Page 132 of Deviant

Elias, though, isn’t as friendly and slams the door on her face.

“What did you go and do that for?”

“Stop being so goddamn nice to the people who intend to kill us, Roe. It sends the wrong message.”

I roll my eyes at him and decide to take in the room instead. Just like the rest of the mansion on the inside, it has all the luxuries one would expect from a five-star hotel, instead of the house of horrors it actually is. The lavish suite boasts an expansive layout adorned with plush silk drapes and intricate crown molding, creating an air of opulence and decadence. Soft, ambient light filters through two slender windows, illuminating the elegant furnishings, including a king-sized bed draped in luxurious linens and an opulent sitting area in front of a marble fireplace.

But neither Elias nor I are fooled by such extravagances.

“You get the impression that this place was carefully curated to lower our guard?” I ask Elias while walking over to the bathroom and finding that it’s just as decadently designed, with its marble soaking tub and dual rain showers.

“Can you think of any other reason?” he grumbles as he opens a bedside table drawer.

“It’s like the outside of this place was purposely made to look like a decaying haunted house to keep strangers away, while the inside is decorated to keep its prey from leaving.”

“I couldn’t put it better myself,” he says, still sounding distracted as he looks under the bed.

What is he up to?

“I think I’ll take a shower before dinner,” I say, setting my backpack in the corner and then rummaging through it for some clean underwear and clothes.

“Is that an invitation?” Elias smirks as he continues to open drawer after drawer, cabinet after cabinet.

“Definitely not. I might not have said anything when you demanded to share a bedroom with me, but us taking a shower together is where I draw the line,” I lie, frustrated, since apparently, he has other things preoccupying his mind right now.

“Shame. Shower sex is some of the best sex,” he replies on autopilot, while still scouring the room for God-knows-what.

I bite my inner cheek, hating that my mind immediately jumps to wondering how he would know something like that.

Because he’s done it before, that’s why.

And not with you.

“What are you doing?” I ask, exasperated, when he continues to look around every nook and cranny of the room.

“What does it look like? I’m looking for cameras or bugs hidden in the room.”

“Oh,” I mumble, embarrassed that I didn’t think of that. “And did you find any?”

“Not yet,” he says, still focused on his mission.

“Well, I’ll be in the shower if you need me.” When he gives me another preoccupied nod, I can’t help but frown, leaving my clothes on top of a nearby chair so I can storm off to the ensuite.

I guess a part of me was actually hoping that he’d refuse to follow my orders and join me in the shower to teach me how shower sex differs from regular sex.

But my frown quickly flips upside down as I strip off my clothes and smell Elias’s scent still on me. I know that sex with Elias should be the last thing on my mind right now, but memories from last night are still playing in a loop inside my head. And as I lavish my body with the sweet-scented body wash, I’m saddened that I’m washing away all traces of him. The only things I have to prove that last night wasn’t a dream are the small bruises and bite marks he left on my skin.

Once I’m fully washed, I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my body, while I use another to dry my hair. When I reenter the bedroom to get dressed, I find Elias lying down on the bed, his arms under his head, staring straight at me.

“Did you have a good shower?”

I nod.

“Did you find any cameras or audio devices?”

He shakes his head.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

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