"Speak then," he answered.
She shifted, trying to jerk her head away from his sifting fingers, not liking the way they felt so nice against her scalp. She knew Daniel was a violent man, she didn't need to forget that he was a threat to her. His fingers tightened in her hair, as though warning her if she persisted in pulling free he would make it hurt. She settled down with a huff of annoyance and allowed him to continue his ministrations.
"You already seem to know plenty about me," she pointed out sarcastically.
He didn't respond to her dig, just continued to pet her hair.
Fine, then she would dig into his life since he seemed to be okay with prying uninvited into hers. "How old are you?" she asked, imagining he was in his late thirties.
He didn't say anything.
"Where are you from?"
Nope. Still no reaction.
"Uh, because I noticed you had a little bit of an accent," she supplied in hopes that it might get him talking.
He stiffened, his hand freezing in her hair. Apparently she had touched on a sensitive topic. She hardly dared to breathe, wondering why the subject of his barely there accent was something he didn't want her talking about. "Not that anyone else would notice, it's just that I have a very practiced ear, being a blind musician and all," she hurriedly explained. After a moment he seemed to relax once more.
Well this is fun, she thought. Maybe I should have gone the sex route, because conversation was apparently not his strong suit.
She lapsed into silence not wanting to say anything else that might set him off. She suspected he would never normally let anyone get this close to him and wasn't entirely predictable in his actions while navigating a new situation. Addison wished she understood why he chose her of all people to test out his new desire to get up close and personal with someone.
He spoke, his husky voice close to her ear making her jump a little. "You touch people."
Addison frowned and nodded, not sure where he was going with this. "Yes, of course I touch people."
"Touch me," he said, peeling the blanket away from her throat where she clutched it tightly against her chest. "Get to know me."
Addison squeaked in protest and tried to hang on to her precious source of heat and flimsy protection, but he pulled it relentlessly away from her. Once her arm was freed he resettled the blanket over both of them so she would still be warm. She wasn't happy about this new turn of events, but she wasn't sure what she could do about it. Daniel wasn't turning out to be someone she could win an argument with.
He took her hand in his, enveloping her long fragile fingers in a steely grip and pressed them against his chest. He held her fingers there, trapping them against the fabric of his cotton shirt, under which she could feel the tight compact slabs of muscle. She knew from his position as a security specialist and what little of his body she had felt thus far in adrenalin fueled moments that he must be in good shape, but she hadn't imagined his body would be so hard.
Addison was caught somewhere between her visceral fear of a man she suspected had tortured and killed people in horrific ways and her curiosity to explore his body. She had always been attracted to people. No matter their shape or size. People were unique, and as a person with a visual impairment she found herself attracted to the person before the body. Yet she had never been in a situation quite like this before. And she had never felt a body like Daniel's.
Chewing on her lower lip, she flattened her hand out beneath the press of Daniel's larger hand and slid her fingers lower, tracing the edges of his pectoral muscles with the sensitive pads of her fingertips, her nail gently catching on his nipple. He sucked air in through clenched teeth and stiffened beneath her touch. She froze before moving lower.
"You won't lose control will you?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't... I don't want this to go any further."
"Not tonight," he agreed quietly.
She noted he was very careful to only give her the night. She may as well explore his body and get to know him if the countdown was on and they were going to become lovers. Or explore his body now because she was going to get herself the hell out of this situation and wouldn't get another chance to touch a man like Daniel Mercer. She was going to be very careful who she associated with in the future. Maybe become reclusive. Live on a mountaintop and write music for a living. That seemed safe. She was much less likely to get shot at and kidnapped if she became a hermit.
She slid her hand down his chest, taking secret enjoyment in the waves of sexual tension rolling off him. It was like being able to play with fire, but having the fire's solemn promise that it wouldn't burn her for the time being. The sensation was powerful, not a feeling she often had. The fingers wrapped in her hair stilled and then clenched around the loose curls, not painfully, but absently as though he fought with himself not to grab her.
Addison could feel the heat of his stomach as she continued to explore each ridge of his muscular rib cage and abdomen. She had never felt so many muscles on a single human being before, each one felt sculpted to perfection. She traced them over his T-shirt and around to his back, reaching as far as she could to touch each one, fascinated by the hard resilience.
She desperately wanted to know how they felt, but she was afraid to push him too far. She stopped, her hand hesitating at the edge of his shirt. She could feel the press of his erect penis against her hip as it strained through the layers of clothes. He was clearly enjoying her touch very much.
As though reading her mind, he seized her hand, pulled his shirt up and pressed her hand hard against the bare skin of his stomach. He crushed her hand into the heat of his muscular abdomen before easing up to allow her to continue her exploration. His skin was hot to her touch and smooth, but also hard with almost no give beneath the musculature. She tested each dip and crevice with her long fingers, exploring at will, now that she had his permission. She felt the gradual tightening of his body, but chose to ignore it. She had his promise. And so far he’d kept his word.
She felt a trail of hair along his stomach from his belly button that went lower and beckoned her fingers. As she slid one hand lower, she found herself curious if he had any hair on his chest too. She freed her other arm from the enveloping blanket and started to slide it up his chest when all at once she found herself flat on her back with Daniel on top of her and both of her wrists seized in one of his strong hands.
Addison let out a shriek of surprise. He sat heavily on top of her and she desperately wondered if she had misread him. If she wasn't safe at all. Was he going to hurt her? But as soon as she had the thought, Daniel rolled off of her just as swiftly and got off the bed. She let out another gasp as the blanket snapped above her and then landed over her body again. She lay stiffly, expecting his big body to settle back on the bed with her.
"Sleep," he said gruffly.
She heard him walk away, then the light switch and the shadows in the room disappeared leaving her in complete darkness. The door opened and closed, and a lock engaged. She wasn't sure if he was locking her in for safety or making sure she wouldn't leave.
