Chapter 10 #2
Even if I escaped, I’d be right back in the same predicament I was in that drove me to him, only this time I’d have a larger target on my back. I wouldn’t last twenty-four hours.
But why hasn't he killed me?
“Good. I like that you’re behaving yourself.”
I swallow and look away. I don’t want him to know that I…like his praise. I have to remember to hate him.
I watch as he reaches one of his thick, inked fingers to test the temperature of the shower. When he seems satisfied with the temperature, he begins to strip.
Strip.
I mean, what did I think we were doing in the shower?
He’s getting into the shower with me.
He’s…coming in the shower with me. Like we’re…lovers.
I swallow.
I’m going to see him…naked.
And worst of all, when he’s done…it’s my turn.
“Mikhail,” I whisper. But when he looks at me, I don’t respond because I honestly don’t know what I want to say. Instead, I watch as his clothes fall to the floor. I look away, my cheeks flaming.
I’ve never seen a man like him this close, and definitely never naked.
I steal a glance back and quickly note heavily inked arms, rippling with strength.
Golden skin, and a sculpted physique that speaks of a man that’s never fully at rest. A man who’s trained to use his body like a weapon, laced with so many tattoos, I know they must tell a story.
Broad shoulders flex as he pulls off his tee, revealing more tattoos and defined abs. When he tosses his tee into the hamper, it hits the side and slithers down. I watch the muscles ripple in his back, showcasing another intricate map of ink, but he turns before I note what it is.
And then his boxers. My cheeks burn hotter as I stare into his eyes because I am not looking there. Nope. I need to get into that shower, so…I guess it’s…my turn.
I’ve never stripped in front of a man before. While I’m not exactly a virgin, the sex I’ve had was in the dark and absolutely forgettable. Something tells me that sex with him would be scorched into my mind for eternity. I mean, if I survived it.
I reach for my tee when he narrows his eyes at me, spins me around, and claps his hand against my ass.
“Hey!”
“You do not undress yourself.”
I swallow and stare over my shoulder at him. “What?”
“You heard me, little hacker,” he says in that low drawl of an accent. “That job belongs to me and you will not take it from me.”
Standing there fully naked, he turns me to face him and reaches for my top. He rests his hands on my hips for a brief second before he lifts my top over my head. My breasts swing free. Next, he reaches for my panties and drags them down my legs.
My cheeks heat with embarrassment and I turn away when I’m fully naked.
I feel his hand on my chin.
“Why do you look away, Aria?”
Aria, not little hacker.
“I’m naked,” I say. Isn’t it obvious? I’m ashamed of standing front of him with nothing to hide me.
“You’re beautiful,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You belong to me now, and you will not hide what belongs to me.”
I. Belong. To him.
Is that my…punishment?
“What does that mean?” I whisper, my voice trembling.
“You will see.”
I’m so nervous. Wordlessly, he balls my clothes and tosses them into the hamper in the corner of the room.
“Ten points for Russia,” I murmur.
His eyes melt into an almost-smile before he takes my hand in one of his massive hands, sliding his other down the length of my body.
“Ten points for America.”
I swallow the feeling of pleasure his praise gives me.
It isn’t real. This isn’t real.
I watch as he steps into the shower. The steaming hot water slides down his belly, rivulets cascading down the contours of his muscles. Every inch of him speaks of power, strength, and almost…majesty. A part of me’s still in awe.
This bathroom is enormous. The shower is one of those huge ones that you would imagine football players use, because they need to accommodate big men.
“Medication can make people shaky sometimes. Do not let go of me.”
He stands a full head taller than me so I stand right at his collarbone.
I want to ask him what he means about me belonging to him, about the expectations he has for me. It’s confusing and unnerving and I’m afraid of what it really means.
He’ll use me as a prostitute? His slave?
Until he thinks I’ve paid my dues?
I watch as he takes a pink loofah and squirts white bodywash on it. "Turn around."
I turn to give him my back. When he steps closer to me, I feel his hardened length pressed up against me. Oh, God. This is it. This is where he’s going to take me.
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
The suds and exfoliator feel so good on my back and shoulders I stifle a moan.
One of his arms snakes around my body and holds me flat against him.
His hand spans the length of my abdomen, his thumb pressed up against the underside of my breast, his fingers reaching down…
much, much lower. I’m dizzy as I feel his erection between us and the familiar way he moves his fingers over my body.
Is it getting hot in here? Because all this has me feeling a little dizzy.