Page 82 of Wretched Soul
“Do you think you can help me up?”
Chapter 28
Mace
Isit on the floor of Lily’s bathroom and wait for the shower stall to fog up and end my torture. Unfortunately, a misted version of Lily’s body is almost as erotic as seeing her striptease in front of me, and Slayer knew she was teasing me.
She wants me in there. I want to be in there. But it’s only nine thirty, and she may not have flushed all of the Rohypnol out of her system yet. However willing Lily might seem, her inhibitions could be deceptively low. I can’t rely on her making any decisions today, so everything I plan to discuss with her will have to wait too.
Lily hums a song as she washes her hair, making it impossible to ignore her, but I try. Picking up my cell phone, I send a text message to Kaitlyn to let her know Lily’s awake, and to ask her to confirm when she’s coming over. I’ll stay as long as Lily needs me, but the longer I hang around, the more likely it is that I’ll do or say something she’s not ready for.
I send a message to Connie too. The doctor advised that Lily should eat simple food when she’s hungry, and if anyone knows what that involves, it’s our housekeeper. I can always ask Kaitlyn to pick up the food Connie suggests on her way over.
I’m not expecting a reply from Kaitlyn this early, but Connie’s response comes back within minutes. Scratch the shopping list. She’s going to send over some food with Jake. I don’t necessarily want members of our family’s inner circle coming over, but arguing with Connie is futile. She does love to mother and I’ve given her the perfect opportunity.
When the shower cuts off, I jump to my feet. I have a towel ready as Lily steps out of the stall. She leans into my chest. “It looks like you do have self-control when you want,” she says, her hands reaching for my hips to pull me closer.
My already thickened cock twitches, but I peel her hands away and grab a second towel. I pat dry her face, soaking up the wanton look she gives me. “More than you do right now. Do you need me to fetch you some clothes from your bedroom?”
“That will do,” she says, pointing to the garment hanging on the back of her bathroom door. It’s my t-shirt. Damn, she’s not making this easy.
Once she’s indecently dressed and has towel-dried her hair, I pull her back into the bedroom. Despite her mischievousness, she yawns and it doesn’t take much to persuade her to get back into bed. I make her drink more water before she sinks beneath the covers.
“Did you sleep much last night?” she asks. The question feels loaded.
“I stayed up to watch you. And you know how much I like watching you.”
She scoffs at that, but there’s a purr in her voice when she says, “You should get into bed as well. Even if it’s just for an hour.”
“I’ll stick with the armchair. Now go to sleep.”
When Lily closes her eyes and keeps them closed, I sink into my chair. I only intend to rest my eyes, but it isn’t long before I drop off. And that’s when Lily makes her next move. A shadowfalls over me, and as I rouse myself from sleep, she’s climbing onto my lap.
“Lily, you can’t do this,” I scold, but my arms are already wrapping around her. I like how her body feels against me. Every single one of her curves fits with mine, and I don’t know if she was made for me, or I was made for her.
“I needed you,” she says. “And I will go to sleep. I promise.”
Resting my chin on the top of her head, I breathe in the citrus scent of her shampoo and her minty toothpaste. There’s a muskier scent too, and it’s coming from my t-shirt. I pluck at the sleeve. “Have you washed this at all?”
She tips back her head to look at me. “And wash away your smell? Absolutely not. I might have been mad at you, but I’ve been wearing it all week.”
“I can tell,” I say with a smirk. “And I say this with love, Lily. It needs a good wash.”
I’m expecting a sharp retort, but her eyes glisten. “With love?”
Ah. Shit. “It’s just an expression.”
“If you say so.” She settles back against my chest. “Why did you invite me to the VIP area last night? Wouldn’t there be chance I’d find out your name?”
I trail my fingers along her arm. “We’ll talk about it another time.”
“Talk to me, Shade,” she insists. “What if things had gone badly last night? What if you’d never seen me again? You can’t guarantee there’ll be another time, not ever. What if we only have this moment?”
The arm I have around Lily’s waist ropes tighter. I know she’s feeling vulnerable and it’s natural for her to be plagued with the what-ifs. I’m haunted by them too, but I can’t give in to those thoughts. “Firstly, what happened last night is never going to happen again because I won’t let it.”
“But you can’t–”
“Just watch me,” I say, more harshly than I intend. “Right now, I don’t overly care about respecting your boundaries. This is who I am. This is what you’d be signing up for. If I want to follow you, I will. If I think it’s necessary to put another tracker on your car, or your phone, I will. I can’t go through what happened last night again. Please don’t ask me to.”
