Page 40 of Mine

This wasn’t pretend. This wasn’t what my mother had known. I was sure of it. His attention had been entirely on me the entire time, like he could read my mind.

I shifted, and he slid out of me. He helped me sit up, and a wash of dizziness passed over me. I lay back against the couch cushions. He stood up and pulled his underwear back up.

It was only when I heard the door opening that I spoke.

“What was that?” I asked. He paused, and even though the lights were off, I could see the expression on his face darkening.

“A character study,” he said, finally. “I was having a hard time getting to sleep.”

“Oh,” I said, disappointment edging my voice. I don’t know what kind of answer I was expecting. I don’t know what kind of answer I wanted. I only know that at his words, a shiver ran through my body and it was all I could do to keep myself from going to him and throwing my arms around him. Stupid me. Stupid imagination.

“I hope you sleep better,” I said. I tried to make my words cold, but I couldn’t. In the dark, he had taken me completely and then given me back to myself. I choked back the sentiment. He obviously didn’t share it.

“I should be fine now,” Rien said. “Thank you—thank you for not fighting too much. I hope you enjoyed it. Whether you were pretending or not.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Rien

I sat at the head of the operating room table. Gav was sitting at the other end with one of his own number eleven scalpels, making little cuts into the bottom of Mr. Steadhill’s feet.

“I don’t know what to do with her,” I said, running a hand through my hair. Gav poked the blade between two of the toes, and Mr. Steadhill made a nice squealing noise. Gav always knew the right buttons to push.

“She in there?” He waved the scalpel at the secret door to the library.

“Yeah.”

“Can I meet her?”

“No. You want her to see your face, too?”

Gav yawned, covering his mouth with his fist.

“No, I guess you’re right. You can’t just, you know?” He drew his finger across his neck.

“She’s innocent. I can’t kill an innocent person.”

Especially not someone like her.I didn’t know how to say that, though. There was something strange about her. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. And other things, not so strange, that I could put my finger on. God, her body was delicious.

“Now you know how I feel,” Gav said, watching my expression. “Careful, or you might fall in love with her.”

“Ha! No, I’m keeping her locked up in the library. I only took her out this morning to let her go to the bathroom. I gave her a bagel. I don’t know,” I said, feeling like I was rambling. “It’s a sticky spot to be in.”

“Are you keeping her sedated?”

“No.” I thought back to when I had paralyzed her, and a rush of blood ran down to my dick. I’d loved watching her eyes as I pleasured her. And last night…“I don’t know. What would you do?”

“You know what I would do.”

“No I don’t.”

“Hypothetically,” Gav said, tracing the scalpel around Mr. Steadhill’s big toe, “hypothetically I’m you. And I have this girl, an innocent girl, locked up in my library.”

“Yes.”

“And I’m falling for her.”

“I’m not falling for her.”

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