Page 18 of Betrayal (Corrupt Empire 1)

Curiosity burnt in her doe eyes, but I knew she wouldn’t ask me about them.

“If you need to… uh… go, then go,” I said, indicating the loo behind me.

She stood up on shaky legs and walked towards it. My back was to her so she didn’t have to worry about me watching. She sat back on the bath when she was done, her eyes on me again.

“Why are you doing this for me?” she asked.

“You’re cold. Can’t have you getting sick.”

I took her injured hand and peeled off the bandage. Her knuckles looked better than they had done yesterday. It was lucky she hadn’t hurt herself worse.

When the water was high enough, I shut off the taps. I walked away a few paces to give her some privacy.

“Um, Aiden, can… can you help me, please? I can’t undo my bra.”

When I turned back, her face was bright red. The way she said my name made my dick hard. For fuck’s sake. That was the last thing I needed.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“My arms, it hurts too much what with them having been cuffed behind my back all night.”

I moved closer to her.

“Turn around then.”

She did as I asked. I could see goosebumps all over her skin. Taking a breath, I unhooked her bra. My fingers trailed upwards, pushing down the strap on her left shoulder. She put her hands up, cupping the bra to her breasts. I stared down at her cleavage as I pulled down the strap on her right shoulder. My fingers brushed down her arms, coming to rest on her waist. The urge to tug her against me grew until it was almost unbearable.

“I don’t want to get my hair wet,” she whispered.

I brushed her hair away from her ear, leaning down closer.

“No?”

She swallowed.

“It’s not like you’d have a hairdryer lying around.”

I smiled as I trailed my fingers along her shoulder. She trembled and fuck, did I want her. Here she was, almost naked in front of me and no matter how much she hated me, she was affected too. Her breath came faster, her teeth making indents on her bottom lip.

“Wait there.”

Girls I’d had in my flat in the past sometimes left things behind. I most likely had a hairband for her somewhere. I dug through the bathroom cabinet above the sink, finding my prey. I stalked back over to Avery, resuming my position behind her. I carefully gathered her hair up and tied it back for her.

“Do you need anything else?” I asked, resting my hands on her shoulders, kneading them slightly with my fingers.

I felt her relax so I continued. She let out a little moan.

“Do you like that? You’re all tense,” I whispered in her ear, stepping closer so my chest was almost touching her back.

I didn’t think she’d answer me, but she nodded. She arched into my touch when I dug my fingers harder into her shoulders.

What the fuck was I doing right now?

This was going to end badly if I didn’t stop, but my fucking common sense had fled. Being close to her, touching her skin made all my senses come alive. It was fucking lucky I was wearing shorts because my hardon was raging out of control. I teetered on the edge of pressing her into me. We were only inches apart. Those inches felt like miles.

“You should get in before the water gets cold,” I said.

“O… Okay.”

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