Page 10 of Indecent Proposal

Stepping into the shower, I found myself bursting into tears. The water was nice and hot, with good water pressure, and I felt like for the first time I could relax, and let it all go. I was alone, but safe. Nobody was going to try and kill me here. I could actually cry and finally release all my fear and the emotions I’d kept suppressed for weeks now.

Richard was dead. I wasn’t in love with him. I could admit that more easily now that he was gone. I might never have been in love with him, even though I had tried so hard to be. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with him. It was just one of those things where it didn’t work for any discernible reason. But he was a good guy and I never wanted him to be hurt.

Now he was gone.

And my entire life was in shambles. I had thrown my phone away. Nobody knew where I was—not my family or my friends—and who knew if I would ever see them again? I was on the run. Someone had tried to shoot me with the intent to kill, and my life was currently in the hands of a man who wasn’t exactly brimming with hospitality for me.

I could still hear the shattering of glass in my ears from when the bullet had hit the office window. Maybe it was just my imagination—actually it probably was—but I swore I could remember the breeze of it blowing past me, barely missing me.

Vaughn had acted quickly—so quickly it had seemed almost superhuman—to pin me to the floor and get me covered. He was good at his job if nothing else. But my brain couldn’t stop racing with the possibility of being shot.

What would it have felt like? What would it have done to me? Would death have been instant? Or slow? Would I have had just enough time to cry and beg for my life?

I sank down to sit on the floor of the shower, letting the water wash over me, like it could somehow cleanse me. I was probably using up all the hot water, but I didn’t care. I needed this.

Slowly, deeply, I breathed. Bit by bit, I drew myself back together. I was safe. I was okay. Vaughn was going to keep me safe.

I got up and actually washed my body with his soap, rinsed myself off, then at last got out of the water and found a towel. There was supplies here, thank goodness, although it was all more masculine than I’d want if I was picking my shower products. I ended up smelling like Vaughn probably did and that…

Well, it didn’t do anything to me. Definitely not. It wasn’t going to make me think about other ways I could smell like him, or what he’d think of it when he got back. Nope. No way.

Unfortunately, while there were towels and shower supplies to help me get clean, I had to go into the main cabin to see if there were any clothes in the dresser. Just men’s clothes, as I should’ve guessed. I threw on a button-up shirt, and it went halfway down my thighs. Just low enough to be decent. I grabbed a pair of his briefs, too, and put those on.

I had nothing better to do, so I went into the kitchen to see if I could whip up something to eat.

There was a beeping noise from the keypad and I whipped around, watching as it lit up. A moment later, I heard the Jeep again. I realized I’d pressed myself back against the counter, my hands gripping the edge so hard my knuckles were white, and I forced myself to relax. Jesus. My heart was racing.

You’re okay. You’re safe. It’s just the man who’s here to literally protect you.

The keypad beeped again, flashing green, and I realized that there must be some way for Vaughn to show the system that he was okay to get in and disable the alarms. A moment later, the door opened.

Ugh, he was just as unfortunately handsome as he’d been when I first stepped into the lobby. Why did the man have to be annoying and good looking? He couldn’t have looked like a troll or something?

Vaughn closed the door and I saw he had some bags in his hands. “I got you some…” He paused.

“Yes?” I prompted as he stared at me. I felt my face heating up, and I squeezed my thighs together. The look on his face, in his eyes, was…

I swallowed. He looked like he wanted to devour me.

“That’s my shirt,” Vaughn noted.

A whimper nearly escaped me. His voice was low, and a little rough, gravelly even. I almost spread my legs. His tone was just so… commanding, but soft. Nothing angry about it. Like he didn’t need to yell or even speak in a normal voice. Just his quiet, almost-whisper was enough for him to order me around.

Richard had never made me feel like this, like I was a butterfly pinned to a wall. Like I wasn’t in control here. I found it gave me a thrill in my stomach. I loved it . . . I just didn’t like the man who was able to make me feel this way.

“There wasn’t anything else to wear,” I said, my voice breathier than I would’ve liked, and I attempted to clear it. “I wasn’t going to hang around in a towel.”

Vaughn’s gaze dropped down to my bare thighs. The brush of the fabric against my skin now felt like a horrible tease, and for a wild second my sanity left me and I wanted to reach up and unbutton the shirt, reveal myself to him, let him take me against the counter. . .

“Or would you have preferred that?” I asked, hardly believing the taunting words coming out of my mouth. “That I stayed in… just the towel?”

Vaughn’s gaze snapped back up to my face and I realized how stupid I sounded. I was his client, and one that couldn’t pay him at that. The man annoyed the hell out of me. He didn’t want to fuck me and I certainly didn’t want him to fuck me, either. What was I doing?

“Staying in a towel, so that I wouldn’t use your clothes,” I blurted out, trying to back track. “Y’know, if that was a violation of privacy…”

Vaughn blinked, then cleared his throat. “No, no, you’re fine. I was just going to say that I brought you some clothes. I also got some coffee and some fresh food—everything downstairs is nonperishable, so I thought you’d want some fruit and fresh meat.”

He hefted the bags onto the table, and I approached cautiously, like a gazelle daring to go near a lion. Sure enough, in the paper bags he’d put down, I saw several articles of clothing in one, and then ground beef, chicken, venison, and fresh fruit and vegetables in the others.

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