28. Casper
Chapter twenty-eight
Casper
Hunter pounds on the door. “Casper!”
My fists curl as I think of Prince, of the threat he just gave her. I breathe in, wishing that I could inflict pain right back at that asshole.
The frightened expression on her doe-like face just makes me want to grab a knife and go out and draw blood, and shit…
It's happening.
The monster is coming out.
Fuck. I have to keep him locked in his cage.
Hunter pounds again. “Casper!”
Suddenly, I sing.
Just… sing .
I let the words spill from my mouth, filling my veins with a heavenly thrum. This is why singing and dancing is an outlet for me.
The villain needs to be tamed.
Hunter stops pounding once he hears me singing. “Okay, then… I will just come back later…”
I ignore him, letting my voice fill the room and the void in my heart as I sing, sing, sing.
I even sing as I tug off my band tee and toss off my boots, then move to the shower. There, my voice is amplified as the words just won’t stop.
I remain in the shower until my fingers turn to prunes, and then I step out from under the jets and wrap a towel around my waist.
I’m still singing even when I brush my teeth, and the foam drips all the way down my chin.
I’m still singing yet when I place the toothbrush in its container then step out of the bathroom, running my fingers through my tangled, wet hair as I move into the main room of my wing.
I only stop when I find those wide, brown eyes staring back at me, and I’m pretty sure my ghost leaves my body.
Snow heard me singing…
“How long have you been standing there?” I whisper.
Her lip wobbles, and then her eyes drop briefly down my body, her gaze hungry.
Shit. I know that look…
They all look at me that way in the clubs when Hunter and I go out drinking. Except then I was drunk.
Not only drunk, but not in the least bit interested.
But when Snow looks at me that way… my blood thumps to life, and then a sensation like singing hums through my veins.
My cock hardens, and then my skin flushes red. “Fuck!”
Suddenly, I dart back to the bathroom, and she startles, reaching out.
“Wait!”
I lock the door behind me, pressing my back to the inside as I drop to the ground in only a towel.
She heard me singing…
Fucking singing.
Snow knocks on the door, and even her knuckles are gentle as she raps on the wood.
“Casper, it’s okay. You… don’t have to be embarrassed.”
I run my fingers through my curled hair, the blood rushing through my head as I count down to ten .
I may be able to sing in front of a live audience, while tipsy might I add, yet I can’t stand the thought of her hearing me blurt out in song.
That was the song of my soul. It was both sweet yet dark, beautiful yet tortured, and I mutter another curse, trying to will the blood in my veins to slow down.
So, she heard you singing. Big deal.
You can’t be shy all the time…
She raps gently again. “Casper?”
My heart finally slows, and I let go of my wet hair, finding my equilibrium.
“Casper… you have an amazing voice. I wish I could sing like that.”
My heart races again at her compliment. How can Prince want to kill this perfect creature?
She is genuine.
I don’t think she would betray us to Regina.
We can trust her.
“Well… I’m just going to clean up if that’s okay?”
I run my fingers over my face and sigh. “Sure. That’s fine.”
I sense her warm smile through the door, and then she turns away and goes about her chores.
I think about staying in the bathroom, but I left my clothes in the living room where she is currently working.
She may even be folding them up for me, and I can’t leave her to clean.
After all, it was my idea initially to have her clean for us, so I rise to my feet, padding across to my bedroom as I throw something on quickly.
I should be at least half-decent.
Then I approach the living room, and as I guessed, she has folded my clothes and placed them on a neat pile on the couch.
Even my boots are by the door, and that gesture makes my heart flutter.
She jumps when she finds me watching her, and then she peers at the ground, and at times, I can’t tell who’s shyer, me or her.
None of the girls who came on to me were ever shy about their sexuality, yet this girl has so much humility.
I bet she doesn’t even know how pretty she is.
Hunter says that to me sometimes, and as a teen, I never believed it.
Sometimes, I still don’t.
But I am far from pretty.
At least on the inside.
I bet Snow’s soul is as beautiful as her outward appearance, and I’m not surprised her stepmother hated her so much.
I’ve seen the woman a few times, and she makes me nervous.
The way she sizes you up like you’re something good to eat.
Snow is soft like a fresh blanket of, well… snow. It appears her parents named her well.
One of which was responsible for the demise of my own father, but I push that aside and step toward her.
“Here, let me help.”
I start picking up a few things, and I try to ignore the ball of anxiety that forms in my chest as she sees the way I live.
I’m not messy. Not like Hunter, but I have let myself go these last few days.
“No. It’s fine. It’s my job to clean after all.”
That’s when I smile, holding up a box of tissues. “True, but it was my idea to have you clean for us. The least I can do.”
She blinks in surprise. “It was?”
My heart thumps as she keeps staring at me, and then I go about cleaning the room again. “Of course. We needed a maid, and I proposed the idea to Prince.”
I sense her shuddering when I mention my cousin’s name, and I try to think of something to say to cheer her up.
She did the same for me. She told me I had a good singing voice, and I’ll be eternally grateful.
From her, that compliment means something.
“If it’s any consolation… I don’t think you would betray us…”
My cheeks blush bright red.
Hers do the same. We really are hopeless.
I’m just glad that I can talk to a woman for once without a drop of alcohol in my body. Maybe I am changing.
Or perhaps Snow is just different.
“Thank you, Casper…” she whispers.
Damn. The way she says my name. I want to hear her whispering my name like that when I slip between her legs, and I shake the thought away, ashamed of myself.
That was my inner villain. Not me.
He wants to get his dick wet between her legs.
Now I have to angle my hips so she doesn’t see my half-mast. I’m such an idiot.
Finally, she lifts her head and grins at me. “You should never be ashamed of such a gift, Casper. I honestly thought I’d heard an angel singing at first when I came in here.”
An angel?
So, not a devil then.
Interesting.
I bow my head, blushing at the compliment. “Thank you, Snow.”
Now we continue in silence, and all the while I keep stealing glances at her, studying her features.
She has a small, upturned nose and a full pout, and the blood rushes hot in my veins again.
When she finishes wiping down surfaces, she grabs her bucket and heads for the door. “Well, I should get going. I have yet to clean Hunter’s wing.”
I wince.
Poor thing.
“Good luck,” I joke. “He’s quite the pig.”
She nods then exits the room, but not before tossing me a sweet smile.
I gaze at the door long after she has gone, and by the time I take a seat, it’s dusk outside my window.
Shit.
I may just have to kill Prince after all.
Because there is no way in hell I am letting him hurt that precious creature.
Snow is fucking mine.