Page 34 of Vicious
Or he believes that he already has me so cowed that I really will fall in line just for a few benefits.
Regardless, I follow him out of the dungeon room, back through that basement. The upstairs is still the same, with the sun just starting to rise outside.
Past the kitchen is a door into a sunroom, and as soon as we’re inside, the humidity hits me. The pool is surrounded by plants of all kinds, making it look more like an indoor garden than a pool.
I stare at it in wonder. “I guess you have someone who takes care of all these plants, too, huh?” I ask just because I don’t know what else to say.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t have time to keep up with all this.” Chase begins to take off his shirt. “Get naked, May. You don’t want to get your cute pjs all wet.”
“You work a lot,” I say, mostly because I don’t know what else to say. “You could’ve gotten a cat, you know. They require a lot less attention.” I hesitate, then slowly pull the pajama shirt over my head.
Chase laughs. “I had a cat once. But she got too lonely, and it felt stupid to pay for a cat sitter just so I could have animal companionship for a few hours a day. I ended up giving her to a colleague.”
“So you decided to get a human, who requires more attention than a cat,” I say, deadpan. “Are you going to give me to a colleague when I go nuts from the solitude too? Or do I get a babysitter?”
Chase laughs as he steps out of his briefs and pants and sets them with his shirt on the nearby lounger. “You’ll be fine. I believe in your ability to entertain yourself. And I got you the sewing machine, didn’t I?”
I huff, hesitating to take off my own pants. I keep my eyes firmly above his groin, though that gives me a perfect view of his toned chest and face that’s too handsome for a man as loathsome as he is. “I want a TV, too,” I say. “And an e-reader. And maybe I want a damn cat of my own.”
He steps into my personal space and puts his hands on my hips. “I’ll think about it. But come on, let’s get to swimming. I want to see you all wet and dripping.”
I can’t help but blush. “Funny,” I mutter. “You’re freaking hilarious.” But I let him help me push the pants down and set them aside as well, even as my cheeks flame up with humiliation. “You aren’t going to just shove me in the deep end, are you?”
Chase gives me a bemused look. “That would be counterproductive to the learning-to-swim thing. No, we’ll start in the shallow end where you can stand easily. We’ll practice floating first.” He takes my hand and leads me toward the pool stairs.
I shouldn’t be surprised that the water is warm. Of course he has a heated pool. I’m grateful for it, even though I don’t have an excuse about cold water to balk about getting in. I let him guide me into the pool, glad he hasn’t let go of my hand even though I really don’t want him touching me. The water only comes up to my waist, and he coaxes me a little deeper into the water.
It isn’t that I’m afraid of it, not really. But I don’t trust Chase, either, and that leads to a fear I can’t quite ignore. “You should really do your regular swim,” I mumble, trying to take a step back after a moment. “I’ll just watch.”
“It’s fine. Come on.” Chase pulls me a little deeper, until my chest is submerged.
We’re thankfully still near the wall, but it’s somehow already harder to stay standing straight than when more of my body was above water.
Chase tilts his head at me. “Can you submerge your head? Did you take baths as a kid where you dunked your entire head under?”
“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Not my favorite thing to do, though.” Especially when I got too old to pretend I was a mermaid and could breathe underwater, which hadn’t exactly been the best move in retrospect.
“Well, take a deep breath, lower yourself underwater, and blow the air out through your mouth or nose.” Chase takes a breath and plunges down, demonstrating. I see little bubbles rising from his face before he stands up again, completely wet now.
The way the water trails down his face is alluring in a way it shouldn’t be, and I remind myself that he is an evil bastard who likes to rape women who say no to him. Not sexy, even if my body keeps disagreeing with my mind.
Ugh, fuck.
I dismiss those thoughts and try to follow his example. It’s actually harder than I’d expected, and I flail around for a moment as I try to get my entire body under the water. When I come back up, I’m gasping, my hair sticking to my face and water streaming down my body.
Chase puts his hand on my arm to steady me. “Good. Try it a few more times so you can get a hang of the whole holding-your-breath thing.”
I nod, determined to learn this as fast as possible. I never have liked failing, and if Chase is going to bring me upstairs for the sole purpose of swimming, I’ll do my best to learn it so he doesn’t just leave me in that room to rot.
After a few times of getting that right, he offers that cheerful smile of his. “Not bad. Now floating. Lean back. I’ll hold your shoulders while you extend your legs.”
I have to trust him on this, something I’m not very good at doing. But he holds me steady despite my misgivings, and with his help, I manage to stay above water. I can’t help but smile back at him, proud of even this small victory.
Chase grins and kisses my head. “All right. Now try it without my support. Lean back again and I’ll let go.”
“Let go?” I ask, alarmed. “No, I don’t think I’m ready for that part yet.”
“I’m sure you can handle it. And if you can’t, well, I’m here to catch you if you somehow manage to start drowning in shallow water.” Chase squeezes my shoulders. “Get ready.”