed his face as he took in the view of her in his clothes. Thinking it was safe to have sex without a condom while she was on her cycle gave him visions of taking her at the sink.

Uncertain of what to do, Sloane stood with her hands clasped in front of her. Looking into his eyes, she had an idea of what he was thinking. “I…I wanna lay down.”

With an annoyed expression, he nodded and turned away from her. When she came out of the bathroom, he stood at the cellar entrance, waiting for her. “Let’s go.”

She licked her lips, not wanting to go back to her prison. But what other option did she have? A part of her considered giving him what he wanted, but sex at that moment was the last thing on her mind. Once in the room, she shuffled to the bed and got as comfortable as she could.

“You are going to eat, right?” His voice was gruff as he gestured toward the food.

All she could do was nod. His demeanor seemed unsteady and she wasn’t sure if speaking would anger him. It was obvious she had already made him mad.

He sat on the bed in his usual spot and they ate in silence.

This isn’t good. Her hopes that dinner would lighten his mood were dashed as he continued to glare down at his food, shoveling it into his mouth with quick, almost violent movements.

Once he was done, her plate was snatched away even though she wasn’t finished.

Without a word, he stomped away and slammed the door behind him.

Sloane sat on the bed, not sure he was going to come back, or if she even wanted him to. Their relationship had seemed to be going so well. And now he’d flipped back to the scary, unpredictable Carter that she wanted to get away from.

She began to blame herself. It was clear on his face that he’d wanted to get physical in the bathroom. And she’d ruined his mood by claiming that she wanted to lay down. It hadn’t been a lie though.

Now you’ll have to start all over. Again.

Tears glided down her cheeks before she brushed them away. Between the fear of bleeding on the bed and angering Carter, she felt drained. Defeated, she started to lay down when the door burst open.

Carter was on her in seconds, pinning her to the bed.

A small gasp escaped her before he crushed his mouth against hers, his tongue demanding entry.

Her stomach lurched, knowing it would be best for her to just go along with it this time. She had to make him think that this was what she wanted.

While he did all the work, she went through the motions, played her part. She didn’t have to pretend for long.

Once done, he stood and stared down at her with an odd look that she couldn’t place, before leaving her once again.

Disgusted with herself for not just going along with his wants when they had been upstairs, Sloane wondered how she was going to clean herself up now. Since the towel was her pad, she didn’t want to use it. Frustrated, she tried to get comfortable again and ignore how she felt.

After what seemed like hours, the door opened once again. A calm Carter walked to her and held out a hand.

Not daring to speak, she put her hand into his and followed him upstairs. Again, she was led to the bathroom.

“I realize I acted harshly. I’m sorry.”

This surprised her and she whipped her head to see that he showed some remorse.

“You’re…it’s fine. I just…” Not sure what excuse would keep her out of trouble, she fumbled over her words.

“I didn’t think that maybe you’re cramping and not feeling good.”

It was the perfect excuse and he’d supplied it to her.

“Yeah. I’m not cramping too bad, but I am tired.”

“Well, clean up and then we’ll go to bed.”

After cleaning herself, they went back to her bed, questions of which version of him she was sleeping with tonight plaguing her.

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