➥ Rub their back
@princecfhell
Ruby hid her face in the soft sheets beneath her. A quiet hiss escaped her lips as he moved. She gritted her teeth, knuckles white from fisting her hands. She could no longer keep quiet as he pressed in harder.
A single, subdued, and tearful sound left her lips, “Ow...”
Baal’s cold gaze snapped up to Ruby’s face. His hands stilled from their rhythmic kneading of Ruby’s lower back, withdrawing from her silken skin as if he’d been burned. He then placed his hands on either side of his wife’s bare shoulders, hovering above her on his hands and knees. If asked, Ruby would have denied sniffing quietly as he nuzzled her. His nose ran along her cheek before moving to her hair, breathing in her sweet scent. His lips pressed repeated tender kisses to her face.
“I’m sorry, dearest,” he whispered, his tender words expressed in his native tongue. Ruby smiled weakly at him as the Sumerian reached her ears.
Ruby turned her head, a twinge of pain protesting the subtle movement of her spine. Ruby was lying on her stomach, and she very much wanted to turn around to kiss him. It appeared as if she wouldn’t be doing that anytime soon. While stationary, the pain was a low dull throbbing. But when she attempted to move, it was so sharp it knocked the wind from her.
Ruby had taken one of her horses out for a ride early that morning. Her property was on a relatively quiet patch of country land, and it was very rare to see anything more than a rabbit while out. But as her horse smoothly cantered towards a dense tree line, some errant wildlife she’d never even noticed had spooked her horse. The equine went one way. Ruby, tossed from the saddle by the sudden bolt, went another. She always wore her riding helmet, the expensive one covered in black velvet. Thankfully her head didn’t hurt. No broken bones, though there may be some bruises within the next few days. More than anything, the right side of Ruby’s lower back was in agony due to how she’d landed on the ground. The pain was spreading to her hip and even her thigh. She’d managed to pull herself back into the saddle and make the ride home. She had fairly limped into the house, asking Kelly to tend the horse.
Baal had been beside her in an instant, ready to rush her up to the bedroom. She’d tried to reassure them both that she was fine, nothing a good back rub and a heating pad couldn’t fix. Kelly had looked as if she would have tears well in her eyes soon, and Baal’s brows knit with concern as he nuzzled her. But they’d been willing to relent for now upon seeing Ruby’s reassuring smile. Baal then took Ruby upstairs so he could tend to her. Kelly had quickly cared for the horse, lecturing the now calm animal for being naughty and hurting her mom. Baal was ready to make steaks out of the animal, much to his injured wife’s protests.
Gingerly and with much help she’d settled onto the bed. Ruby relished Baal’s gentle attentions, every touch contained nothing but concern and love. She had enjoyed him smoothing lotion over her back, kneading her muscles to loosen them. He’d even gently worked her neck, before he’d stumbled across a large knot in the muscles of her lower back. With nothing but an intent to alleviate it, he’d focused the pressing of his fingers into that harder area of muscle.
But Ruby couldn’t stand the pressure on that incredibly sore spot. The insistent touch only aggravated her discomfort. She felt awful for not being able to receive his kindness without complaint. Ruby reached her fingertips to find Baal’s cheek, giggling when he pressed his lips to the pads of her fingers. She whispered, “It’s okay. I’m fine.”
Ruby wasn’t fine. Baal knew his wife was in a great deal of pain, and he only seemed to be making it worse. Ruby felt more pecks placed on her shoulder as she thanked Baal for what he was doing. He’d touched a tender spot, but she still wanted him to continue. She received a chuckle at her request, one that was inevitably granted.
Baal’s fingertips traveled up Ruby’s arms, the incredibly light touch sending pleasant tingles over her skin. He rubbed at her shoulders, the warmth of him melting the tension found there. As he moved to sweep his hands over her scapulas, he was even more grateful for all the back rubs Ruby had given him. If he didn’t already know what felt nice, he might not have done that good of a job. He moved his hands to her sides, slowly trailing down. The heat of his hands combated the cold of the room, something Ruby appreciated since she was topless. He pressed little circles on either side of her spine, traversing the length of it. Baal smiled when Ruby took in a deep breath. Her eyes were closed, and she lazily noted she might be fully asleep soon. He took the opportunity to briefly work the knot in her lower back before sweeping his hands elsewhere. He took up a soft pattern of working the area that hurt most before exchanging it for somewhere more pleasant. Eventually the knot seemed to loosen, though it refused to dissipate completely. Baal gently rubbed around Ruby’s hip, enjoying the curve of her form beneath his hands. He glanced up to see her asleep and slipped his hand beneath the waistline of the soft pajama bottoms he’d helped her into. Ruby was hardly in any position to bend down. And she was hardly in a position to do more than be roused from her slumber at the feel of him grabbing her pert bottom. She looked at him as best she could and laughed sleepily.
“Cheeky boy,” she accused him with a smile.
Baal winked at her, a playful grin across his lips. “Can’t help myself Toots.” However, he did decide to be behave and leave his wife be. He withdrew his hands and leaned down to place another few kisses on her shoulder. “Where’s the heating pad?”
“Bathroom,” Ruby mumbled groggily.
Baal left the bed and wandered into the adjacent bathroom. He took a moment to wash the lotion off his hands. With his rings on, the slick sensation irked him. Drying his hands, he dug around the cupboards until he found the heating pad. Ruby’d had the thing for years, but it still worked well enough. He quietly paced back into the bedroom, plugging it in and perching himself back on the bed. Ruby began to wake once more, but she didn’t fight the droopiness of her eyelids as Baal shushed her. He placed the heating pad over her back before throwing a warm blanket over Ruby. He was perturbed for a while as the heating pad did nothing. Then he remembered it had a remote of sorts, so he began pressing buttons until a gentle warmth spread over Ruby. He played with her hair, gooseflesh creeping over her skin at the pleasant sensations. He pressed his lips to her hair, whispering, “I’ll be right back.”
“ ‘Kay,” Ruby breathed out. “Love you.”
He nuzzled her, purring loudly as he replied, “I love you too.”
He then carefully slid off the bed and slipped out the bedroom. He entered the hallway to see Kelly sitting on a bench, the Spawn crouching around her. She hopped to her feet as soon as the saw Baal, anxiety roiling around her tummy. Playing with the ends of her sleeves, she asked, “How’s Mom?”
He sighed softly, striding over to her and taking her in his arms. He pat her hair gently as Kelly leant into her father’s embrace. “Your Mommy is fine,” he promised her. He smiled at how Kelly’s shoulders instantly slumped in relief. He kissed her forehead and said, “And she’s asleep right now, but I know she’s going to want some company. You can go in,” he said, then casting a more stern look upon her and the Spawn, “But you have to be quiet.”
“Where are you going?” Kelly asked, confused.
“I am going to make your Mother a doctor’s appointment,” he said, knowing full well Ruby would not be pleased. She hated seeing the doctor, but he thought it best this time around.
Kelly bit back a smirk and whispered, “Mom’s gonna be pissed.”
Baal sighed, nodding his head at Kelly’s barely suppressed mirth. Removing his arms from around Kelly, he chuckled then himself. Baal’s words were honest and simple, “I know, I know... But she’s taken such good care of me before. I want to do the same for her.”
Kelly beamed up at him as he rubbed her cheek with the backs of his fingers before heading downstairs. It made her...so inexplicably happy that her Mom was so adored by her Dad. But she could also never hide a smile at how much of a softie her old man really was.