Page 43 of Debt to the Mafia King
This wouldn’t be any different.
Stretching my arms above my head, I yawned. I wasn’t sure how it was possible when all I did was sleep, but I was still tired.
“Another day in paradise,” I said to the empty room.
“The first sign of madness is talking to yourself, Leah.” Viktorrumbled from the bathroom. He appeared a few seconds later. His naked chest rippled with water, with a towel perilously low on his hips.
He looked good. How had I forgotten how good he looked? For a second, I let my eyes travel down the hard expanse of his chest before meeting his eyes. “What are you doing in here?”
A dark eyebrow arched. “I’m showering, which is something you should probably do. I don’t appreciate the new earthy smell you seem to be emitting.” His full lips thinned. “When was the last time you showered and dressed for the day, Leah?”
From my place on my throne of pillows, I stared at him. “How long have I been locked in here?”
“Almost three weeks.”
I did a double-take. Three weeks? He had left me locked in my room for three whole weeks? That meant we had been married almost a month already.
Time really did fly when you were having fun. I rolled my eyes at the thought and my lips twitched.
“What’s so funny?” Viktor cocked his head to the side.
“Nothing.” Schooling my face into a frown, I sighed. “I guess the last time I showered was the day you snuck into my room.”
Viktors eyes glittered. “The night I licked you out until you were screaming my name and—”
“You didn’t come back.”
“Some things came up, and anyway.” He took a step towards me and paused, his nose wrinkling. “Sometimes a little distance makes all the difference. And it worked because you sound like you’ve missed me?”
Had I missed him? Yes and no. Yes, because, apart from the staff who brought my tray in every day, I hadn’t had any other human interaction, and even arguing with Viktor was better than nothing at all.
Throwing his head back, he laughed. “You should shower and dress today, Leah. Breakfast will be served in the dining room in an hour.”
My head snapped up, and at first, I wasn’t sure I had heard him right. “In the dining room?” I parroted back.
“Yes, unless you want to stay in this room longer?”
I scuttled out of bed before he could even finish, heading toward him and the shower beyond, but before I could get that far, he grabbed me by the elbows and forced me to stop. I half expected him to pull me into him, but he kept me at arm’s length.
Maybe I really did smell?
“I am putting my trust in you, Leah. You will be allowed out of this room. You will be able to explore the house and amuse yourself, but there are rules.”
Of course, there were. I rolled my eyes. “What are they?” At this point in my confinement, I didn’t care what they were. I just wanted to get out.
“All of the previous ones still apply, but there is one more. You do not leave the house.”
I swallowed hard, so I was just exchanging one prison cell for a slightly bigger one. Great.
“The weather has turned, so there’s nothing in the gardens for you, but if you want to go outside, then come and find me, and I’ll take you.”
Nodding my agreement, I inched closer to him. “I understand, Viktor. Biting my lip, I looked away. A blush heating my cheeks. “Does that mean you are going to come and visit me in the nights again?”
Viktors face went slack, and a familiar dark look entered his eyes. Reaching up, he brushed his fingers down my cheek. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?” He asked in a husky voice that was so full of promise that my core clenched.
Would I like that? Or was I so starved of human contact that I wanted him back in my bed?
“We will see Leah,” curling his thumb under my chin, he tilted my head up, craning my neck so his eyes bored down into mine. “But I can promise you, I will not be touching you until you have showered. You have really let yourself go, and I can’t allow that. Now get inthere and wash the stink away, and hopefully, I will see you this evening.”
