Page 93 of Beg the Night

She stiffened, looking from me to the closed door and back again.

My mind swarmed with a million questions about her reaction. Damn, I wished I’d manifested the power to read minds.

Before I could ask what the problem was, she tiptoed over to the bathroom door.

I followed her inside and shut the door behind us without a sound.

I dropped our armfuls of clothes on the small white counter next to the sink. The room was small but clean, with a toilet, and a small shower in the corner. It was luxurious compared to the facilities in the dungeons.

Knowing I didn’t have to worry about the dozens of other men walking in on Athena was the greatest part of all of it.

Freedom had some benefits, I supposed.

At least for now.

With her back to me, she turned the nozzle and the water beat down against the tile.

Steam quickly followed, fogging up the small, cracked mirror that hung over the sink.

“You shower first,” she said. “I’ll wait.”

“No, you go. You need it more than I do.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Are you telling me I stink?”

With a harsh inhale, I gave her a once-over. “Athena, you’re covered in mud and blood.”

“And you’re not?”

Annoyance flared in my chest. “Are you always this stubborn?”

“Only when you’re being this annoying.” Eyes narrowed, she assessed me.

Damn, she was an absolute mess. And she was fucking beautiful. With every hour, my power became more responsive to her, more protective. It urged me to reach out, to run a finger down her dirty cheek.

Instead, I balled my fists at my sides and turned toward the door. “Hurry up,” I ordered. “It’ll be light out soon.”

For a few seconds, she didn’t move. For a few seconds, I pictured the way she might step forward, put a hand on my shoulder, force me to face her.

I hadn’t always wanted to be this person. I hadn’t longed to be the cold asshole who brushed her off at every turn. I played games with her. I knew I did. She was confused and vulnerable and she had been through so fucking much, and I’d done nothing but make it worse.

After everything she had been through…

“Fine,” she said. “Don’t turn around.”

I stayed put while she stripped the tatters of her white dress from her body. I fucking hated that dress. It reminded me too much of the Ministry. They’d taken so much from her. From us.

But in the end, they hadn’t broken us. They never would. Athena would have submitted completely during the claiming if it meant freedom.

But at what cost? What was she willing to give up in return for control over her life?

Some freedoms were an illusion. I knew enough to know that.

The sound of the water hitting her body distracted me from my thoughts, allowing the muscles in my shoulders to relax. I slumped against the sink and stared at myself in the steamy bathroom mirror.

I didn’t recognize the person looking back at me.

I’d hated myself for a long, long time. Since long before I met Athena. But somehow the way she smiled at me, the way she looked for me in a crowd and lit up when I was near, made me hate myself even more.

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