Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
“Can I ask questions?”
“We won’t play until you’re more comfortable with me,” he said suddenly. “And before we do, I’ll go through protocol. I’ll tell you when I want high protocol. That will mean no talking without permission, no arguments, no sass. You’ll always have a way to safeword out. Any other time, I expect you to ask as many questions as you desire.”
“Oh. Okay.” There was so much to think about in that.
“What was your question?” he prompted as he crouched and opened the cupboard doors.
“Why are you running me a bath?” She took a sniff of herself. “Do I stink?”
Oh God.
That was it, wasn’t it?
She stunk.
He stood up, holding some bubble bath.
“What? No, of course you don’t smell.”
“Then why?” she asked.
Salem stared at her for so long that she started to feel really self-conscious.
“Have you never taken a bath just to relax? For fun?”
Uh.
No.
But she should have guessed that. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that people took baths for fun. It’s just that she never had. She wasn’t sure that she’d ever lived anywhere with access to a bath.
And if she had, she wasn’t sure that she would have taken the time to relax.
It wasn’t something she really knew how to do.
“You haven’t, have you?” Salem said.
Tamsyn braced herself for questions and the fact that she was going to have to lie to him.
God.
She was really starting to hate this.
And it was likely only going to get worse.
“Don’t worry, Little one. We’ll show you how to relax and let yourself be pampered.”
“You guys don’t really seem the type to relax or be pampered.”
He smiled and she swore her heart stopped. Salem didn’t smile a lot, but when he did, he looked younger and sexier.
Lord, what the man couldn’t do with that smile.
“You’d be surprised.”
He turned away and poured some bubble bath into the water. Ooh.
She’d always wanted to use bubble bath. It looked so fun. She’d likely had baths with bubbles before as a child, but they were kind of a distant memory.
Wiggling around on the counter, she nearly slid off.
Salem turned and gave her a firm look. “Did I tell you that you could move?”
“Um. No.”
“Then stay where you are.”
She let out a small squeak and slid further back on the counter so there was no risk of her sliding off.
“That’s better. You could fall off and hurt yourself and we don’t want that. When I put you somewhere you have to wait until I come back and get you.”
Fall off and hurt herself?
Like that was going to happen. She was about four feet off the ground. How would she hurt herself?
But she also didn’t want to risk upsetting him, so she stayed where she was.
He tested the water temperature, swirling the water around before turning off the taps.
Then he moved back to her, cupping her face in his hands. “I really want to undress you.”
He did?
Her eyes widened as she stared at him.
“I want to strip you and place you in the bath. And then I want to wash every inch of your gorgeous skin. I wouldn’t miss an inch of you. I’d have to make sure that you were very, very clean. So I might have to wash you twice. Once with a cloth and once with my hands.”
Oh Lord.
She could picture that. All too clearly.
“Would you like that, Pet?” he murmured.
“I . . . yes. Are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know if you’re ready for that.”
Maybe not. But she wanted it. And that had to count for something, right?
“I want to be.”
He gave her a gentle smile. “I want that too. I’m going to let you strip off and get in. Then I’ll come check on you. But you might want some space and that’s all right. I know we’re a lot.”
He was being so . . . so reasonable.
And she wasn’t sure she liked it.
What was going on with her? She watched as he left and she felt like crying.
You cannot cry.
This isn’t who you are.
Tamsyn took a few deep breaths.
Keep calm.
God. She wasn’t sure she liked being like this.
Turning, she stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, then she glanced away. She hated looking at herself in the mirror. It was something she tried to avoid.
There was a knock on the door and it made her jump. “Yes?”
“It’s just me. I was checking that you were in the bath. Are you all right?”
“Don’t come in,” she said in a high-pitched voice.
Crap.
“Tamsyn? Are you all right?”
“I’m . . . I’m on the toilet.” She closed her eyes.
Great. She was doing so well at this not lying thing. Also at communication. That had all flown out the window.
To make certain that she wasn’t lying, she rushed over the toilet and sat on it. Then she realized she had to pee and quickly took off her pants and panties.