Page 155 of Merciless

I watch her go, her hips swaying as I imagine what she might look like with my handprint branded on her ass.

“I know you’re staring.”

“I’m not trying to hide it,” I counter.

Lifting my eyes from her ass, I take in the soft curve of her back until I get up to her eyes, where she’s looking back at me over her shoulder.

“So I guess you’re watching, not joining then?” she says temptingly.

“You’ve no idea how much I’d love to join you right now,” I confess as water sluices down her body. “But I’ve got jobs to do.”

“Ah, Big Man cracking the whip,” she says, reaching up and running her hands through her hair, making her back arch and her tits thrust forward.

“I know what you’re doing,” I warn.

“Showering. What gave me away? Was it the water?”

“Cute.”

“So, what did he say? Did you find him with his cock in his hand watching our porno?”

“Nope,” I confess. “He went out.”

“Oh,” she says, turning her back on me and grabbing the bottle of shampoo.

“You sound disappointed, Dove. Did the idea of him up there watching us turn you on?”

“You know it did.”

“Bit of an exhibitionist, huh?”

“I guess you’ll have to find out if I’m ever allowed out of here.”

“We’ll make it happen,” I promise her.

She shakes her head and steps back under the spray to wash the soap from her hair.

She doesn’t call me out on my bullshit, and I don’t say anything else.

I want to believe that I’ll watch her climb those stairs and rejoin the world, but honestly, I’ve no idea where Reid’s head is at, at the moment or what he really wants from her.

Something tells me that no matter how much he tortures her, he’s never going to get the secrets he thinks she’s keeping.

Or is what he discovered earlier what he needed?

I’ve no idea what either of them said to each other earlier but whatever it was affected both of them. And I have a suspicion that it’s part of the reason for the mess upstairs and his absence.

“Take your time, yeah? I’m going to be right out there sorting some stuff out.”

Slowly, I back out of the room, regretting my decision to leave her but also knowing it’s the right thing to do.

* * *

“What are you doing?” a soft female voice asks, making my movements falter.

She moves closer, her sweet cherry scent fills my nose, and when I look over, I’m pretty sure my heart skips a beat.

She’s dressed in the tank and boxers I left for her, but it’s more than that. She looks… relaxed. Happy even.