Page 64 of Brutal Prince

The feel of his strong, soft lips against mine.

His big hands on my throat—no, wait, that was Marcus, wasn’t it?— fuck it, his hands on my throat…

“Mmmmmm.” My back arches, and water splashes around me as I spread my legs as wide as they can go in the confines of the tub.

It’s not wide enough.

I drag myself out of the water, shivering when cold air hits my wet skin, and perch on the rim of the tub.

Much better. I hold onto the rim with one hand, using the other to massage my clit. The door creaks, but I’m too far gone to be bothered with the chill factor right now. Although my nipples have pebbled into rock hard buds and I’m covered in goosebumps, this feels way too good to stop.

I climax a few seconds later, my entire body stiffening so much I almost end up on the bathroom mat.

I let out a long sigh, and giggle to myself as I realize what a fucking mess I’ve made. Well, luckily, I have this big bath of bubbles right—

I hear the sound of a car coming up the drive.

Fuck, Marigold’s home already? What time is it?

I twist, and in that precise moment, Marigold must hit a bump in the road. Headlamps shine right through the bathroom window as I stand and turn to grab a towel.

There’s someone standing in the doorway, watching me.

I scream, and immediately clap my hands over my mouth in surprise.

The headlamps move, and the hallway outside the bathroom door is once again in shadow.

I hear a key in the door, and my body freezes. I expect to hear Marigold demanding to know who’s in her house, because no way was there enough time for the guy who’d been standing in the doorway watching me — watching me — to have gotten downstairs fast enough.

Unless he’s still in the house.

“Granny!” I shriek, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around me as I rush for the hallway.

Yeah, I’ll be the first to die in any horror movie ever made. But I saw that shape move — whoever it was, they didn’t want to be seen. I doubt they’d be waiting right outside the door.

“Indigo?” comes Marigold’s voice from downstairs. “Why on earth are you yelling at me?”

I run to the far end of the hall and begin throwing open doors. He could have gone in any direction, but it makes more sense that he’d head away from the stairs and try and get out through one of the windows.

But every room is empty, and feels slightly stale; no one’s been in them for a while.

When I open my bedroom door, I immediately know he was in here. My space feels different. My sanctum defiled by a stranger’s presence.

My window’s open, and I know I should run to it and look outside to catch a glimpse of the invader, but I’m rooted to the spot, watching the lace curtain shifting in a breeze.

“Indigo?” Marigold calls from the stairs.

I only saw him for a second, and the light cast strange shadows on his face and leeched all the color from his skin. But I could have sworn it was Briar standing there in the hallway, lips parted, eyes wide.

He’d been pushing open the bathroom door, not the wind.

Watching me.

Watching me.

* * *

Briar

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