Page 57 of Cruel Love
I nodded once before grabbing the sponge and began cleaning thefront of her body, my cock growing impossibly hard as I ran the sponge over her tits, her nipples erect and begging to be sucked.
She watched my every move like I was a predator waiting to claim itsprey at any second, a mix of fear and apprehension filling her different-colored orbs.
When she was clean, her gaze dropped to my cock standing toattention between us. She sucked in a breath, her eyes coming back to meet mine, worry pulling between her brows.
“You’re off the hook tonight, Mouse,”I said, tugging her lip free fromwhere she’d clamped it between her teeth.“It’s been a long day, you need your rest.”
Relief seemed to seep from her body, even if disappointmentflashed through her eyes. I turned the shower off and stepped out before I could give in to the ache in my balls, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her before hoisting her into my arms.
Surprise flashed on her face as I carried her into my bedroom, almostas if she didn’t believe what was happening right then was real. I sat her on my bed, ordering her to dry off as I headed back to the bathroom to dry myself.
I returned a few minutes later to find her still sitting with the towelwrapped around her, but her entire body was rigid, and her hands fidgeted as if she didn’t know what to do next.
“Get in the bed, Mouse,”I instructed, walking around to the other sideand pulling the covers back.
Nervously, she let the towel drop and slid in next to me, her body stilltense. I tugged the covers over us, and pulled her into my arms, moving her so her back was to my chest.“Sleep, Willow. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling deeply and sending bloodrushing to my cock as honey and vanilla filled my senses.
“Don’t you want me to go to my room?”she said tentatively.
I kissed the top of her head.“Thisisyour room, Mouse. Fromnow on, you sleep next to me.”
Chapter 20
Willow
“Mouse.”
Rough hands pulled me from the deep, dreamless sleep I’d falleninto. Slowly, my eyes fluttered open, and it took a few seconds for my brain to catch up that I was in James’ bed.The man himself was hovering over me, his eyes darker and moremenacing than I’d ever seen them before, the glint of affection that had been there as he cleaned me was nowhere to be seen.
I should have known his act wouldn’t last.
Gazing around the room, the memory of James telling me that I wasto sleep in his bed from now on jumped to the forefront of my mind, and I relaxed fractionally.
At least I hadn’t fallen asleep in his bed when I wasn’t supposed to.
“What’s going on?”I mumbled, my voice heavy with sleep as itoccurred to me that it was still pitch black outside, the moon’s rays lighting up James’ room.
“Sit up, Willow, I need to ask you some questions,”James huffed,yanking my arm and pulling me upright.
The bed sheet covering me fell, exposing my bare breasts. James’eyes fell to my nipples, his tongue swiping at his bottom lip before he met my curious gaze again.
Was he waking me up for sex?
But surprising me, he tugged the sheet up to my chest, covering meback up. I shifted to lean against the headboard, pain shooting through my body from the bruises and scratches marking me, and my ankle throbbed, reminding me of my run through the forest.
“I need you to remember back to before you were taken to PeartreeHouse,”James said, his tone urgent.
My brows shot up, sleep clearing from my head in an instant, as aknot of dread formed in my stomach.“I…I can’t remember-”
“That’s not good enough, Willow,”James barked, his hands fisting byhis side as if it was taking him a lot of effort to not throw one of them into the headboard.“I need you to remember. The memories are there, they’re just hidden under the trauma Milligan inflicted on you. You need to push past the pain and try to remember.”
He made it sound so easy. Did he really think I didn’t want toremember what happened to me and my family before I arrived at Peartree House? Did he think I enjoyed the torture I endured every time I tried to recall what my parents looked like?
The knot in my stomach suddenly felt like it had been replaced by theweight of an anchor.“James, I…I can’t-”
“Yes, you can.”He snatched my hand and squeezed it, but not in apainful way, almost as if he was trying to reassure me in the only way he knew how.“I need you to try, Mouse. I need you to remember.”
