Page 44 of Dark Witch Resurrection

She reached behind her and unclasped her bra, sliding the shoulder straps down her arms, letting it fall off, and tossing it on the bed. Next, she hooked her thumbs in her thong panties and shimmied out of them.

As Peter's erection threatened to escape the confines of his boxer shorts and he began to sweat, he realized that his plan was going to be sweet torture that would last long hours unless he got some creative ideas, like sneaking Marina into the bathroom or the supply closet in his cousin's restaurant and fucking her into oblivion, or having her prove her claim that she was the queen of blow jobs.

Striking a pose, Marina extended her hand. "Are you going to hand me the dress or not?"

He offered it to her without a word, knelt at her feet, and helped her into the impossibly high heels.

Marina was a beautiful woman, but she was a vision standing naked in four-inch stilettos, with her hair and makeup done to perfection.

Still kneeling, he watched her put the dress on, wrap it around her body, and secure it with a belt, which she tied tightly around her narrow waist.

"I hope I'm not going to flash anyone but you."

He pushed to his feet and wrapped his arm around her middle. "Don't worry. I'll make sure no one gets to see what's mine."

34

JASMINE

As Jasmine walked into the penthouse, holding a stack of laundry under her arm, her back was aching from the long hours spent sitting by the prince's bedside, and her shoulders felt tight even though she'd tried to remember to stretch from time to time.

They should invest in better chairs for the patients' loved ones sitting at their bedside.

Not that she was the prince's loved one, but he didn't have anyone else to watch over him, and Jasmine had nominated herself. Well, nominating implied a voluntary decision when it was more like a compulsion. She didn't have a choice in the matter. There was no other way to explain why she slept on the floor near his hospital bed, only a sleeping bag cushioning the hard surface, and why she showered in the small, utilitarian en suite bathroom. She had barely left his side in the days since his arrival, her heart aching with the need to be near him like they were connected by some invisible thread that had tied them together across time and space.

Somehow, everything she had ever strived for and worked so hard to achieve seemed less important than nursing this stranger, this alien from a different planet, back to health.

Thankfully, the medical staff didn't notice the sleeping bag she'd hidden under the hospital bed and that she didn't spend every moment sitting in the damn chair but stretched out on the floor for a quick nap here and there. Or maybe they had noticed and were pretending that they didn't because no one had the heart to kick her out.

"Hello, stranger." Margo's voice startled her.

Jasmine gasped, her hand flying to her chest, and when she scanned the room to find where the voice was coming from, she found Margo sprawled out on the living room couch with her phone clutched in her hand.

"You startled me. I thought you were still training in the Perfect Match center."

"It's Sunday." Margo sat up. "Frankie went to visit her family, the guys are working in the basement, and Gabi and Ella are in the village. I'm all alone up here."

Calling the sprawling underground labyrinth under the high-rise a basement was the epitome of an understatement, but Jasmine didn't correct Margo. "I'll just drop this in the washing machine and come sit with you for a bit."

She wanted to return to the prince as soon as possible, but Margo looked like she could use a friend.

"Do you want coffee?" Margo pushed to her feet.

"Sure. I planned to drop my dirty stuff in the machine and carry a fresh stack back to the clinic, but I'm a little hungry. Are there any leftovers in the fridge?"

The truth was that she was famished, and she would have raided the fridge on her way out anyway. The café in the lobby was closed on Sundays, so she'd gotten coffee in the kitchen and instant oatmeal she'd found in one of the cabinets. The medical staff must have assumed that she ate at the penthouse, which she did when she could find leftovers.

"I'll put together a plate for you," Margo said.

"Thank you."

After loading the washing machine, Jasmine went to the bedroom and collected a fresh change of clothes and a few towels.

When she returned to the kitchen, two fresh cups of coffee were on the counter and a large plate of assorted fruits and cheeses.

Not the meal she'd had in mind, but it would do.

"That looks awesome." She snatched a strawberry and popped it into her mouth.

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