Page 19 of Wicked Beauty

I have to bite back a moan the instant the hot water hits my skin. I clench my teeth, refusing to let him hear anything close to pleasure as I tip my head back, letting it run through my hair and over my body, the hot shower in this moment feeling better than most of the sex I’ve had in my life.

When I’m sure I can control myself, I open my mouth, letting some of it run over my tongue, swallowing it. Hot water isn’t what I want–I’m thirsty enough now to feel as if an ice-cold glass of water is some kind of illicit fantasy–but it slakes my thirst a little. I do it quickly, in between washing myself, knowing that he’s watching from the other side of the glass.

I don’t know how long I’m going to get. I want to linger forever, but instead I make sure to wash my hair and body as quickly as I can, not wanting to miss the chance. I don’t know when I’ll get another.

The door cracks open, and I have to stop myself from flinching back, thinking he’s going to drag me out. Instead, he hands me a razor, the type that isn’t easy to break the blades out of.

“Shaveeverything,” he says coldly. “And if you try to take the easy way out of this, rest assured, I’m right here, and I’ll make sure you survive it. You’ll wish you hadn’t even tried when you’re conscious again.”

The threat in his voice, the easy coldness with which he says it, sends a chill down my spine that makes even the pleasure of the hot water fade away for a moment. I nod, the lump in my throat making it impossible to speak, and Mikhail hands me the razor. “Everything,” he repeats before letting go of it, his gaze pointedly skimming over my pussy and the curves of my ass. “Not a bit of hair on you below the collarbone, when you get out.”

I can feel myself fuming inwardly at the idea of him giving me directions as to my own bodily maintenance, but I bite the words I want to say back.This isn’t the hill to die on,I remind myself.And it means you get longer in the shower.

Aside from my feelings about being ordered to shave, I’m disappointed when I’m finished. I have no reason to stay in the shower, but I linger a little bit longer, wondering if it’s worth the price I’d have to pay to make him forcibly remove me from it, rather than getting out on my own. It feels almost painful to turn off the water, but I reason that if I don’t make it into a fight this time, he might be more inclined to let me have another.

Mikhail holds up a towel for me as I step out, and I take it from him without a word, my pulse speeding up as I dry off. I have no idea what happens next, what he has planned for me in the bedroom, or how awful it might be. The unknown feels like the worst, my imagination running rampant, and as I wrap the towel around myself it’s hard to find the nerve to look him in the eye. Still, I force myself to do it. I don’t want to let him see me afraid if I can help it.

“Drop the towel,” Mikhail says flatly. “You don’t get to be covered up,kotenok. Your body is mine now, to see when I want. And–I want.”

My hand twitches at the top of the towel. “I’m cold.” My voice sticks in my throat. “You can’t keep me naked all of the time.”

Mikhail laughs, taking a step towards me. “I can do whatever I want. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” His eyes narrow pointedly. “Drop. The. Towel.”

I want to fight back. I want to punch him right in his laughing, smirking face. I want to kick him in his balls again, like I did this morning. I look at the faint red lines still on his cheeks and throat from my nails earlier, and I want to dig in all over again, scratch him bloody.

And at the same time, if I did, I know we’d end up fucking again. Just the thought of the fight this morning has adrenaline starting to pulse through me, a tight heat between my legs that feels like the beginning of a steady throb.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Mikhail grins, his eyes flicking over my face and neck. “What are you thinking about,kotenok, to make you flush so prettily?”

I swallow hard. “It’s the hot water. The steam. I–flush easily.”

“Mmhm.” He laughs, reaching out to run the backs of his fingers over my cheek, his knuckles skimming against my collarbone. It’s all I can do not to flinch back. “I’ll give you one more chance to do as I say, Natalia, since you look so very pretty right now, all flushed and frightened. If you don’t–”

He doesn’t need to finish the sentence. I don’t want him to. I don’t want to know what other depraved things are in his mind right now.

Slowly, I let go of the front of the towel. As I do, Mikhail steps forward, the front of his body pressed against mine, holding it in place for a moment longer.

It makes me so much more aware of him. I feel every inch of him touching me, more than ever because there’s nothing forcing me to stand still–except that the moment I step away from him, the towel falls, and I’m naked again. His hand is on my cheek, but the gentlest it’s ever been, his knuckles skimming against my damp flesh. His broad chest, his muscled stomach and abs, his hard thighs, all touching me, the heat of him seeping through layers of fabric into my skin, and I can feel my heartbeat like never before. I can feelhim, every hard, dangerous inch of him, and for a dizzying moment, I find myself wishing that this were a very different situation than the one I’ve found myself in with him.

That I couldwantto let him see me, have me,possessme, and not be ashamed of it. For it to not be so very, very wrong.

His blue eyes shimmer down into mine, bright and hot, and I can see that ever-present lust. Thatobsession.

The key to my escape.

Very, very slowly, as I meet his gaze, I let the tip of my tongue slide over my lower lip. I want him to remember what he felt this morning. How he lost control in my mouth. How he couldn’t fight the pleasure.

I want him to remember what it feels like to be helpless, too.

And very slowly, I let the corners of my mouth curl up, just a little.

Mikhail steps back, as if I’ve burned him. The towel falls away, dropping to the floor, but I almost don’t care. I have, once again, the tiniest taste of victory.

I know he’ll make me pay for it, but right now, it feels worth it.

His gaze rakes down my naked, still-damp body, hot and angry and full of a seething lust that I know all too well. His hand shoots out, grabbing my elbow in a crushing vise, and he yanks me towards the bathroom door. “Come on,Natalia,” he hisses. “It’s time you see where a lying littlekotenoklike you sleeps for the night.”

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