“It’s stressful, I know,” he murmured. “We both have to get used to it. Just breathe. You look as if you’re about to have a panic attack.”
I drew a shaky breath, relaxing a little. Adam’s fingers on my temples were firm but gentle, instantly making me feel better. Hold up! Was he touching me? On purpose? I looked at him, but his expression was unreadable, apart from the amusement I could see in his pretty blue eyes.
“So, you missed me, huh?” he said, grinning.
“Not funny. I was scared shitless.”
Something like empathy crossed his face, which was impossible since the man had none.
When he cupped my face, I blinked, wondering if he lost his mind while shoveling that manure.
“Look,” he said, his expression serious. “I would never leave you here alone, alright? You annoy me most of the time, and things will go back to how they were after we leave this place, but while we’re here, I’ve got your back, okay?”
I nodded as his thumbs moved over my cheeks in a gentle caress. Was he even aware of it? He had to be.
“Did someone touch you?” he said, giving me a once-over. “Hurt you? Did something bad happen to you?”
I shook my head. “Actually, I met a nice guy who was explaining to me the prison dynamics and whatnot. He even mentioned Santiago, but—”
“If you’re done holding hands, inmates, it’s time for a shower.”
I looked at the guard wide-eyed, as if he said it in Klingon.
“Now that’s something you should be afraid of,” Adam said dryly.
Somehow, I forgot that showering with a bunch of naked, hostile inmates was a part of prison routine. I also never thought I could get an erection in a prison shower surrounded by murderers and thieves, but as it turned out, I was wrong. How did it come to pass?
I was fine at first. Well, not fine, but... nervous. I stood there with naked gentlemen to my left and right, trying not to look at them, but in my peripheral vision, I could see bodies. Big, small, thin, overweight, hairy, tattooed… all kinds of bodies. In the far corner of the room, I was pretty sure two dudes were fucking next to the guard who looked bored. None of it affected me, but it made me alert and mindful of the things happening behind my back. Smuggling a knife while naked would be a feat, but not impossible.
It was only when Adam Markland stepped under the shower next to me that things got out of hand. I kept my gaze on the wall, trying to look impassive, but I really,reallywanted to look. When a spray of water hit him, he ducked his head and closed his eyes. And when he closed his eyes, I looked. I fucking looked at him, and it sealed my fate.
As he kept shifting beneath the stream of water, droplets raced down his skin, dragging my eyes with them. When he reached for the soap and started lathering his chest, my mouth went dry. His biceps bulged as his hand moved over his pecs, leaving a trace of soap bubbles on his chest hair. After he washed his armpits and his hand slid down to his belly, I already had a semi. He lathered his abs before moving below the waist, and it was when my semi grew into a full-blown erection. The anaconda between his legs was flaccid, but the way it hung there, all heavy and thick, made my legs weak. When he gripped his dick and tilted his head back, letting the water wash over him, a sound escaped my throat.
It was what finally made me come to my senses. I looked away, struggling to breathe with all the steam filling my nostrils. The edges of my vision blurred as I stared at the wall in front of me, but nothing helped. I knew it was only a matter of time before the inmate next to me spotted my situation, or Adam, which was even worse. I closed my eyes, willing my boner down while thinking about the most disgusting things. Blood-splattered walls. Toilet filled with feces. Human gums after getting infested with live larvae, which I actually saw in a documentary. Eating fingernails and hair while watching the puppies play. As it turned out, disgusting things weren’t cutting it.
“Hey,” Adam said in a low voice. “Turn toward me.”
Of course, he noticed. He probably didn’t realize he was the reason for my predicament; otherwise, he would already be in Timbuktu.
“Oi!” he said, touching my arm. “If you turn toward me, no one will see.”
I did what he said, feeling so hot in the face that I was sure my head would explode.
“Forget about it,” Adam said calmly. “Wash your hair.”
I reached for shampoo, wishing the ground would swallow me. Some of the foam entered my eyes, blinding me, but that way at least I didn’t have to look at him. I rubbed my eyes, waiting for the sting to pass, when I felt presence in my near vicinity. I turned, still half-blind, flinching at the sight of a skinny, ghastly pale, naked guy behind me. His eerily black, bloodshot eyes slid down to my dick, which deflated in record time.
“You’re new,” he said with a smirk that revealed two rotten teeth.
“Leave,” Adam told him without bothering to look at him.
“Pretty, too,” the dentist-hating dude added, never taking his eyes off me. “My boss likes them pretty.”
Adam’s hand reached out so quickly that I barely had time to process it before he slammed the guy against the wall. I gasped, not because of what Adam did, but because I could see his back, and it was crisscrossed with vicious scars. They ran from his shoulders to waist in all shapes and sizes, but they were all equally painful to look at. Someone whipped the shit out of him once upon a time, and it made my stomach churn.
“He’s taken,” Adam hissed, gripping the dude’s neck tighter. “Look at him again, and I’ll tear you apart.”
The guy raised his hands in surrender, but his smirk turned sinister, telling me this was far from over. At the sound of footsteps, Adam released him as the guard approached us, reaching for his baton.
