Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134133 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 671(@200wpm)___ 537(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
“Where do you think you’re going?” he murmurs, but his voice is tender.
I let him hold me to pacify him, but only so he’s feeling generous when I say, “You said something about borrowing your mom’s toiletries, didn’t you? Can I assume that means you’ll let me shower before bed?”
“Of course. I’m not a beast.”
Aren’t you?
I don’t say that, though.
I say, “Thank you.”
His lips tug up and he leans down to give me one last kiss, then he lets me pull away from him, but his hand lingers in mine for a moment more before he lets go. “I’ll grab us a couple of towels.”
I nod and follow him into the bathroom, but then his words sink in, and my heart skitters. “Wait, us?”
He’s opening the linen closet but spares me a glance over his shoulder as he reaches in for the towels. “Yes.”
“Can’t I shower alone?”
“I’m sure you’re capable of it,” he says lightly. “But I’ve spent just about every moment since I met you wanting as much access as I have to you now, so I can assure you, you will not be showering alone.”
My lips purse as I look over at the shower stall. I’ve certainly never showered with a guy before, and though he’s seen me naked and I’ve seen plenty of him, there’s something much more intimate about the thought of showering together. It’s the sort of thing lovers do, and I don’t know what we are exactly, but not that.
Girlfriend.
The agreement he coerced me into earlier tonight flashes back to my mind.
It wasn’t long ago, but it feels like it’s been days. I can’t believe I met his parents tonight. Maybe I should have tried harder to plead my case to them. Surely, if they thought there was any truth to Silvan kidnapping me, they would have put an immediate stop to it.
Thoughts of the armored limousine surface.
I look over at Silvan with the intention of asking him about it, but my brain freezes when I see his hands on his jeans.
He undoes the button, and I bite down unconsciously on my lower lip at the sight of the gray waistband of his boxer briefs. My nerves tense as he pulls down the zipper revealing more soft gray fabric stretched over the bulge between his thighs.
I turn away, my chest starting to feel tight.
This is too much.
I can’t do this.
I spin in a circle, scattered, then finally find the direction of the door so I can flee.
I’m nearly to the door when Silvan grabs my arm, gently but firmly pulling me back into the bathroom.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I can’t do this.” I tug at my arm, but he doesn’t release it. Instead, he turns me around to face him, then grabs my hip and pulls me closer.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says, gazing down at me. “I just want to get you clean so we can go to bed.”
“You’ve already hurt me,” I tell him, my heart in my throat.
A frown flickers across his brow almost like he doesn’t see it that way. He reaches out and touches the side of my face, caressing my cheek before sliding his hand around the back of my head so he can force me in against his chest. “I would never hurt you.”
He sounds so sincere, I think he must be quite insane. How can he say he would never hurt me when he has so many times already?
He drops his hand and takes mine, pulling me back into the room and over toward the shower. “Come on. Let’s get undressed so we can clean you up.”
I don’t want to, but I don’t think there’s a way out of it, either. And I do want to get clean. The bastard came inside me back at Professor DeMarco’s house, so I can still feel him between my thighs.
I make quick work of undressing. The house is warm, but it’s a cold night so there’s still a slight chill in the air. Maybe that’s why I shiver, but it’s probably something else. It’s probably being here with him, feeling his hot gaze on me as I step out of my panties.
He comes up behind me the moment I’m completely naked and locks an arm around my waist, pulling me back against his strong body and gazing at me in the mirror. I look up, meeting his gaze in the reflection, but quickly dropping it. I look at his strong arm locked around my waist, the way he holds on like he’ll truly never let me go.
But then his grip loosens and he kisses the hollow between my neck and shoulder. He takes my hand—probably so I don’t try to flee again—and leads me to the shower.
The hot spray has already made the glass steamy. He steps in first and I follow, letting my gaze get caught on his muscular back since he can't see me. Silvan has an incredible body, so sturdy and reliable. I'm attracted to the visible strength he possesses, and as attractive as he is fully clothed, he's about a thousand times hotter without any on.