Page 26 of King of Wrath
My mouth opens to tell her I can help her with that after, if it’s what she really wants. I don’t even know if I’m lying. But she’s not done. “And they might have let me go when I hadn’t betrayed them. But your announcement of our engagement, it makes me a target.”
My head dips and my eyes close because I know she’s right. I really have trapped her. I knew this already, but it felt different when I didn’t know her. Didn’t have the feel of her skin imprinted on my nerve endings. When I thought of her as some mafia princess and not as a beautifully strong woman who has been hurt by Toni too. Maybe hurt by him the most.
Who I am hurting. Fuck. I came here to protect women. Kim. Charlotte. I’m never going to be the man who marries. I’m not the one who builds the empire. But I am the general who defends it. And then I am the man who gets out before it’s too late. Before the darkness closes in.
It was just never supposed to be a war against an innocent.
“Let me help you dress.” I get up, feeling restless. I’m going to have to work out again. I usually don’t even like working out once. I’m just naturally muscular. But with Nia around, I’m crawling out of my skin. I have all this pent-up energy that’s just looking for an outlet. Add my absolute need to beat her father into a bloody pulp and I’m ready to do a few rounds in the ring.
“I’m all right,” she says, but doesn’t move. Letting out the smallest sigh, because touching her isn’t going to help, I peel back the rest of the wet shower curtain, pulling the covers up over her body instead. I try not to note the freckle on her hip, the curve of her ass, the dark hair between her legs…
Pushing up, I cross the room and open the closet, a wide array of female clothing hangs on the rod.
“What is that?” she says from her spot on the bed. I make the mistake of looking back at her. She looks just as good from afar, I swear, the roundness of her breasts and hips, her narrow waist on full display underneath the sheet.
I turn back to the closet, trying to cover the fact that my cock just got rock hard. “What is what?”
“All that clothing.”
“They’re yours,” I answer with a small smile.
“They are not mine. I brought two changes of clothes because that was all I could successfully hide in the bushes.”
I pull out a dress, spaghetti straps, with a simple floral pattern. Exactly what she likes. Roman helped me with the sizes, not that I’m telling Nia that. But I chose the pattern. It’s white with small blue daisies, the exact color I remembered her eyes to be. “I think you’re going to need more than two outfits.”
She sits up, holding the sheet to her chest, “You really did prepare for this.”
My hand clenches on the hanger, we’re back to that. I didn’t realize just how shitty I was going to feel about what I’d done, taking her like that. What a fucking time to develop a conscience.
“I wanted you to be comfortable.” It’s lame and I know it.
“I’d like to finish my shower,” she says quietly. “Do you think you could clean out the snake?”
“Of course,” I answer, carefully laying the dress on the bed. Heading into the bathroom, I remove the evidence, and wash out the shower. I rehang the tension rod then return to the bedroom to get the wet curtain from the floor and rehang it.
She appears with the sheet wrapped around her, her hair gathered over one shoulder. Fuck me, she looks so good, I just want to touch her again, run my hand over her skin.
I want to trace those marks on her body and make them disappear.
I underestimated how tempting being trapped in a small house with a beautiful woman was going to be.
“Shower is ready,” I say, my voice rougher than I intended. She steps closer to me, large blue eyes staring up at me with worry shining in them as she nips at her lip.
I want to pull her close so badly my hands itch and I dig my fingertips into my palms. “Will you…” She starts, her gaze darting away. “I’m feeling really anxious…” She shifts, and I can’t fight my need to touch her anymore.
I reach a hand up and lightly grasp her shoulder. “What is it you need, sweetheart?”
I feel her tremble. Does she have any idea what she’s doing to me? This need to comfort her, protect her, is pulling me as tight as a stringed bow. This is what I wanted, to earn her trust. But somehow, I’m slipping into my web too. I want to protect her as much as I want her to confide in me. “Will you stay right outside the bathroom?”
In answer, my hand still on her shoulder, I reach into the shower and turn on the water. When it’s warm enough for her to step in, I finally ease back toward the door, turning my back to her. I don’t close the door.
“Want to hear a story about my father?” I ask.
“All right,” I hear the sheet drop to the floor and the curtain open as she steps in the spray.
That snake did me a fucking favor, if I’m in the bathroom with her while she showers. I’m still going to have to figure out how the thing managed to get in, though. We can’t be showering with snakes.
But this moment, this is more than I could have ever hoped for. And yet, my next words are not just about the game I’m playing. I actually want her to understand me too.