Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Candy
I wake to a soft knock on my door.
Jerking up, I blink my eyes, trying to clear the fog over my mind.
Why am I sitting in my kitchen?
But that’s when the lock turns on its own. I start to scramble up and then notice the blood on the doorknob and on the floor in the shape of a handprint. My hand.
The details come flooding back as the door opens, a large male figure filling the doorway. “Candy.”
“Sver?”
But he doesn’t answer. Instead, he takes a wet rag that smells of bleach and begins meticulously wiping down the doorknob before he closes the door.
He crosses to me and does the same with my floor.
I stare at him, not saying a word as he picks me up in his arms and heads for the only door in the apartment, the one for the bathroom.
I don’t question it as I curl into him, making myself as small as possible.
He steps into the tiny bathroom, the door hitting the sink like it always does, as he sets my feet on the floor, his other arm tightly around me. Then he turns on the shower.
My eyes close as he starts to strip off my clothes. “Can you stand in the shower?”
“Yes.”
He lifts me and places me in the tepid spray, grabbing the bar of soap as he starts to scrub. “Shampoo your hair.”
I grab the bottle and squirt some into my hand. I’m exhausted and numb, as I half-heartedly scrub.
He sets the soap down and starts to massage the shampoo through my hair for me. In my whole life, I have no memory of anyone bathing me like this, ever.
When I was kid, I was dirty a lot. The other kids made fun of me all through elementary school.
It’s what started my obsession with the beauty industry.
I wanted to be pretty and clean like the other girls.
As I got older, I kept the obsession with beauty products but started using my skill to look different, express myself instead of trying to blend in.
Sver turns me, tipping my head back so that my hair is in the spray. His hands run down the strands, helping the shampoo wash out of my hair.
“What happened to the other guy? Pablo?” I ask, my eyes closed. I don’t want to see if he’s lying.
“Don’t worry about him.”
I draw in a jagged breath. “He was sent by Marco.”
“I know.”
“Marco will come again.” A violent shiver moves through me. “I think it’s time for me to leave New York.”
“Marco is never coming again,” Sver says with a firmness that makes my eyes pop open. There is nothing in his eyes. No malice. No anger. Just…truth.
“Really?” I draw in a jagged gulp of air. “How do you know?”
“I know.”
He’s using a cloth to remove all of the soap, and the feel of his hand moving steadily over my body helps soothe my jangled nerves. “I should have left a long time ago. I’ve just only ever lived in New York. I…”
“Hush, my sweet treat. Right now, the only thing you need to worry about is getting some sleep.”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure sleeping is a good idea. What if…”
“No what ifs.” And then he steps away, stripping off his own clothes and stepping into the tiny shower with me.
He picks me up again and moves me to the back of the shower as he steps in and scrubs himself with surgical precision.
Then I’m back in the water for a second wash down. Did he get more blood on me? I lean into his chest anyway.
I just watched this man kill two people like it was…nothing. “You know that night we met in Vegas?”
“Yeah.”
“When you said something about killing Vinnie…”
“You know what I am thanks to Angel, don’t you?”
I nod against his chest. If there had been any doubt, everything that’s happened confirms everything Angel said. “Are you going to kill me?”
His brows lift. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” I lean back on his chest. I’m not even sure I care. I’m tired of fighting. He gathers me closer.
“First, we are going to get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
“And then we’re going to figure out how we keep you away from any more danger.” He turns the water off.
Grabbing my towel, he towels me off and then himself.
Both of us naked, he carries me to my bed and then settles me under the covers before he slides in next to me. I don’t hesitate as I curl into him, my head coming to his chest.
His hand wraps around me as he gathers me closer. “Sleep now, milaya, knowing that I’m here and that no one will hurt you as long as you’re at my side.”
I sigh out my contentment and then slip into sleep, my body exhausted and my mind apparently at his command.
I wake with a jerk, my apartment filled with light.
I’m alone in the bed, and I instantly sit up, attempting to understand what was real and what was a dream. “You’re awake.”
My gaze swings to Sver, sitting in my one chair, fully dressed and completely groomed. I shove the hair out of my face. “What time is it?”
“One.”
“Shit.” I scrub my hands over my cheeks. “I’m supposed to be at work in an hour.”
“You’re not going.”
I blink at him and then realize I’m naked and the covers have fallen down to my waist. I yank them up over my chest even as I shake my head. “I have to go. Without the job I can’t afford to live here. I can barely make rent as it is and—”
“Let me worry about that.”
My mouth drops open. What is even happening? “I really appreciate that, but you don’t owe me anything.”
“Not true, though I don’t want to explain now. Call in. Get yourself ready while I make breakfast. Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” I sigh out, caffeine sounding like the best idea ever.
“I’ll make it now. Need a shower?”
I know we just showered, but I can’t start my day without one. I nod, even as I hold the covers up to my chest. I know he’s seen me naked a couple of times, but it still seems weird.
He stands from the chair and walks over to the bed, lightly touching my cheek. “Candy Cane—”
“That’s a new one.”
“It’s my personal favorite.” He smiles. “Later tonight, I have every intention of being buried deep inside you again. Shy is not necessary.”
“Oh.”
It’s not that I don’t understand myself. When it comes to hotly dangerous men I turn to Jell-O and fit into the mold they’re offering. But this might be a new level.
I watched him murder two men and then I just let him give me a nice scrub down, and now…he’s dictating my work schedule, breakfast, and telling me when we’ll be having sex. “I feel like I shouldn’t allow you to boss me around like this.”
He smiles and then leans down, kissing me as his fingers bury into the hair at my nape. When he pulls back there is a different gleam in his eye. “Would you like me to solve several of these—issues that have been plaguing you?”
Part of me wants to scream yes. I’m dying inside for a little care…a little support. But I shake my head. “I’m not sure.”
“Why not?”
I shrug. “We both know every time I get involved with a guy, my life gets way worse.”
He smiles down at me then. “I’m not some young hothead, Candy. I’m a man who knows his business and how to manage it.”
“Oh, I know. I’m pretty sure I’m the young hothead who can’t manage her shit.”
He pushes me back, laying me down as he pulls the covers away from my body. “Maybe. But you’re also gorgeous, generous, and kind. So let me help you.”
I nip at my lips even as his hand slides down my neck and over my collarbone.
Despite my reservations, I find my body arching to thrust my breasts up. “Appealing to my base instincts rather than my intellect. Smart.”
He chuckles even as he cups one of my breasts, his thumb flicking over the nipple. “Do as I say for today, Candy. We can discuss the merits of taking my instructions after we’ve worked out a few details.”
“Fine,” I answer with a nod, so relieved for the excuse to let him lead.
I’m shit at running my life anyway. I’m just even worse at picking men to run it for me. Which tracks.
But that means the decision I’m making right now to listen to him…
It’s likely a terrible idea.