desperately wanted my hair to feel clean and tangle-free again, but I didn’t trust him an inch. He leaned his arms on the side of the bath and looked at me, as he raised his eyebrows.
‘So … little Elinor … do you trust me with your lovely red hair?’
‘I would love clean hair,’ I said. ‘Just don’t try anything.’
His lips quirked upwards.
It was all going to go horribly wrong if he attempted any kind of seduction routine on me. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to tolerate his hands in my hair, let alone anywhere else. He moved behind me and my whole body tensed as his fingers touched my hair. I felt his palms gently cupping water over the tangled mass, and then those strong, sure fingers began to massage shampoo into my hair and scalp. My body gradually began to unwind as the tension left it, and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax properly for the first time in what felt like months. He rinsed off the shampoo thoroughly, and ran his fingers through my hair, gently straightening out the tangles.
Lightly, teasingly, his hands suddenly slid down my bare shoulders. His touch made me gasp, and my skin tingled like ice and fire together where his fingers had been. He softly kissed the back of my neck – a gentle, fluttering kiss like a velvet butterfly winging its way down my body.
I moved away from him, with one violent shove that sent the water sloshing around to reveal more of my upper body than I was happy with.
‘How did I know you would take advantage?’ I said scathingly. ‘Dead or alive, men are all the same.’
‘So call me predictable.’ He held up his hands in mock surrender as he stood. His t-shirt was soaked, and clung rather distractingly to his muscular body. I averted my gaze quickly and for once felt safer with him standing.
‘You enjoyed my company once,’ he sighed.
As I couldn’t even remember where I’d even met him, I found his remark somewhat confusing.
‘Even if we’d met under different circumstances, I very much doubt I’d have found you even passably attractive,’ I lied.
He arched an eyebrow at that. ‘We did, and I can assure you, I was not found wanting.’
So why can’t I remember?
I had sunk right down in the water again to ensure the bubbles came right up to my neck. There was no way on this earth I would get out of the bath with him still in the room.
‘Let me show you my world,’ he said, once again changing the subject. ‘
Our
world.’
‘I want to get dry and dressed first. In private.’
‘So shy,’ he mocked me again. ‘How very refreshing.’
He inclined his head at me before he left through the opposite door again, closing it firmly behind him. I waited for a few minutes, half-expecting him to return at any moment. When he didn’t, I got out of the bath, and hurriedly wrapped myself in a towel. I dried and dressed quickly with shaking hands. The clothes he’d chosen were my own, and I was glad of the familiarity, although how he’d come by them I couldn’t remember. I was glad he had supplied underwear too, although I wasn’t sure how I felt about him actually handling it. A strange feeling clenched at my lower body at the thought, and I tried to ignore it in a wave of foreboding.
‘Do you want to bring the rest of your clothes?’
I was sitting on the floor in my flat, leaning against my wardrobe door. Will had pulled a holdall from the top of the wardrobe and was stuffing clothes into it. I watched him put my life into a bag and still I did nothing. Why wasn’t I running away?
‘Let us go, little vampire’
A brief baring of his white teeth in a semblance of a smile and I began to shake my head again and again, no
…
no
…
I would not go anywhere with this man.
I blinked several times and the elegant bathroom swam back into focus. Where had that memory come from? When had Will been in my flat packing my clothes? That he had, in fact, packed my clothes was evident because I was wearing them. God I
‘So … little Elinor … do you trust me with your lovely red hair?’
‘I would love clean hair,’ I said. ‘Just don’t try anything.’
His lips quirked upwards.
It was all going to go horribly wrong if he attempted any kind of seduction routine on me. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to tolerate his hands in my hair, let alone anywhere else. He moved behind me and my whole body tensed as his fingers touched my hair. I felt his palms gently cupping water over the tangled mass, and then those strong, sure fingers began to massage shampoo into my hair and scalp. My body gradually began to unwind as the tension left it, and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax properly for the first time in what felt like months. He rinsed off the shampoo thoroughly, and ran his fingers through my hair, gently straightening out the tangles.
Lightly, teasingly, his hands suddenly slid down my bare shoulders. His touch made me gasp, and my skin tingled like ice and fire together where his fingers had been. He softly kissed the back of my neck – a gentle, fluttering kiss like a velvet butterfly winging its way down my body.
I moved away from him, with one violent shove that sent the water sloshing around to reveal more of my upper body than I was happy with.
‘How did I know you would take advantage?’ I said scathingly. ‘Dead or alive, men are all the same.’
‘So call me predictable.’ He held up his hands in mock surrender as he stood. His t-shirt was soaked, and clung rather distractingly to his muscular body. I averted my gaze quickly and for once felt safer with him standing.
‘You enjoyed my company once,’ he sighed.
As I couldn’t even remember where I’d even met him, I found his remark somewhat confusing.
‘Even if we’d met under different circumstances, I very much doubt I’d have found you even passably attractive,’ I lied.
He arched an eyebrow at that. ‘We did, and I can assure you, I was not found wanting.’
So why can’t I remember?
I had sunk right down in the water again to ensure the bubbles came right up to my neck. There was no way on this earth I would get out of the bath with him still in the room.
‘Let me show you my world,’ he said, once again changing the subject. ‘
Our
world.’
‘I want to get dry and dressed first. In private.’
‘So shy,’ he mocked me again. ‘How very refreshing.’
He inclined his head at me before he left through the opposite door again, closing it firmly behind him. I waited for a few minutes, half-expecting him to return at any moment. When he didn’t, I got out of the bath, and hurriedly wrapped myself in a towel. I dried and dressed quickly with shaking hands. The clothes he’d chosen were my own, and I was glad of the familiarity, although how he’d come by them I couldn’t remember. I was glad he had supplied underwear too, although I wasn’t sure how I felt about him actually handling it. A strange feeling clenched at my lower body at the thought, and I tried to ignore it in a wave of foreboding.
‘Do you want to bring the rest of your clothes?’
I was sitting on the floor in my flat, leaning against my wardrobe door. Will had pulled a holdall from the top of the wardrobe and was stuffing clothes into it. I watched him put my life into a bag and still I did nothing. Why wasn’t I running away?
‘Let us go, little vampire’
A brief baring of his white teeth in a semblance of a smile and I began to shake my head again and again, no
…
no
…
I would not go anywhere with this man.
I blinked several times and the elegant bathroom swam back into focus. Where had that memory come from? When had Will been in my flat packing my clothes? That he had, in fact, packed my clothes was evident because I was wearing them. God I
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