Page 35 of Taming Scarlet

I sat there on my knees beside the bed, mind reeling, until my knees and ankles started aching.

Only then did I grab the edge of the bed and pull myself up. I kicked out of my heels then made my way into the bathroom.

Only then did I see how rough I looked.

I was a deer in the headlights, eyes huge, no idea what the hell was going on.

Truly, I didn’t.

But I reached for the tissues, wiping him off of my chest. After that, I swiped the mascara ribbons off of my cheeks.

Then, finally, I turned, pulling up my skirt, and looking over my shoulder to see my ass.

And there they were.

Pink handprints on my skin.

Reaching down, I touched the skin, feeling how hot it was to the touch. Even the slightest of brushes made it smart, though.

I would be feeling it each time I sat down.

Hell, I would be feeling it each time my pants brushed against my skin.

Turning, I made my way to the bath, running the water hot, and climbing in.

For the first time in I don’t remember how long, I didn’t reach for my phone.

I didn’t read comments.

I didn’t even post all day.

And, what’s more, I didn’t want to.

Something felt fundamentally changed in me right then.

My mind was so… quiet.

I wasn’t obsessing over what people were thinking of me, saying about me. I wasn’t making mental plans for the next day, trying to figure out of something new to do, how my followers would react to seeing me there.

I was just so… calm.

Present.

And… exhausted.

God.

It was like months of crappy sleep had caught up on me all at once.

I barely took the time to scrub a fancy little soap bar all over me, then rinse, before I was climbing out of the tub, drying off, and falling into bed, bare-ass naked, and pulling the blankets up.

The movement jostled the bottle of water, and I found myself reaching for it, uncapping it, and chugging it down.

Before, finally, falling into a long, deep sleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Scarlet

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