Chapter 3 Royally Screwed
Okay, so it turns out that having a man like The General tell me to take my pants off was like holding on to the mast of a sinking ship.
Because instead of swimming to shore, which in my case would have been running to the door, I was intent on clinging on.
Intent on drowning in the name of dignity, despite knowing it was undoubtedly a lost cause.
“It’s a bruised hip, nothing you give me can…
” My sentence trailed off when I saw him pull a glowing glass bottle from a small leather pocket hanging at his side.
One that hooked onto multiple belts that looked like they were mainly used for weapons.
Weapons he had obviously removed for this meeting between us, making me question why?
Had he done so to try to put me at ease?
Well, he was mistaken if he thought that his dominating presence wasn’t weapon enough.
My gaze focused on the bottle in his hand, and my eyes widened when I recognized the metal insignia wrapped around the glass.
“Asclepius.” The word escaped my lips, causing his eyes to widen slightly because of it.
“You know of the God?” he asked, and for some reason, I felt myself blush at the praise I heard in his voice.
“It’s a well-known symbol for health care,” I replied, my voice taking on a strange softness that I didn’t think I would ever hear from myself when around The General. Not when it had been nothing but loathing and bitterness that had fueled my resentment for so long.
But as for now… well, now all I felt was conflicted. Because, after what my uncle had told me, how could I feel the same hatred for The General that I once had? Although even just thinking it, I knew that wasn’t quite right. I wasn’t being honest with myself.
I had always held a strange fascination with him. A fascination that had only grown stronger thanks to dreaming of the man for the past few years. It was as if something had always united us in some way, and I couldn’t help but glance down at my wrists, knowing what was hidden beneath the material.
The thought led my mind down memory lane and back to his reaction to them. Something that gave me enough cause to wonder if he too questioned the connection between us, or whether he already knew.
I had so many questions, but that was part of the reason I was here, wasn’t it? A chance to get my answers, even if a lot of them had changed now that I knew the truth.
“That may be so, but not many know of its origins as you do,” he said, placing the bottle down next to me, bringing me back to my present situation. And once again, was that praise I had just heard in his tone?
“I wanted to be a veterinarian,” I said, offering a piece of myself freely. But then I felt foolish when he replied softly,
“Yes, I know.” Because of course he knew… After all, he had read it from my journal.
I swallowed hard and muttered a sour, “Of course, you do.”
He didn’t respond to this, instead nodding down at my legs, reminding me that I hadn’t yet done as he asked.
But that had something to do with the fact that the situation took me back to a few days ago.
Back to when I had been in a similar situation, only with a very different man asking me to take down my pants.
My thoughts instantly went to Riley as the guilt washed over me.
The memory of him jumping into the river hit me hard…
the way he had cried out my name, desperate for me to follow him.
But then how could I continue to regret that single second of hesitation that had gripped me?
As that was all it had taken. A single moment in time had managed to tip fate in my favor for once.
Although now, I couldn’t help but question at what cost?
I knew what I had gained by being captured, especially when it meant being reunited with my uncle.
I was so conflicted. The memory of being in his truck and the way it had felt when Riley had asked me to remove my pants… Admittedly, it wasn’t the same as when The General had just done it.
My heart was still pounding hard in my chest, every single feeling amplified… more so than when that order had come from Riley. From the man I had once thought held my heart completely.
“I can feel your trepidation, Alexandra,” he said softly, and due to my nervousness, I couldn’t help the bubble of uneasy laughter that escaped my throat.
“Er, what…? Me, nervous…? No, not at all… I er, am fine, dandy even,” I said, wanting to smack my own head and scream internally for me to shut the hell up!
I mean, who the fuck used the word dandy anymore!
? Thankfully, the insane babble on my side ended when he smirked down at me as he stepped closer.
Something that had my mouth dropping before he then hooked a crooked finger under my chin and lifted my face up, effectively closing my lips.
“I guarantee, if I wished for you to remove your clothes for any other reason, you would know about it, because I wouldn’t be asking.”
My eyes widened at this, and shame filled me as I took it for what it was… a foretold rejection.
“No, of course, I mean this is… between us, is nothing but a friendship… well, not a friendship per se, but like a mutual er… colleague thing,” I jabbered embarrassingly, wishing more than anything that the Rift could swallow me whole!
But his expression was one of shock before understanding dawned, and again I wished his body hadn’t been blocking me in.
I wanted nothing more than to slink away and pretend that this conversation was a thing of the past. No such luck, of course.
Not when he lowered his head closer to mine and whispered,
“I would not be asking, because I would be the one removing them for myself… so don’t ever mistake me for being your friend, nor your fucking colleague, little bird.”
It was my turn to look shocked, and before I could stop myself, with my voice annoyingly vulnerable, I asked, “Then what are you?”
He straightened, giving me back my much-needed space before my brain short-circuited, and I was already playing out his words on repeat.
“Right now, I am the man asking you to remove your pants,” he rumbled, his tone so deep that it felt like there were too many hidden emotions to unravel.
I was thankful when he took another step back. Although that thanks ended when he folded his thick, muscular arms and nodded down at me expectantly.
So, with no other choice, I slipped off the desk slowly and unbuckled my belt, trying not to focus on the way he watched me.
His gaze darkened as I slipped my button through the hole and lowered my zipper.
The sound echoing in the silence, its sexual implications making for an erotic backdrop, one I tried to force myself to ignore.
Although any wishes for an expression of indifference on his part were not something that came to fruition, and I swear, I caught his eyes glowing white for the barest of seconds. In fact, it could have been longer, but I wouldn’t have known for sure, not when my eyes lowered out of cowardice.
So instead, I focused on the task at hand and tried to make it as methodical as possible.
Although that was easier said than done, because my hands started to shake.
Something he could no doubt see. I was just thankful that he didn’t say anything about it, I already knew how mocking he could be.
Which made me wonder why not now? When this would have been the perfect opportunity to do so.
Instead, he waited until my khaki combat pants were down my thighs before making his next move.
When I winced trying to get back on the table, he stepped closer and said in a soft rumble of words, “Here, allow me.”
Then, before I could protest, his hands were framing my waist, and he was once again lifting me up so that I didn’t have to struggle.
His strength took my breath away, the ease with which he lifted me made it seem as if I didn’t weigh anything at all.
But even more astounding was what he did next.
It was like he knew how much I was struggling, and instead of preying on my weakness, he started talking.
Doing so as if in hopes of putting me at ease.
“The God Asclepius was the son of the God Apollo and the mortal Coronis. He started life as a mortal physician and was renowned for his ability to restore health. However, it was his skills in reviving the dead that enraged both Hades and Zeus,” he told me as he removed his gloves, showing me a pair of manly hands that surprisingly looked as if they had known decades of hard work.
That, or he had fought in countless battles, because his skin was peppered with thin white scars, with his knuckles seemingly holding the worst of them.
It was as if he had once been a bare-knuckle fighter at one point in his life.
But whatever it was, it told me enough to know the guy clearly didn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
Large hands that I was strangely fascinated with as I watched them with open curiosity.
Especially as they picked up the bottle and popped the metal cap with a flick of his thumb.
He shook some of the shimmering contents onto his palm as he continued to speak in that soothing, hypnotic voice of his.
One that felt like it had the power to lure me under whatever spell he felt the need to weave around me.
A voice that, in this moment, seemed to be centered on putting me at ease as it was clear his order for me to remove my pants had made me nervous.
The shimmering liquid stayed coating his palms like oil, refusing to soak into the skin. Which I gathered was for good reason, as he soon brought them toward the top of my thigh, making me tense. Something that was enough to give him cause to start talking once more.