He hoists me up on the counter, spreads my legs, and steps between them. My breath hitches at his proximity. He might be an asshole I’m going to kill, but he’s undeniably hot. He dips his head, nose skimming up the side of my neck, and my toes curl.God, he’s potent. And obviously experienced in making women melt into puddles.
His palms slide over my waist, and he fingers the hem of my borrowed shirt. “Arms up.”
I slowly lift my arms. He rewards me with a pearly smile, tugging my shirt over my head.
“Lean forward.”
My breathing’s quickened now, set at a brisk staccato pace, and I feel faintly like I’m in a trance.God, he’s attractive. Probably the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. I want to seehimnaked, too.
I follow instructions, and Max unclips my bra, sliding the straps down my shoulders and tossing it aside. I instinctively raise my arms to cover my breasts, but he catches my hands, holds them in front of me, and snaps them into the leather cuffs before I eventhinkto struggle.
My lips part as I stare at them, then stare at him. Max is completely preoccupied with gazing at my breasts as if they’re his first meal in a thousand years. I think he’s a heartbeat away from drooling.
Damn, that makes me feel powerful.
He steps back and pulls me down from the counter,stillogling my breasts, even as he unties the drawstring on the sweatpants, pushing them and my panties to the floor. He hisses out a low breath, shakinghis head.
“You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Literally,” I agree.
His lips tick up. He shakes his head. “You should see yourself, Flame. Do you know how fuckingstunningyou are?”
“I stopped looking in mirrors a few years ago,” I reply offhandedly.
His eyes snap up, flaring in surprise, meeting mine. “Why?”
“It’s not necessary.”
Max blinks slowly. Then, he whirls me around to face the mirror. My eyes immediately drop to the counter.
“Look at yourself,” he prompts.
I shake my head, glaring holes at the counter. “No, thank you.”
“It wasn’t an offer.” He presses on my upper back, bending me over the counter. I brace my bound hands on it, dropping to my elbows, and choose to study the cuffs to deduce how to escape them in the future rather than look at myself.
I don’t want to see the monster I’ve turned into. I don’t want to see whatever it is that makes men ogle me—it’s irrelevant. Icertainlydon’t want to see the many scars on my body and the countless sins staining my soul.
I am a bad person; I know this. I’ve come to terms with it. But having to stare at myself and acknowledge that fact is simply too much. I’m strong, but I’m not invulnerable.
“Ember.” Max fists my hair—something I’m starting to think is a kink of his—and uses it to turn my head up. I squeeze my eyes shut.
“When was the last time you looked in a mirror?” he asks, sounding a mixture of curious and concerned.
“A while.”
“How do you quantify a while?”
“Years. I don’t know how many. Maybe two or three.” Probably closer to four. My kill count was still in the single digits when I stopped.
“Open your eyes, Flame,” Max says. “You’re beautiful. Drink yourself in.”
“I can’t,” I say. “Pleasedon’t make me.”
He pauses. Whatever he hears in my tone makes him sigh and release me, spinning me back around to face him. I open my eyes, staring at his shirt. “Alright,” he says, quickly stripping out of his clothes. The urge to look lower and get an eyeful of his cock is strong, but my self-flagellation is stronger. I shouldn’t be attracted to my captor, but there’s no denying he’s objectively gorgeous.
He picks up the chain connecting my wrists and leads me to the shower, propping open the door and turning on the water. After testing the temperature, he pulls me inside. I barely get a chance to look around before he flattens me against a wall, lifts my hands so high over my head I’m forced to stand on my tiptoes, and hooks the chain over a metal half-ring on the wall.
