Page 36 of Queen of Blades

“But after that?”

“I haven’t decided.”

“So, I have an hour of safety to plan my next escape.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. Irritation made his head throb. “Do you want to take a shower or not?”

Doing a bit of a double take, she once again blinked at him, wearing a perplexed expression. “Is that an option? I thought we were just talking about food. You are aware thatI can’t hearyour thoughts, right?”

At this point,hedidn’t want to hear his thoughts, but things were what they were. He steepled his fingers, pressed them to his lips, and took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself and sort out his brain.

“While I’m making us sandwiches, do you want to take a shower?” he said slowly, forcing the words to be monotone as his emotions warred within him.

Affection, attraction, duty, confusion, alertness, defense—everything jumbled up, and he couldn’t think straight. He had to get a grip in order to make smart decisions from here on out. No more mistakes or fucking around. He had to figure out a way to stop Harper from setting him off-kilter so easily.

“That would be nice,” she said.

“I will undo your wrists if you promise not to run again. It’s not safe for you out there.”

“It’s only safe for another hour in here.”

“We’ll negotiate that over lunch.”

She lifted her brows, but he couldn’t tell if it was in surprise or not.

“It’s not a secret that none of this has gone to plan.”

After bobbing her head back and forth, as though considering his words, she finally nodded her agreement. Thankfully, she didn’t launch into some sort of tirade about it.

“I need to think about what I’m going to do next. I can’t do that while you’re trying to escape. It will be a thousand times worse for you out there. I assure you of that.” He gestured to the front of the house. “At least you know me and what I’m capable of.If I do kill you, it will be quick and painless. I will look you in the eye when I do it. I’m not a coward.”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. To her credit, she held his gaze throughout their talk. She was tough as fucking nails.

Damn, this woman was under his skin.

“If I cut your restraints, will you run?”

“No.”

19

Harper

Harpergaveuptryingto understand what was going on. She had a better chance at solving world hunger than understanding Paul. Speaking of hunger, she was looking forward to a sandwich. She hadn’t eaten since the wings the night before, and she’d had quite the workout since. A shower also sounded divine. Perhaps a little ceasefire between them was in order.

After cutting the bindings that were digging into her wrists, Paul collected towels, handed them to her, and led her into the bathroom. Once inside, he offered her a new toothbrush and pointed to the toothpaste, shampoo, and soap.

Looking around, she studied the space. It was small, but considering the house, it was efficient. Instead of a tub, there was a subway-tiled shower stall with several showerheads and a bench inside.

He told her how to operate the controls, then left her alone with the water running. Wasting no time, she stripped down and stepped into the warm, surprisingly strong, pressured spray. Her wounds stung, but she tried to ignore it while simultaneously preventing her freshly stitched arm from getting wet. Tilting her face into the water, she enjoyed the feel of it cleansing the blood and dirt from her body.

If only this predicament could be washed away so easily—or her confusion about what would happen next. Alas, she wasn’t so lucky. She’d have to settle for what she could get. Things could be worse. Paul did have a point. There was, apparently, a hefty bounty on her head, and she could be with someone else who wouldn’t be as kind—or dead already.

After scrubbing her skin, she let the warm water beat down on her very sore body. Between getting fucked deliciously raw twice, getting shot, and running for her life, she had endured quite a few scrapes and bruises. So she pampered herself briefly.

Several minutes passed before she decided it was time to exit the shower. Nothing killed a vibe more than running out of hot water. Harper turned off the spray, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped herself in a soft-as-a-cloud towel. This was beyond confusing.

Shaking it off, she brushed her teeth. As she did, she glanced around the counter. No lotion or skin oils. Not a haircare product in sight. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.

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