Page 46 of Burning for You

Defiantly, he sits himself on a tree stump and crosses his legs. Mr. Holt is pretending to be cool, to appear as if he watches women clean themselves every day, but I know he’s terrified.

In all honesty, I don’t mind showing skin to him. He’s seen under my panties, he might as well see my breasts and the rest of me.

Without hesitation I take off my shirt, then my pants. I keep my underwear on, and then turn to face him.

That does the trick. He walks away from the tree stump, showing his back to me. He’s not such a cool boy, after all.

All naked now, I brace myself and tug the rope.

Fuuuck!

An ocean of ice water falls on me. I’ve never felt more frigid water than the Antarctic polar plunge, until today.

My feet jump all over the place, trying to counter the coldness. I glance at my kidnapper. He’s still looking away, fidgeting, perhaps wanting to at least see me suffer. But he doesn’t even turn a degree. Shaking his head, with his back still on me, he looks up at the sky with a series of arduous sighs.

I wallow in his resistance to have a peek at me.

After my second pour, to my surprise, the icy douse no longer makes me shiver. I smirk at the man, wishing I could boast that I’m alright. Even better, it looks like putting myself under physical distress has paid off. I feel like I’ve just had a new body.

I wrap the towel just below my cleavage. I could make a run for it, since my kidnapper’s attention is still on his own thoughts. But barefooted and naked, I won’t get far.

“I’m done,” I say, walking toward him.

He turns around and points his gun at me again. “Get back inside.”

This time I really smirk at him.

Levi comes into the shed with me, watching.

“You wanna see me change now?” I challenge him.

He stays put, giving me a bold stare. Perhaps he does want to watch me.

The pile of my new clothes is on the mattress, so I bend down to reach for it, yanking the towel up, perhaps exposing half of my butt.

With a face as blushed as an apple, he sighs, and then walks out and locks the door.

Between my shirt and my underwear, I uncover a box of tampons. Now these are something that I never thought existed in this part of the world—a spot where, according to Levi, Google maps have never captured.

So he’d noticed the stain on my pants last night? That was why he looked like a stunned priest right before he left. Does he have another sister? Or a girlfriend, back at the ranch?

I wish he was still inside so he could see that I was grateful for his thoughtfulness. Besides, the ache for flaunting my naked body to him is pulsing inside me, as if I was in the company of an admirer. Some say lust is a man’s biggest downfall. Right now, it is about to be my downfall.

I’m smeared with lust, but no one’s going to bring me down. And I’m not going to be ushered like a sheep again, wherever Levi is intending to take me next.

That bastard Rupert Teller! What lies did he tell Levi? What did he promise?

I have to start hating my kidnapper. Otherwise I might be tangled in Teller’s game even further.

How do I make myself hate a man I adore?

First, I have to realize he’s not that adorable after all. He has a sugar mommy, for goodness’ sake.

I put on my underwear, imagining him fucking the diamond lady until she comes like an over-bred beaver (whatever that looks like—messy and unattractive, I would think), and showering her with affection so she can’t ever let him go. In return, she takes care of him like he is the most precious thing in the world. He doesn’t have to worry about anything but pleasing her.

I shake my crumpled shirt and put it harshly on myself. The naked diamond-lady scene forming in my head sickens me. My plan to hate Levi is starting to work.

As I squeeze myself into my pencil skirt, realization hits me. How stupid have I been? What kind of a person am I, to put lust above my own safety? And if the Holt brothers are helping Rupert Teller bring down Brilliance, or even hurt Josh—I won’t forgive myself, however much I dread being with my fiancé.

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