Page 81 of Haunted Prey

From there, he’d brought in the candles and made my bath. When it was done, I happily sunk into the water.

“Promise, we’ll continue later,” I said, hugging my knees.

“Promise. We have all of tonight and many nights after that. I’m not worried.”

He left, and I didn’t bother to clean myself yet; I just tried to relax.

Now, lying back, eyes closed, I slid further into the water. Already, I could feel myself being lulled to sleep by the quiet and the warmth.

Don’t fall asleep, never fall asleep in the water,a little voice said. Someone had told me that once, but I couldn’t remember who.

But the water felt so good, and I just wanted to rest my eyes for a moment.

Drip.

Drip…

Water lapped against my breasts, then up to my neck. Rising. The stillness was gone, first little laps, then a full-fledged current as the water rose above my face.

I opened my eyes and could see the surface of the water rippling over me. I saw someone standing above me.

A towering man with a blurry, distorted face, smiling at me.

It feels good, doesn’t it?His words were somehow audible within the water, like a soft echo.You can drift away and join me and we’ll never be apart.He leaned toward me, and I knew it was my ghost, but I couldn’t move. He tilted his head and I could see a shadow of another person standing right behind him. But first…his words grew louder. Like the roar of the river.

Confess.

A hand grabbed hold of me and pulled me from the water.

I gasped and saw Emery crouching beside the bathtub, holding me up, looking alarmed.

“You all right? Jesus, you scared me there for a minute, sweetheart. You didn’t fall asleep, did you? You know you shouldn’t sleep in the tub.”

I blinked. Unthinking, I grabbed his arm, gripping it tight. He was real, he was here. He had to be. I just slipped again. That was all.

“Emery,” I said. “I…I must have dozed off.”

He studied me, his yellow eyes growing dark with concern. His hand at my shoulder moved to grip the back of my skull. He looked like he wanted to say something but thought against it, his jaw clenching tight. I had a feeling it was a question. A question that hung between us until it faded away.

He brushed wet hair from my face. “I got you some clothes that Andrea had brought,” he said. I could still hear the tension in his voice. “I also got you some water and a snack in case you were hungry.”

I mumbled a “Thank you” as he took a clean bar of soap and washcloth along with shampoo and conditioner out of a large bag and set it by the tub, then he took a hairbrush, a towel, and a few other things Andrea had bought me, setting them aside on the counter.

I sat up straighter as he came around to me, kneeling by the tub. He rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt, then dunked the bar of soap and cloth in the water.

My eyes never left him as he lathered the cloth with soap and then started to wash my shoulders and along my collarbone, being careful of his necklace. I didn’t complain even though we both knew I could clean myself. I could tell he liked it. And I liked the feel of his heavy hands on me.

“Did you check on Lena?” I asked as he grabbed my hair to set it aside so he could wash around my neck. I wanted to make sure she was okay and hadn’t woken up looking for me.

His eyes, which had been concentrating on where his hands moved, glanced at me before turning to focus back to my body. “She’s still asleep.” He moved on to my breasts, lathering one then the other, his thumb circling my nipples for good measure, tightening them. When he rinsed them off, I could see that hungry look again. “Stand up,” he demanded, “so I can get the rest of you, baby.”

I stared at him, biting my lip to hide the smirk growing on my face. I gripped the side of the tub and rose out of the water, then turned to stand and face him.

His gaze slid down me, taking me in. I could see the tension in him as he fought to keep his composure while dipping thecloth in the water, applying more soap, then washing my hips, my thighs…

He dropped the cloth when he got to my inner thighs. Before I could react, he gripped my legs and pulled himself closer, bringing his face between my legs. I felt his warm mouth on me, his tongue slowly sliding up to my clit, making me gasp, my hand grabbing his shoulder out of reflex.

“I can’t get enough of your sweet taste,” he whispered against me. His tongue slid along me again, slow and torturous. He moved briefly to bite down my inner thigh before returning to lick me again, coaxing me to open my legs more.

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