Page 18 of The Taskmaster
I stood still and watched her for a while. Noticing the delicate way she breathed as she lay on her side. The covers had fallen to her waist, and she was wearing a silky nightdress with thin straps. Her breasts rose and fell underneath the lace trimming, and she gave a soft sigh and shifted slightly under the covers, making me feel something I didn’t expect to feel when I walked in here.
I wanted to run my fingers under those straps, slide them down her smooth skin and see what lay underneath that nightdress. I wanted to see, touch, taste. The thought of it overrode everything else in my brain, and I cursed myself for it. That wasn’t what I was here for.
Or maybe it was?
Wasn’t I allowed to have a bit of fun too?
I stood at the side of her bed, watching her sleep, wanting to claim her like I’ve never wanted before. My throat was dry, and I swallowed, running my tongue along my bottom lip as I imagined what I would do with her. What I could do with her. The thoughts in my head raged a war and even I didn’t knowwhich way this was going to go. I hadn’t been this conflicted before.
She gave another sigh and turned, lying on her back, her face a picture of serenity. And I put my hand in my pocket, feeling for the needle I had ready to use if she woke and I needed to sedate her. I also felt the steel handle of the knife I had too.
Seeing her dark brown curls cascading over her pillow made me reach down and run my fingers along a curl. It was so soft, so silky, I wanted more, and I watched as her eyelids flickered, her mouth open slightly, as soft delicate breaths came in shallow pants in response to my touch and my nearness.
She’d wake up soon. And then the moment would be broken. I didn’t want to break it. I’d never been this close to a woman before, and I was in a trance. Stirrings of desire made me question everything. I didn’t want to question myself. But I took another moment to savour how I felt. How my spine tingled as she made noises I’d never heard before. Light, tender, even satisfied. How she looked so fucking peaceful. What was it like to feel like that? To sleep so deeply you didn’t even stir when six-foot-two inches of death was looming over you.
I reached out again, touching her cheek, stroking my finger gently down her skin, skin that didn’t even feel real, it was like touching someone from another world. A gentle, silken world where I didn’t belong.
I really didn’t.
And so I took the knife out of my pocket, leaned forward, and...
Chapter Twelve
ABIGAIL
My eyes shot open, ears straining to hear as I felt the air around me shift. This wasn’t right. My senses told me to be on my guard, and after what’d happened to me earlier in that alleyway, I needed to pay attention.
I didn’t move, I stayed deadly still and listened, my mind whirling with every morbidly sick and twisted possibility for what was about to happen.
Was someone in my apartment?
Was I about to fight for my life?
Had he come back to finish the job?
I could tell it wasn’t morning yet. My room was still dark, and the road outside was quiet. No traffic had started to build up for the commuters heading to work. There was just wind and the occasional hum of an engine in the distance, sounds that helped to ease my racing heart slightly.
Slowly, I turned my head to look at the clock beside my bed. Four twenty-two. My eyes darted around my room as they became accustomed to the dark, and everything appeared to be normal, but I knew to trust my instincts.
I sat up in bed and then twisted my body to place my feet on the floor. Bare feet. Better to creep through into my living room without being detected. I couldn’t stay in here waiting, I had to go out there and face whatever had come for me. Especially if it was him.
I stood up and tiptoed gently over to my dressing table, took out the bread knife I kept inside the drawer, and held it firmly in my hand, ready to use if I needed to.
Another step, and I prised the door to my small bathroom open, but it was empty. Whoever was here was waiting for me out in the living room.
Two more steps and I stood in front of my bedroom door, leaning my head against the wood to listen for any sounds coming from the other side. I could hear the tick of my wall clock, the hum of the fridge from the kitchen, and a faint tap, tap.
What the hell was that?
Gripping the door handle, I turned it and pushed the door open just an inch to peek through the crack. The tapping was a little louder now, and a surge of confidence swelled through me. If someone had come into my home, ifhehad come back to finish what he’d started, I was going to fight with everything I had.
So, lifting the knife, I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth and flung the door open, standing in the doorway to find...
Nothing.
At least it seemed like nothing.
I reached out to slap the wall beside me, finding the light switch and turning it on. The living room was bathed in light now, and at first glance, it looked as if everything was normal. But I knew it wasn’t.
