He stops and turns to face me. His eyes focus on her front door and then on mine. “Look.” He steps forward and lowers his voice. “I love Eve like a sister.” I don’t like how he says it, because I’ve seen how he’s treated Ashtyn and because I know that he’s fucked my girl. “I really do, but you’re not going to win this. She’s going to do whatever she wants. Just like you’re going to do whatever the fuck you want.”
“You told me that I had to help protect her, and I think tonight proves that I need to protect her from you as well.”
He’s giving her these jobs all on her own. All they have to do is drug her drink or overpower her for a second, and she’s dead. I pinned her down to the couch in the office at the cathedral and ripped her fishnet tights. So I know that it can easily be done. She’s tough but not physically as strong as a man. The only reason she’s made it this far is because she has them at a disadvantage. She catches them off guard. They’re vulnerable, thinking that they’re paying a hooker for sex. Eventually, they’re going to start talking and wondering where these guys are disappearing to.
Adam’s phone starts ringing, and he sighs heavily. “I have to go. Keep an eye on her, and I’ll check back tomorrow.” With that, he turns, answering his phone as he dips into the driver’s side of his car.
I enter her house and don’t see her in the living room or kitchen, so I go to her bedroom. The sound of running water has me walking into her bathroom.
She sits in the tub with that bottle of whiskey in her hand. Her head is back on thepillow, eyes closed.
I rip the Jack from her hands and place it on the counter by her sink. Then I turn back to face her. She’s staring up at me with her heavy eyes. “I don’t want a lecture,” she whispers.
My girl looks exhausted. “I don’t plan on giving you one.” Adam is right. She’s going to do whatever she wants to do unless I stop her. Words aren’t going to change her mind, but actions will keep her here.
I sit on the side of the tub and order, “Sit up.”
She slowly gets to a sitting position and pulls her knees to her chest. The tub is filled about halfway and there are no bubbles, so I can see her tan skin through the water. She’s got bruises on her knees and around her arms and neck. They’re from me and the belts I used on her. What I did to her the past two days.
The one on her cheek is new. And I notice she’s got a large one on her thigh. Also not from my hands.
“I’m going to wash you, then tuck you into bed,” I inform her. “Your body needs to rest.”
“Not going to make me sleep on the floor like a dog?” She snorts. “How thoughtful of you.”
Ignoring that, I grab a cup that she has sitting on the side of the tub and fill it with water and begin to wash her hair. She sighs, running her hands down her face.
Less than twenty minutes later, as I pull the plug to her bathwater, she can’t keep her eyes open. I help her out, wipe her off, and wrap her in a towel. She allows me to pick her up and carry her to her bed, where I place her under the covers.
“This is your fault, you know.”
I frown. “How so?”
“Doesn’t matter.” She rolls over, but I sit down next to her, turning her onto her back so she has to face me.
“It does,” I assure her. “Tell me what I did.”
She licks her lips. “It’s what you didn’t do.” My frown deepens and she yawns. “It’s your fault I was off my game tonight. I was weak and distracted.”
“I’m still not understanding how you putting yourself in danger is my fault. You should have called me.” I know she’s seen my number saved in her phone. “I would have gone with you.” Haidyn used to pay for his sex all the time. I know that some have bodyguards. The smart ones do anyway. I don’t give a fuck what a woman chooses to do with her body, but she should always protect herself. Anything can happen. I could have pretended to be that for her.
She blinks, her heavy eyes having trouble staying open. “You didn’t let me get off.”
“You didn’t get yourself off when you got home?”
Her brows pull down at my question. “Was that what you wanted?” she asks, though I don’t answer. “Were…were you testing me?”
“If I was, it sounds like you failed.”
“Unbelievable,” she mumbles.
I reach out and push a few strands of wet hair behind her ear and search her heated eyes. “Why didn’t you get yourself off, angel?”
She looks away, refusing to answer me.
“When was the last time you allowed yourself to come?” I ask instead.
“That’s…none of your business.”
