With the mirth never leaving his eyes, he sarcastically put his hands together near the painted white metal leg of the bed.
I looped the scarf around his wrists and tied a knot like I was tying my shoes.Laughter escaped from his mouth again, and I glared at him.
He just smirked back.“You could at least let me sleep on the bed,” he said.
I finished the knot and dropped theends of the scarf.“I don’t trust you.”
I picked up a second scarf and moved towards his feet. I yanked his enormous feet towards the bedpost at the foot of the bed. He was so tall he had to curl his knees up.
“What are you worried about? I’m the one tied up,” he said, amusement in his eyes as he watched me tie hisanklestogether with the scarf.
While I finished up the knot, hesaid, “Or maybe you’re worried you can’t resist me.”
I felt the blush creeping up my neck. Damn it, some twisted part of me wished the roles were reversed right now.
“Shut up,” I growled, partially towards my traitorous mind. I stoodup andassessedmy work. Hopefully the knot stayed better than my shoelaces did. I continued, picking up my clothes from the floor, “I’m going to take a shower. Don’t even try to escape.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to join you?”
I flicked him off, and his laughter followed me until Islammedthe bathroom door. I glanced in the mirror and checked to make sure none of my bruises were showing. My shirt had gotten untucked, but it was long so I was still completely covered.
Good, he hadn’t seen.
Grimacing, I began pulling the clothes off my body. From my chest up, my skin was pale and unmarred. Underneath that, my body was etched with scratches and lacerations. There werebarely anyhints of pale skin. Nearly every inch had some sort of mark or bruise. On the bright side, some of the blue spots had faded to green. I ran my hand over my tender legs, flinching slightly. Large bumps spread across my entire body. Aesthetically unattractive, but at least there were no serious injuries.
Hopefully when Sebastian had been feeling me up, he just thought I had naturally lumpy skin.
I turned on the shower and reached for the tangle free shampoo. I yanked the tangles out of my hair with a hot pink wet brush. It was one thing that hadn’t gone out of style in the last eighteen years. I ran the soap bar over my cuts, clenching my teeth to keep from gasping out.
When I was done, I wrapped a towel around my body. The beady eyes of my favorite childhood cartoon stared back at me from the towel. I opened up the blond wood cabinets. Of course, there was no medical equipment in here. When my mother was still alive, I hadn’t been involved in that life. There was no reason to have a medical kit in a normal elementary school student’s bedroom. Sure, there’d been guards making sure I was safe, and I heard the whispers of conversations about my father’s work. But she had shielded me from thatlife. I wondered where I’d be now if she was still alive…
I tried to drown out that thought with theroar of the blow dryer. As I worked a brush through my wavy hair, I could already imagine how frizzy my hair would end up with no product.The last time the cabinets had been restocked was in the 90s, so I didn’t even bother to check if there was heat protectant spray.
When I finished, I gingerly easedonthe sweatshirt and matching sweatpants from the guest bedroom. I slipped the long dark socks over the sweatpants, and begrudging put the gloves from earlier back on. After I put my guns back in my waistband, I looked in the mirror. Good. There was no evidence of a single bruise or injury. No hint of weakness.
I stepped back outside and found Sebastian still laying in the same position.
“Cold?”he asked, his eyes on my gloved hands.
I shrugged.“I prefer tostrangle you with these on.”
I caughtan eye roll from Sebastian beforeIturnedthe lights off. Ignoring him, Iplaced all of my guns on the nightstand opposite him. Just like I had done eighteen years ago, Imoved thepurple mesh canopy fabric to the side and climbed into bed. I laid there, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark ceiling decals, and faded away into sleep.
Chapter 23
Light streamed in through the windows, and with a grunt I tried to reach for a pillow to block it. When my hand didn’t move, my eyes shot open.
My feet weretied toopposite ends of themetal footboard with what appeared to be pink silky pillowcases. I kicked my still clothed legs out, but they stayed strapped into place.
I looked up, two familiar black scarves restrained my gloved hands. Both my arms were stretched out as if they were about to reach for the nightstandsoneither end of the bed. I tried moving my wrists, so that I could bring them closer to my head. The scarf stayed firmly in place.
With a grunt I tried yanking my hands as hard as I could, but again neither budged from place. I turned my head left; the guns wereno longer on the nightstand. Not that I could have reached it even if it had been there.
The door to the bathroom clicked open, and Sebastian strode towards me with a smirk on his face.
“Untie me,” I ordered. I tried to force my body into a sitting position. My shoulders stayed flush against the mattress, and my chest moved less than an inch.
He shook his head and sat on the edge of the mattress. I thrashed my body, trying to detangle myself from the restraints.
