Page 39 of Assassin's Mark
The menace threading through the words made them sound like anything but a compliment. My heartbeat kicked into high gear.
“Get up.”
I had little choice unless I wanted to end up bald. A bubble of hysteria tried to choke me as I rose on wobbly legs, the throbbing ache in my knees echoing the sickening thud of my heart. This was the downsideof power—it only mattered until you came up against a stronger source, and Levi was the strongest source of power I’d ever met. “What—”
His hands slid from my hair. “Out. Dry off.”
“But—”
“Now!”
I turned my back, grabbed a fresh towel, and dragged it roughly over my skin. What the hell had I done? Why had I decided to—
Stop it, Abby.
I took a deep breath. Worrying and wondering would getme nowhere. I’d done that with my father for years, trying to find the best avenue to please him, agonizing over every decision and every word until I thought I’d go insane. Levi might have control of my body, but I wouldn’t give him control of my mind. I couldn’t, not if I wanted to survive.
A final swipe of my legs for any last traces of water, and then I turned back to my captor. Levi’s graygaze bored into me.
He held his hand out for my towel. As he hung it up, I noticed that his clothes were gone. I’d been listening to my neurotic inner voice; he’d been undressing. When he faced me again, my gaze dropped immediately to the stiffness of his penis. My mouth went dry.
“Into the bedroom,” he demanded.
It took a moment, but I finally gathered enough saliva to choke out, “Why?”
“Because you’ve been a naughty little bird, Abby.” He stepped closer, and I managed not to flinch as his hand came up to cup my jaw firmly. “And naughty little birds deserve punishment.”
