Page 34 of Wicked Sins

Guess it was a quiet night at the police station for the cops to have decided coming out here was worth their time, especially knowing that everyone would probably be gone by the time they got here.

Including Candy and I.

Chapter Eleven

Candy

Something’s tickling my face, but my arms are too heavy for me to bat it away. That sensation is so irritating, it forces me awake when all I want to do is sleep.

A splash of water rouses me even more. It’s all around me, and that sends a vague wave of panic through me.

When I finally lever open my eyes, I stare for a bit at my naked body spread out in front of me.

Did I fall asleep in the bath? How come I didn’t slip down into the water?

There’s something under my head, propping me up. Something warm and firm that bunches and moves.

A hand appears holding a bar of soap. It descends to my thighs and begins scrubbing the skin.

This can’t be right.

I lift my hand, but all it does is splash weakly back into the water.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Josiah says in a deadpan voice. “Thought you’d never wake up.”

“What are you…?”

Stupid question. I know exactly what he’s doing. The question is—

“Why?”

“You’re dirty.”

Well, he’s got me there. The water’s murky, but not enough to obscure the marks on my legs. The water level’s only halfway up my thighs. Guess Josiah didn’t want to take any chances.

Something’s not right.

It takes me a few seconds to figure out what it is.

“It hurts,” I murmur.

“Sorry, darling.”

“Inside.”

Joah briefly pauses, and then renews his scrubbing with vigor. “Almost done.”

“What happened?”

The bar of soap plops into the water. Josiah’s face appears, his hair in disarray and his eyes vacant. “You don’t remember?”

I look down at my bruised body. Most of those marks are familiar, but some of them are new.

I shake my head.

He splashes water over me, rinsing my skin. “Almost done,” he says again. Reaching over my legs, he pulls out the plug. I catch a glimpse of bright tiles, a pink loofah, and a razor.

I don’t recognize any of them.

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