Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
I smelled the stench from said basement and decided I didn’t care. I just wanted to get clean. Enjoy warm water on my body. If some female was with him and okay with what he was doing to me, then it was her soul that needed to worry about it. Not mine.
Heading back into the shower cave, which was basically what it was, I studied the knobs, trying to decide what was what. The red on one of them meant hot—that much I knew—so I turned it, and water began to come from above my head and not the showerheads. A small squeal escaped me as it poured down over my head like rainfall. It wasn’t warm yet, and the jolt of cold water had been unexpected.
I messed with the other knobs until I had both showerheads and the rain shower all at the same time. The warm water was closer to hot now, and I stood there and let it hit me from all sides. Sighing in pleasure, I wasn’t sure I would ever leave this spot. The idea of going back to the basement seemed abhorrent. This was so wonderful.
Was there anything else I could tell Oz that might get him to reward me with sleeping in the bedroom?
I shook my head at my thought. That was weak and selfish. I wasn’t going to hand over my brother to killers so I could sleep in a bed.
But was there anyone else?
NO! Stop it, Winslet, I mentally scolded myself.
I tilted my head back as the water hit my face, and I decided I would enjoy every moment of this in case it was a while before I got it again. I refused to believe that I’d not make it out of this situation alive. Oz was…well, a bad guy, but I did not see real evil in his eyes. Although I hadn’t looked into his eyes when he had that gun pointed at me. I hoped I wasn’t being blinded by his beauty, but I didn’t think I was.
There was some good in him deep down. There had to be. Because if there wasn’t—no, I didn’t want to think of that. I wanted to live in the moment. And this moment was a good one.
The clock in the bedroom said it was after nine, which meant I had spent over three hours in the bathroom. First the shower, then a long soak in the bubble bath. Remarkably, this place didn’t seem to run out of hot water. I’d kept refreshing the tub with hot water in between dozing off. With a clean body, fresh breath, and a change of clothing, I felt like a new woman.
My hair was still slightly damp when I brushed it again after getting dressed, so I left it alone to air-dry, hanging down my back. Wrapping my arms around my body, I stood in the center of the bedroom, unsure of what to do now. I was locked in, and I was okay with that. Leaving this room meant I would be led back to the dark basement. I wasn’t ready to go back there.
I decided to look out the windows. See as much of the sunshine as I could. I pulled back a drape and realized it wasn’t a window, but a door. There was a small balcony outside of it. Wanting to feel the warmth from the summer sun on my skin, I reached for the handle, but stopped before turning it. An alarm could go off. Then, Oz would come get me.
My hand dropped back to my side. I’d just look at the sun. Not feel it. I wasn’t chancing cutting this short. We were surrounded by oak trees—very old ones—and lush green grass, and through some of the trees, I could see open pasture, but there weren’t any animals grazing on the land. In fact, there was nothing other than a few birds and two squirrels in the front yard.
Oz hadn’t been lying. We were secluded out here. I wondered again whose house this was. Oz hadn’t answered that question, other than to say he wouldn’t own a place like this with clear distaste in his tone. I agreed that the history of homes such as this one in the South wasn’t good. It was awful. But it wasn’t the house’s fault; it was the people who had built it and lived here once.
Glancing over to the bed, I felt the overwhelming urge to climb under the covers and close my eyes. The small naps I’d gotten in the tub were nice, but a real deep sleep sounded amazing. I listened for footsteps and heard nothing. I didn’t know when this would end. I might as well take advantage of it while I could. Not wasting any more time debating it, I hurried over to the bed and pulled back the velvet coverlet and sheet, then climbed inside.