He tried to tell her she could do anything she wanted to it, but words failed him, and all he managed was a nod.
Simone stretched her hand toward the length of him and grazed the soft tip. In response, his penis jumped slightly, and Simone almost laughed out loud, but she didn’t think he would appreciate it if she did. Gliding her fingers down him, Simone took note of how hard he was beneath his taut skin. This part of the male anatomy was larger and thicker than she’d expected, but nowhere near as frightening as she’d assumed it would be.
“Amazing,” she murmured and enclosed her hand around it.
His breath sucked in through his teeth, and her eyes flew up to his reddening ones. She couldn’t help but smile when she realized pleasure and not pain caused his reaction. A thrill went through her, and for the first time, she felt in control of her life as she literally held this powerful man in the palm of her hand.
He may be an abrasive jerk most of the time, but he captivated her, and it pleased her to learn that she affected him as much as he did her.
Killean reached for her hand to show her how to please him, but a knock on the door halted his movement. Instead of running Simone’s hand over the length of him, he pulled it away and gripped her arms to haul her to her feet. Her breasts, still free of her dress, burned his flesh as he held her against his chest and scented the air for a threat. He caught a whiff of lemon cleaner and bleach.
“It’s the housekeeper,” he said and relaxed against Simone.
Releasing his grip on her arms, he stepped away from her. Her skin had paled at the knock, but the rosy hue of satisfaction still colored her cheeks as her hair tumbled around her shoulders and back. He couldn’t stop himself from tracing her full bottom lip with his thumb; she was beautiful.
He lowered his hand from her face, and his fingers skimmed her breasts as he gently pulled up her dress and settled it into place before forcing his recalcitrant cock back into his jeans. When he was sure she was covered, he strode over to the door. He checked the peephole to make sure the woman was alone before opening the door and stepping aside.
The woman walked woodenly inside. She didn’t look at him or Simone as she set the bags she carried on the floor.
“Is she okay?” Simone whispered.
“She’s fine,” Killean assured her. He instructed the woman to recall handing them their towels before taking a break to do some shopping. “You put all the clothes you bought in a donation bin and returned to work after finishing.”
The woman’s mouth had slackened while he spoke, and her eyes remained glazed. Killean escorted her to the door and opened it to nudge her outside. “Resume your day as if everything is normal.”
Killean closed the door behind her and slid the chain into place. Stepping over to the window, he pulled back the curtain to watch as the woman walked a few doors down, pulled out a keycard, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. A couple of minutes later, she emerged with a cart loaded with cleaning supplies and rolled it over to another room.
Sure the woman was doing as he commanded, Killean released the curtain and turned to face Simone.
“Can I control people too?” she asked.
“Not as strongly or as convincingly,” he said. “You can tweak some memories and take control of someone’s mind, but it will take age and power to twist their memories for so long, or to get them to do something so elaborate.”
“I’m okay with that,” she murmured. “I don’t think I’d be comfortable with so much power.”
“You adjust and grow with it.”
“There are some who use it for evil.”
“For as long as the world turns, there will always be those who abuse their power, but there will also always be those who seek to stop them.”
Killean picked up the bags and set them on the bed. He opened the ones containing Simone’s clothes and laid them out first.
Her nose wrinkled when she spotted the jeans, and her eyes widened at the vibrant colors of the short dresses. “I can’t wear…” Her voice trailed off.
She’d been about to say she couldn’t wear those; it was against the rules to wear something so colorful or short, but the hunter rules didn’t apply to her anymore. However, she wouldnotfeel comfortable in dresses above the knee. She was willing to start exploring the world and herself further, but she wasn’t ready for that leap.
She lifted a couple of pairs of jeans and two black shirts from the bed before scooping up the underwear and bras and heading into the bathroom to see what fit best.
* * *
Simone gazedout the passenger window as the scenery flashed by in a blur of green trees speckled with farmhouses. Through the night pressing against the windows, she could make out the shapes of horses and cows sleeping in their pastures. Their headlights were the only thing illuminating the gloomy ribbon of road as they wound around curves and up and down hills.
She glanced at the hands she’d folded in her lap. Despite her initial apprehension about wearing jeans, she found them comfortable and didn’t mind them. The strange sizes irritated her, but she discovered the ones marked eight fit her best; she was most comfortable in the baggier, large shirts and 36 C bras, though the clothes she made for herself fit far better. However, she would learn how to make jeans in the future.
She didn’t know where they were going, and she didn’t ask. They hadn’t talked about what they’d shared earlier, but she found she didn’t want to discuss it. She was afraid it would ruin things for her if they talked about it; so for now, she was content to sit beside Killean and listen to the strange music drifting from the radio.
Having only listened to classical musicians during her training and at home, this faster-paced, more chaotic music took some getting used to. At first, it made her head ache, but a few different songs had her tapping her foot along with the beat. She was also starting to like the idea of words accompanying the melodies.
