Page 28 of The Sinner's Bargain

Horrified, I rushed to the sink and snapped on the faucet. Using the hand soap in the black, marble pump and the tips of eight fingers, I scrubbed and rinsed, and repeated the process until the water ran clear and my skin felt raw. I was sure to break out in the morning and without moisturizer, there was sure to be dry patches, but it couldn’t be helped; I had none of my things and I wasn’t going to sit around with eyeliner running down my face.

With damp fingers, I combed through the unbound coils someone had freed from the hundreds of pins Porsha had expertly fastened into place. I guessed it was my host, but I couldn’t imagine a man that size taking the time to pluck out thin slivers of metal from an unconscious woman’s hair. Granted, he had undressed me. Maybe it wasn’t such a stretch.

With nowhere to escape and having already spent far too long hiding, I succumbed to my fate and left the washroom.

There was light.

It shone from an intricate knot of twisted metal and dripping crystal. A sister to the washroom, the carved wood ran over moldings and encompassed the edges of the bed’s four posters. The headboard was an overwhelming chunk of mahogany with a built-in mirror and matching end tables.

But it was the walls.

The craftsmanship of the moldings, the bookshelves build directly into two entire sections.

I was enthralled.

Entranced.

I almost forgot about the figure until he peeled away from the creases where the lights didn’t touch and nearly scared me out of my skin.

“Goodness!” I gasped, hand snapping to my startled heart.

I’d seen him earlier in that garden with the silver roses and when he’d shot Taylen. I had an idea of how he looked in the dark with murder in his eyes, but in the soft light of twilight clad in a matching top to mine, his hair a dark wave around a deep, rugged face marred by scars, he was ... something. I couldn’t be sure what because I’d never seen anyone who looked like him. I’d seen boyish and good-looking. I knew what classically handsome was and charming, even pretty. I had seen all manner of men throughout my life in varying ages and positions, but this man was nothing like them.

I just didn’t have a word for him yet.

“Welcome back,” he murmured, and I flushed.

“Your home is ... beautiful, from what I’ve seen,” I murmured, catching myself staring and quickly looking away.

“I’ll give you a tour.”

My fingers twisted into the hem of my ... his top, unsure of what else to do with them.

“I should go. I’ve already taken up so much of your time.”

Because that was the sane thing to do. I had Jarrett to still worry about and Malcolm was expecting me to be on schedule, and I didn’t even have the bag. What was I supposed to do without it? How was I supposed to get to the airport without my paperwork?

A new swell of panic rose up in my chest, hot and desperate. The kind that made the whole world seem infinite and enormous, so I felt like I was being swallowed up. But no matter what, I had to stay calm. I had to treat this man the way I would Mother when she was angry.

Quiet.

Obedient.

As careful as if approaching an angry, venomous snake.

Malcolm wasn’t there to protect me, so I had to be smart.

Plus, this guy shot and killed a man. That wasn’t normal behavior. He was clearly dangerous. Putting distance between us was the best course of action. Except...

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that, sweetheart.”

---