Page 11 of Entangled in Them

I lifted my dress and pulled it over my head and dropped it onto the floor beside me. I considered if I should put it in the wash basket, but even if it was laundered, I didn’t ever want to have it back again. It wasn’t as though it was something I’d chosen to wear. It was what the last man had put me in. The removal of the dress left me naked apart from the scrap of material of my panties. I rolled them down my thighs and stepped out as well.

Through the gap in the open doorway, I caught the three men still standing behind the kitchen counter, all watching me, their eyes wide. I wasn’t sure why they seemed so shocked. They were the ones who’d told me to go and take a bath. I was only doing what they’d said.

My body reacted to the three sets of eyes on me, my nipples tightening, a tingling rush flowing between my thighs. I’d been conditioned to react like this to men. It was all I knew.

“Hey,” said the blond, Ryan. “You can shut the bathroom door.”

Oh.

So that’s why they were looking so shocked. They’d expected me to take a bath with the door closed.

My face burned. “I’m sorry,” I called back to them. “I didn’t know. I’m not normally allowed to shut doors myself.” Men usually expected to be able to watch, or if they wanted a door shut, they’d do it themselves, and most likely lock it at the same time. I wouldn’t be allowed to bathe with a door shut, and certainly not locked from my side. They would assume I was doing something bad—trying to escape, or even searching for a sharp blade so I could escape my life altogether. But the truth was that I didn’t want to die—quite the opposite. I wanted to live a real life, a free life, though I couldn’t see that ever happening.

Kodee walked around the kitchen island and marched across the apartment floor. With me still standing, rooted to the spot in confusion, embarrassment, and indecision, he gave me a tight smile and then reached out and pulled the bathroom door closed, shutting off my view of the other men, and their view of me.

I’d messed up. I’d done something wrong again, though I wasn’t totally sure why the sight of a little naked skin bothered them.

Sucking in a shaky breath, I turned back to the bath. The water was almost halfway up the side of the tub now. Steam rose from the surface. I looked back to the line of toiletries and reached out to run my fingers across the writing scrawled across each bottle. One would be a body wash, another a shampoo, and I assumed one of the others would be a conditioner, should the men use it. The only way I’d know which was which was by tipping a little out into my palm and checking the texture. The body wash and shampoo were easily muddled up, though I wasn’t sure it made much of a difference anyway, but I could tell which was a conditioner by its creaminess.

I lifted my leg over the side of the tub and dipped my toes into the water. The temperature was just right, and I submerged my foot fully then stepped right in. I lowered my naked body into the water and sat back. I tried to relax, but this whole setup was too weird to allow me to clear my mind. Even the closed door made me nervous. I hadn’t locked it, and I didn’t think I’d been locked in, either. I didn’t like not knowing what was expected of me.

I was hugely conscious of the other men on the other side of the door. What did they think of me? They must wonder what the hell they’d gotten themselves landed with.

The Capello brothers had a reason for secreting me here. They knew Joe Nettie would track me down and have me killed, and the fact I was here made me think the Capellos didn’t think they’d be able to keep me alive themselves. Perhaps they didn’t trust someone working for them? How the hell was I supposed to know? I was just some little whore who’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no idea how these guys were involved in the whole thing, but it seemed the Capellos thought no one would come looking for me here.

Of course, once I did what the Capello brothers wanted, I had no idea what would happen to me. I’d most likely end up dead.

My eyes had been slipping shut, drowsy at the warm water and steamy air, but now they shot open. I couldn’t allow myself to relax. I needed to stay alert.

I selected one of the bottles, which I thought to be a body wash, and tipped a dollop out into my palm. The scent was distinctly male—cedarwood and black pepper. Fresh. I soaped down my body, running my hands over and under my small breasts and then down and across my stomach and to the small patch of dark curls between my thighs.

A knock came at the door, and I froze, yanking my hand out from between my thighs. So, this was where it was going to start. I had misread them after all.

The deep voice of the one they’d called Kodee. “I brought you something to wear.”

The door opened a crack, and a bundle of material was pushed through the gap. It landed on the bathroom floor, and the door was pulled shut again. I waited a moment, my breath held, wondering if one of the men would follow, and they’d do exactly what I expected men to do.

But footsteps faded as Kodee walked away, and I was left alone once more.

With my body clean, I set about washing my hair, rinsing it out in the tub, and using a tortoiseshell comb I found to work out the knots. When that was done, I rose from the tub, wrapped myself in a towel, and stepped out.

I turned my attention to the clothes I’d been brought. I picked up a blue shirt, the material expensive. Without thinking, I lifted it to my nose and inhaled. The scent was masculine and clean, and somehow comforting. I looked down to the boxer shorts—the tight, white type with the thick waistband rather than the baggy ones—and thought against sniffing them as well. While I was sure they were clean, I didn’t want to come across as a complete weirdo. I ducked down to pull on the shorts, and then slipped my hand into one armhole of the shirt, and then the other. It was far too big, the hem ending mid-thigh, the body of the shirt swamping my small frame. But strangely, I felt comforted by it, like the shirt had just wrapped me in a cozy hug, if I could even remember what it felt like to be hugged by someone.

My hair was still damp, but I couldn’t do anything about that. A wet spot had appeared on the back of the shirt.

Cautiously, I opened the bathroom door and peered out into the apartment. Two of the men, Kodee and Ryan, looked up as I stepped out. I assumed the third man, Dillon, had gone out to buy me some clothes, as they’d discussed.

The corner of Kodee’s lips twitched. “Better?”

“Yes, thank you. And thank you for the shirt.”

His gaze dropped down my body, to my bare legs, and back up again. Ryan caught the look, and his gaze narrowed in a scowl. Out of all the men, it seemed he was the one who wanted me here the least. Did he worry that I was going to encroach on his territory? I didn’t know how to make him feel better about that.

“You’re welcome. Dillon’s gone out to get you some other clothes, so you won’t have to hang around in my stuff for the next few days, or however long you’re here.”

So, this was Kodee’s shirt I was wearing, and his scent I’d inhaled. “Thank you. That’s kind. I... I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Wasn’t expecting what?”

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