Page 21 of Little Death
I glare back at him and snatch the washcloth away to give him the same treatment. At his lifted brow, I shove him under the water and slowly drag the soapy cloth over his heavily muscled body. It had been so dark in the bedroom that I hadn’t been able to study him as closely as I would have liked, and this may be the only chance I ever get, so I take my time. He submits to me as I lose the washcloth and trail my hands over every part of him I can reach at least once. It almost feels like goodbye, and I tuck my chin under when that makes an ache roil in my belly.
Once we’re clean and dry, he pulls me back to the bed. When I resist, glancing at the door, he shakes his head. “I said all night. Now come here.”
Me from a few hours ago would have fought him. But in the dark where no one can see, where I’m safe knowing that I’ll never see him again, I tuck my body against his, loving the way I fit right under his chin. He hitches my leg over his hip, and in no time, he slips into sleep with me wrapped safely in his arms.
* * *
It’s3 a.m. I haven’t slept at all. Meanwhile, Aiden snores softly next to me, his lips slightly parted, his face soft and would be boyish if it weren’t for the angular lines of his underlying bone structure. I should have left the moment I was certain he was dead to the world, but I can’t seem to make myself move.
The clock on the bedside table ticks down the seconds, growing louder and louder until it drones in my skull like a second heartbeat. Sleeping was out of the question when I realized he’d passed out, and I know if I wait any longer, I’ll give in to the rest I so desperately need. My muscles ache, heavy and limp with satisfaction, my head fuzzy with exhaustion, and my thoughts won’t quit racing. Despite the weights practically hanging from my eyelids, I’ve kept myself conscious by sheer will alone.
Am I afraid of him? The question’s plagued me since he settled heavily behind me, his arm banding around my waist and holding me to his naked body. Maybe I’ll always be a little afraid of him. But right now, I’m more scared of what I might do if morning dawns and I’m still here. Seeing him soft with sleep was problem enough.
Maybe I fear he’ll ask me to stay, and the words that come out of my mouth won’t be the ones I want them to be. The ones I know I have to say to protect the tangled web of lies I’ve found myself in. Instead, I’d agree to anything he wants. Stay longer. That I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut. That I’ll tell him who I am and why I basically broke into his house and stole from him.
I can’t risk it.
I can’t.
I can’t.
It shouldn’t be this hard to leave when only hours ago, leaving was the only thing I wanted. I’ve known him for less than half a day. It should be impossible for him to have burrowed so completely beneath my skin, but somehow he has. Somehow, it feels like tearing a part of me away as I study his face for the last time.
Because it has to be the last time.
I can’t risk running into him again or staying a moment longer. I won’t even consider searching out his name after I leave for fear it’ll somehow lead back to me. The last thing I need is for news of this debacle to get back to my father.
No, what I need is a clean break.
Fingers clenched in desperate fists in front of me, I count down from five or else I’ll never get out of this bed.Five. Angular cheekbones. Full, soft lips.Four. A heavy brow over mist-colored eyes.Three. Tattoos covering nearly every inch of his perfect skin, all the way down his throat and chest. I could study them for a lifetime and never memorize them all properly.Two. If I could kiss him one more time, I would. I’d go back and throw myself at his feet the first time he asked.
One.
Without allowing a moment to second-guess myself, I roll away from Aiden, determined to keep my eyes averted. Like he’s a black hole, and merely acknowledging him is all I’ll need to do to be sucked in. I find my dress thrown over the foot of the bed and climb into it as quietly as possible. My shoes are a lost cause. I have no idea where the hell I left them, and I don’t want to risk wasting time trying to find them. The most important thing is my purse with my mother’s phone inside. The whole reason I found myself in this mess.
It’s on a side table near the door where Aiden left it after my mad dash through the garage. It feels like so long ago. Like the person I was then is so vastly different from the woman I am now that I don’t recognize her.
Focus.
Nabbing the purse, I move across the bedroom to the window where I know my drop to the ground will be the easiest. No shrubs or miscellaneous garden accents. It would be easier to leave through the door, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take. His friend may be there or one of his other associates.
It’s there that I pause, looking back at where he’s still sleeping in the bed.
There’s so much I want to know about him. So many questions left unanswered.
But I’ll have to be content to end things here.
Because he’s dangerous, and I have no room in my life for more peril.
Even if they have a mouth made for sin, a body like a god, and the ability to read me like a book.
So as Halloween dawns, I make my getaway, determined to erase last night from my memory—despite knowing it’ll be impossible.
CHAPTERNINE
AIDEN
“Tell me what you said to her,” I demand, pressing the tip of my gun so hard into his forehead that it must leave a mark. Well, another one, considering his face is already bloody and bruised. My knuckles sting, reminding me why I rarely resort to using my hands. That’s more Eamon’s specialty.
