Page 73 of Degradation
He pats the bed. ‘Lose the towel.’
I take in a deep breath and let it fall from me, balling my hands into fists and making myself leave them at my sides. I had very little privacy at The Heath so it’s not as if no one’s seen me before. In fact, he and Mav did that night in Blake’s room, so why does it feel like, in front of him right now, that this is the first time?
I glance up, trying to gauge his reaction. I didn’t do that last time, not properly. His eyes rove over me slowly, leisurely. I think appreciatively, but I haven’t memorized that expression on his face yet.
‘Like what you see?’ I hear myself asking aloud and then cringing inside because why did I think for a second that I was that bold?
‘You’re beautiful.’ The words come out on a sigh, wistful and almost sounding...lovesick.
Twitterpated.
Stop thinking about Bambi!
I snigger, covering my face with my hand.
I look through my fingers and find him still exactly where he was.
‘Are you okay over there?’
‘Yes,’ I groan. ‘Intrusive thoughts, I’m afraid. Happens more when I’m nervous.’
‘Do I make you nervous?’ His tone is low and gravelly.
I nod. ‘Sometimes.’
‘Like now?’
‘Definitely like now,’ I mutter.
‘Come on.’ He pats the bed, and I limp over quickly, wanting this first part to be over.
I’d rather be in bed under the covers and not out here on display. I glance at where the camera is hidden. What if they’re watching right now?
‘No one can see,’ he says, having caught where I looked and correctly deducing my thoughts.
‘How can you be sure?’ I ask, slipping into the bed quickly and pulling the blanket up to my neck.
I groan. I still have a hand towel wrapped around my hair. I take it off quickly, sitting up and grabbing the other one I left on the bed. I spread it over my pillow and then lie back, looking at him expectantly.
He’s lying back as well and is facing me, propped up on his elbow. He’s eyeing me with a small smile. ‘I’ve disconnected yours. Until I can be sure no one else can see, it’ll stay off. What’s with the...’
He gestures to the towel I’ve put over my pillow.
‘My hair’s wet. I don’t want the pillow to get wet too.’
‘Oh,’ he snorts. ‘Makes sense.’
‘You turned it off?’ I ask, needing clarification. ‘No one can see? Not even you?’
‘Not even me.’
‘Thanks.’ I let out a sigh. ‘I want you to know... I wasn’t sure that they were using the cameras, but they know things that happen in here. I was scared and I knew you had access. It made me think it might be you, or all of you. That’s the only reason I was sneaking into your room to look. I wasn’t trying to spy on you or invade your privacy.’
‘The way that we’ve invaded yours from the moment you entered the house?’ he says a bit self-deprecatingly.
‘That’s not where I was going with it,’ I murmur. ‘But yes. Lucky for all of us, I’m used to surveillance. There are cameras all over the place at The Heath. Thanks for not actually sharing them with anyone outside of you three.’
Blake’s fingers trace my jaw. ‘The thought of the whole house seeing you vulnerable doesn’t really do it for me, sweetheart.’
