Page 6 of The Wages of Sin

As tempted as I’d been, I’d somehow managed to keep my hands to myself.

“Not purposefully,” I argued. Besides, there’s another rule—the most important one: If you see something you shouldn’t—no, you didn’t.

“Hmm. That is a good rule,” he admitted. “What happens if Jane discovers you broke any of her rules?”

“I’d lose my job, sir,” I said. “And I really can’t lose my job.”

“I see...and what if I promised Jane would never find out? Would you lift your head and look at me then?”

Oh God, it was tempting. So very tempting.

It had been so long since I’d felt anything beyond the constant anxiety and depression that came with being in hiding. Just looking at the man for a few seconds had shattered all that horrible isolation and kindled countless sensations inside me—desire, longing, need.

The kind of sensations that reminded me that I was still alive. That there was more to life than mere survival.

And all I had to do was lift my head and look at him to experience that again.

But there were other reasons to hold back, I reminded myself.

This wasn’t just any man. This was one of Jane’s clients. At the very least, he was a criminal and, judging by the scars crisscrossing his body, a dangerous one.

He clearly wasn’t the kind of guy to play games with…no matter how good they might feel at the time.

But before I could finish wrestling with all these conflicting thoughts, a knock sounded on the bedroom door behind me.

Without thinking, my head shot up in panic, my eyes wide as they met the cold blue gaze of the client.

At some point, he’d wrapped a long white towel around his waist, securing it with a tuck at the hip. If I wasn’t so terrified by the thought of losing my job after being found with a half-naked client, I might have been disappointed.

“Mary, are you in there?” Rose called out, sounding annoyed on the other side of the door.

Shit.

I froze, cursing myself for not listening to my instincts and running out of the bedroom while I’d still had a chance. Now what the hell was I going to do?

I looked at the man across from me, silently pleading for help but knowing better than to expect any.

That’s why I was so surprised when the door knob began to turn and he called out, “Wait.”

Immediately, all movement on the other side stopped.

Without hesitation, he strode toward me. Stretching out his arm, he corralled my back against the door, keeping me hidden, while, with his other hand, he opened it a crack and peered out.

“What do you need, Rose?”

“Sorry, sir,” she replied, her tone instantly changing and becoming far more pleasant. “I was looking for Mary. Have you seen her?”

“No.”

There was a pause from the other side. Then, “Are you sure, sir? I could’ve sworn I saw her come in here a few minutes ago.”

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room grew dark and heavy. The man’s expression didn’t change, but one of the tendons in his neck twitched. It was the tiniest movement, but it was, without a doubt, one of the most menacing reactions I’d ever seen.

Any hopes that the man currently pinning me against the door might somehow not be as dangerous as I’d thought vanished instantly. Though his arm barely brushed against my chest, I could feel a violent kind of energy coiling inside him at being questioned.

“You were mistaken.”

Even though I wasn’t the one he was talking to, his icy tone sent shivers down my spine.

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