Not everywhere.
Rhys holds my hand and calls one of his men to comeby and guard the gate until he returns tomorrow with the lock repaired. By the time we get back to our building, my muddied boots are full of water, and I’m trembling too hard to hold my apartment key steady.
Rhys takes it from me silently, unlocks the door, and ushers me inside. Warm air hits my frozen skin. It’s like someone set my nightgown on fire.
I kick off the boots and toss them into the half-bath next to my door. I try to peel off the nightgown, but the wet fabric resists and clings to my skin, cold and heavy. I want it off, off, off.
Finally, it gives, and I toss the wet nightie. When I glance up, Rhys has gone white. We just stare at each other.
Water drips from my hair to the floor in soft ticks. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t breathe. His eyes drag down my bare skin and snap back up like it shocks him to see me naked.
The air thickens, crackles electric, daring one of us to be the first to move.
Chapter 29
Rhys
Ishould have tied down Fallon with the rope I keep in my flat. She had no business being out in that pouring, freezing rain. She’s more stubborn than I give her credit for.
But I also like that about her. She sticks to her guns.No pun intended.
Now she’s standing in front of me naked and shaking, and I’m feeling all kinds of things I shouldn’t be feeling. This is supposed to be fake. For me. A compromise to keep her quiet.
Her wide eyes flick over me like she’s guessing what happens next between us. Like she’s not sure what shewantsto happen next.
She’s not a virgin, I’ve established that. But she didn’t consent her first and only time. I don’t know if she can or will consent right now. She’s just come off being very sick, and all I see is a vulnerable woman who’s shaken up.
In my twenties, I was careless with women’s hearts. I’m not that man anymore. I’m all for getting worked up and tearing each other’s clothes off. But not like this. I need to leave here tonight with my dick dry. Okay, it’s hard and leaking.
Fallon needs to know I’m leaving her untouched because it’s best for her. Especially if she was forced her first time.
I strip off my soaked jacket, grab her gently by the wrist, and steer her into the bathroom. I twist the shower knob until the water runs hot and steam curls from behind the curtain.
“Stay in there for twenty minutes,” I tell her, myvoice raw and lethal.
She hesitates. “Where will you be?”
I have to walk out of here and bury this want deep enough that it never claws back up.
Never? God, I’m not sure.
“Where do you want me?” I ask because I’m an idiot.
She tilts her head, soft and certain. “Right there.”
“Watching you?”
“No.” Her lips quirk. “In the shower with me. I’m your girlfriend.”
My fucking feet are rooted to the floor. I’m holding myself back by sheer force of will.
“Fallon, it’s not the right time for us to get physical. Love, I think you’re seeking comfort, and you’ll do anything to ground out the panic you’re going through about the plants.”
“You…you don’t find me attractive, do you?” She rips a towel from a stack piled on a shelf above the toilet to cover up.
Christ, the last thing she needs to top off this night is rejection. I step toward her, my voice a low growl, and say, “Unzip me.”
Her throat bobs. “Unzip you?”
