“Once I figure this mess out, you can go back squatting in shacks.”
“The sooner the better,” I growled.
He mockingly waved goodbye before closingthe door behind him. I immediately locked the door.
Pressing my back against the door, I surveyed the room. No weapons in sight. Although I doubted he would leave themin viewof thewomanwho’d held him atgunpointyesterday.
Istepped overthe fluffy white rug in the center of the room andcheckedfor a latch on the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was impossible to test my theory without a gun, but from the thickness of the glass I was pretty sure thewindowswere bulletproof. And there didn’t appear to be any mechanisms to open the window.
My gaze moved towards the cars speeding hundreds of feet below us.Not that it would do me any goodeven if I couldopen the windows. I doubtedSebastian’s guardswould be verywelcomingto someone climbing down the side of the building.
I turned around and rifled through the drawers. As suspected, no weapons were hidden inside them. The first fewdrawers were filledwith lingerie, all different colors and sizes. With a shake of my head, I moved onto another drawer. This time Ifinallyfoundwhat I’d been looking for: workout clothes.
My entire body ached from the beating that Ray’s men had given me. But I couldn’t allow myself to fall out of shape. Sebastian could pretend we were playing house right now, but I knew it wouldn’t be indefinite. When the time came, I needed to strike hard and fast.
???
Later that evening I was lying in bed underneathafluffy white comforter. In the darkness, I watched a lightturnoff in a nearby apartment building. I should really get some sleep. My body was still aching fromacombination oftheworkout and previous injuries. But my eyes stayedopen. I’d been hoping that my exercise earlier would release some of that pent-up tension inside of me. But reminders ofSebastian’s earlierwords kept springing into my mind, and it only made the arousal stronger.
Justthinkingabouthim tying me up and toying with me should not have had such an effecton me. After my workout earlier, I’d tried to usetheshowerheadto take the edge off. But all I could see were his condescending eyes. And I knew if I got off withthatvisual it’d become a habit.
His words meant nothing.
Nothing.
As I laid in bed, I tried mentally repeating the words, but it didn’t have the intended effect. With a groan, I gave up on sleep andstepped out of bed.I movedtowards the doorandpressed my ear againstit. The low whirl of the air conditioner was the only sound that greeted me.
All I’d seen of thepenthousewas the dining room duringour surprisingly well-cooked mealsalong with the inside of my bedroom.If Sebastian was asleep, I needed to search his house for potential weapons. Despite our deal for me to stay here and play nice, there would come a time I’d need a gun. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to point a gun at him.
Last time hadn’t ended so well for me.
I continued to listen for any signs of movement in the hallway while thinking through where Sebastian would hide his guns. Was he the type to keep them locked in a safe inside his office, or to keep them holstered for easy access underneath his bed? From the way he gripped his gun, it was obvious his training was all-encompassing. But from the skillful way he’d taken down his brother, it was obvious that he was the type that would prefer to take a man down with his fists than a FMK. I’d start with his office.
When I was satisfied with the lack of sounds outside,I slowly eased the door open and stepped out into the hallway.
“Yes?” Sebastian called.
Damn it.
“I’m just getting some water,” Ihuffed back while heading towardsthe kitchen.
Sebastian was lying onablack couch in the living room. Hewatchedan oversized television that was large enough to block out part of the floor-to-ceilingwindow behind it. The sound was on mute, that’s why I hadn’t heard anything. Thetv must’vecome out of the ground, because I hadn’t seen it earlier. Maybe that was how some of their weapons were stored.
He raised an eyebrow at my comment about water. Probably since he’dalready given me a glass to bring to my room after dinner. But he just turned back to the tv, and ignored me. Good, I don’t think I couldhandle aheated look from him right now. I checked out the show he was watching.
He knew what I watched during my free time.I was curious what type of show hepicked. The camera panned over cathedral ceilings thensilverlockers underneath them.
“That’s my high school,” I blurted out.
“What?” he said, turning back to me.
I mentally smacked myself for engaging with him. All night I’d beenattemptingnot to think about him, and now I was forcing his awareness on me.
When I remained silent he raised an eyebrow. Whatever, one off hand comment about my life wouldn’t kill me.
“Years ago, theyfilmed that scene at my high school. I remember it was such a big deal.” God, how my life had changed since then.
“You can join me if you want,” he said.
