Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
When the water is two-thirds full, he flips off the taps and sets me on my feet. I barely have a chance to reach for the hem of my shirt when he lightly smacks my hand out of the way.
And then the bastard cuts me out of my clothes with the wicked-looking spurs at the bending points of his wings.
It happens so fast, I’m still trying to process the fact that it’s happening at all when I’m standing there before him. Naked. Did I really think I could control this man? That he wouldn’t notice or care if I left?
I have made a terrible mistake.
I expect him to fall on me like a ravening beast, but he simply stands there and stares. It’s almost worse. I can’t remember the last time I felt this vulnerable. It takes everything I have to keep my hands at my sides and not try to cover myself—it would be ineffectual and would convey my fear all too clearly.
Finally, Bram stirs to life. With the flick of his wrist, his loincloth falls to the ground, and then he’s just as naked as I am. Now it’s my turn to stare. I knew he was larger than me, and I admit that part of me wondered if he was in proportion everywhere, but seeing it without any covering is a different experience altogether. I’d tried to convince myself that the very clear outline I saw earlier was simple a trick of the fabric.
It wasn’t. His cock is fucking huge. It’s also so hard that it looks painful. There’s something strange about the shape, but he turns and descends into the bath before I can identify what.
He takes up a position facing me, his wings sliding easily into the curves of the tub. “The web will dissolve in water. You’re not getting into my bed covered in that shit.”
His harsh words snap me out of the reverie I fell into when I saw his cock. “You’re the one who wants me in your bed. Now you’re going to be picky on how I get there?”
“Yes.”
Another time, I might dig my heels in out of sheer spite. But the truth is that I want the webs off my skin and out of my hair just as much as he does. More. As long as I don’t move, I can almost pretend they’re not there. But every time I shiver, the stickiness makes my stomach twist into knots.
Even though the tub is deep, there aren’t any stairs. It’s downright awkward to step into it, and Bram doesn’t offer to help. It’s just as well. I would throw his help right back in his face.
Except . . . the water does feel good. I slip under the surface immediately and scrub my hands through my hair almost compulsively. By the time I rise back to the surface, the webs are all but gone. Thank fuck.
But without the webs to distract me, the reality of my situation slams home. I’m naked, in a bathtub with an equally naked Bram. For his part, he just sits there with that immovable look on his face that makes me want to throw myself against him until one of us shatters.
He knows I plan to leave again.
If he catches me, he’ll bring me back again and fuck me.
I shiver at the thought, and I can’t begin to say if it’s fear or lust causing the physical reaction. If I could see my own aura, I wouldn’t be able to lie to myself like that, so it’s just as well that I can’t. Bram might have me over a barrel with this bargain, but that doesn’t mean I have to play the whimpering, terrified human to his monster. I’ll make him regret ever having me in his bed as part of the terms.
I duck under the water again to ensure the last of the webs are gone. When I rise, it’s to stand before him. The tub is deep enough that the water comes up to my waist, but that leaves my breasts on full display. He notices too. His attention fastens on my chest; he can’t seem to make himself look away.
Something almost like power surges inside me. I intended to stay out of this man’s bed, but now that the choice is taken away from me, I feel a little free As if, for the first time in my life, I don’t have to worry about being palatable to a lover. I can just be me. “You’ve made a mistake, and now I’m going to make you choke on it.”
He lifts a single dark brow. “You’re so quick with your words, and yet your actions never follow through. Do it.”
I flush at the reminder that I broke my word. Oh well. We’re here now, and I have no interest in making sure this train stays on the tracks. I cross to him before I can think of all the reasons I shouldn’t, and it’s like once I’m in motion, all my reservations fall away. I can tell myself I don’t have a choice, but the truth is that he’s not doing a single thing except sitting there, watching me with a challenge in his light eyes. He doesn’t think I’ll follow through on this. That, more than anything, spurs me on.