Page 57 of Psycho Beasts

I was still naked.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us breathed.

A small glow of candlelight illuminated the stunning planes of Xerxes’s face. Warmth curled my toes, and I slowly lowered my hands to my side.

Cinnamon spiked, spicy.

My throat burned and my lips tingled with sweetness as an ache throbbed in my core.

The steam burned hotter.

Warm water sprayed us from every direction.

I didn’t see any nozzles, but somehow, the water was spraying from the ceiling and the walls in all directions until every inch of my skin tingled with delight.

Xerxes spoke, and his voice was rougher than usual, his smooth accent a guttural growl. “Shower rainstorm.”

Instantly, the silence of the black marble shower transformed into an onslaught of sensations.

Thunder cracked.

Lightning flashed.

The warm water pounded against us harder, and it pulsed in punishing sheets, like wind blowing against rain.

Purple eyes glowed brightly as they stared down at me.

Neither of us moved.

Warmth turned my aching muscles to mush, and my knees almost gave out as I leaned against the wall and breathed raggedly.

Every cell in my body quivered with tiredness and need.

Bloody water pooled at our feet.

I closed my eyes and lost myself to the sounds of the storm raging around me as I ignored the fresh memories of torture.

After an eternity of peaceful silence, it startled me when fingers scraped against the back of my skull.

A low, broken moan dragged from my throat.

It seemed Xerxes was following in Ascher’s footsteps.

My exhaustion went bone deep, so I didn’t fight it when he soaped my hair and washed it intently.

Just leaned back into his fingers and enjoyed it.

The loud purr that rattled through my chest mixed with the rumbling thunder.

When Xerxes finished rinsing my hair, I growled with disappointment but shifted forward.

I was clean now, and it was time to pull myself together and face reality.

My brain sluggishly ran through everything I needed to find out about the Mafia. I also had to get the girls enrolled in some type of schooling program, and—

“Stop,” Xerxes growled and cut off my thoughts.

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