Page 61 of Burning for You

I scoop her up and drop her down onto my bed. She bounces on the mattress, and then rolls up to face me.

“Stay there.” I point the gun at her.

I need to take a shower, and I can’t afford to have her roaming around this house. Who knows what other weapons she might find? And if the opportunity arises, she will run away now that the weather has cleared.

I grab a couple of ties from my college years. I’m surprised I still remember where I put them.

“Look at me, Levi,” she says.

I ignore Carolyn and yank her right arm so I can bind her wrist to the bedpost. There are scratches thanks to the chains Jesse had put on her, but I let her feel the pain. I do the same with her other arm.

She continues, “I’m sorry about your father. I truly am. I will right this wrong. But you’ll have to tell me everything, because clearly, we’ve both been played by Rupert Teller and Josh Bright.”

Her mentioning my dad should’ve enraged me. But her stare somehow calms my racing heart. I believe her, and I don’t think I’m being naïve. Assessing Carolyn, and assessing myself, at this stage I’m sure we’re both ready to believe and trust each other.

“It’s your choice, Levi.”

I know this time I’m not blinded by anything, but I need time to think this through before I give in to her.

“Alright, we’ll talk then,” I say, stepping a couple of paces away from her. “After I clean up my brother, and myself.”

Carolyn looks at my bare torso with a steady gaze. I know the remnants of Jesse’s puke is there somewhere, drying on my skin, and I guess this is the first time she sees the belt-sized bruise stretching across my abs.

In Jesse’s room, I clean up the mess as best I can. Some of his vomit has already seeped through the carpet.

I want to make my shower a quick one, but then, I’m the only free person in this house. I have time, and I’ll have my fucking shower in peace.

As the warm water washes me over, I strip my soul, my heart and my head bare, processing my newfound belief in Carolyn Meyer.

Jesse was right to warn me not to fall for my captive. But just like our father is dead, it’s too late. I’m already falling for her.

Despite this plight, there’s a calming force flowing in my body—something that no one else will understand, let alone Jesse. Right now I see Carolyn as my partner. She said she wanted to right this wrong, which means we want the same thing. And I know, deep down, we also want each other.

So, balancing my needs as a son, a brother, and a man is not impossible after all.

I breathe as deep as I can. The steam around me adds to the surrealness of where we’ve gotten to. My need to be with her is escalating. I’ve been watching her all night, smelling her, touching her. Protecting her.

My cock rises, thanks to the warmth of the shower and my thoughts about Carolyn. I rub my shaft, recalling how good it was to touch her thigh and loins. I swear she wanted me then, and every strain on her tells me she still wants me.

And she’s waiting in my room.

I blow out air as if I’m about to lift a heavy weight. Just in case my assumption about Carolyn’s desire is misguided, I refrain from coming to her completely naked. So I wrap a towel around me, just above my waist, mainly to conceal my unsightly bruise.

With nervous strides, I go back to my room.

Wild eyes stare out of Carolyn’s face. To think that she would drop her gaze when I challenge her is foolish indeed. She’s not showing affection, she’s not trying to lure me into her—the woman is feasting on my body.

“If you think I’m going to get naked and put on my clothes in front of you, you’ll be disappointed,” I say, plucking out my boxer shorts and t-shirt from the wardrobe.

She nibbles her lower lip. “Aren’t we going to talk?”

My cock has already woken up when I left the bathroom, now it’s nudging itself forward behind the tight wrapping of the towel. How can I talk right now? As woeful as I am, putting my aching sex above what’s really at stake, I know this is a trap that will save me and Jesse. Allies are sometimes formed through marriages, and I’m about to gain mine by being intimate with her.

“Untie me, please…” She chafes.

“Not a chance.”

A lot of people are probably afraid of Carolyn Meyer. Grant Barnes warned me to stay away from her. But here, tonight, she’ll experience what it’s like to surrender.

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