I forced a laugh. “Oh... kay.” Shaky fingers reached for his belt. “Here we go. This... is... happening,” I croaked as I tugged the belt free and then grasped the hem of his shirt. “I am undressing you now. For your bath. And it’s not weird or creepy at all.
“Nope,” I popped, dropping his shirt on the floor. “I’m f-fine with his.” My voice cracked at the hard, smooth, bulging pecs crowding my face. “Absolutely fine.”
I reached for his zipper and my brain fritzed out, putting an end to my rambling.
Ronin was not the first or even the third man I undressed. I was not the bumbling virgin I appeared to be then, but never in my life had a man this gorgeous... glared at me this hard while I unbuttoned his pants. So much naked hostility didn’t tend to accompany an act this intimate, so I flat out had no idea what to do with myself.
Swallowing hard, I snapped my gaze to my shoes and quickly pulled down his pants, then his underwear. I was looking anywhere but up as he stepped out of his clothes and brushed past me.
The doorknob beckoned me like a siren to the sea. “Okay, well, have a good bath, Mister—”
“Get my loofah.”
I blew out a hard breath. “Mr. Belphe,” I forced through gritted teeth. “You are closer to the loofah than I am.”
Indeed, I put it right next to the soap dish.
“What’s the relevance of my proximity to the loofah?” he asked. “Either way, it needs to be in your hand to wash me.”
If I thought my brain crashed to a halt before, it was nothing compared to the crater-inducing explosion that resulted fromthose words. Slowly, I turned to him... and that damn shit-eating smirk.
Time came to a standstill.
Reclining in the bathtub, Ronin soaked to his chest in the scented, warm water—daring me to drop my phony deference.
The man was no dummy. I may have caught him off guard at first, but now he knew I was being an annoying yes-man to take all the fun out of tormenting and pushing me around. But doing everything Ronin said with a lunatic grin on my face... meant doing everything he said.
Am I really so determined to beat this asshole at his own game that I’ll get down on my knees and scrub his back?
Storming over, I dropped down on my damn knees and snatched the loofah. My smile was extra unhinged as I said, “As you wish, Mr. Belphe.”
I PICKED UP THAT LOOFAHwith so much confidence, but the reality of soaping up and rubbing down his unnaturally pale and unblemished skin was something else entirely. Eyes closed, Ronin was content to kick back and let me die from all the blood rushing from my heart to my face. It was difficult not to think pervy thoughts as my eyes skated over him.
Sabrina said Ronin was wearing a glamour too. She claimed he had to because he was even more enchantingly beautiful than what I could see, but that was near enough to impossible to believe.
Every inch of him was thick, corded muscle. Not a single blemish, mole, or mark interrupted the velvety smooth river of warm flesh sliding under my soapy palms. I dumped water over his head in a petty attempt to annoy him, but all he did was close his eyes and tip his head back—letting the water slide and slip along his narrow cheekbones, and cling to his long lashes. Istared for so long my hand stopped moving, and Ronin opened his eyes to what the holdup was—
—resulting in him catching me staring at him like a creeping creep.
Looking me dead in my hideous, blushing face, he read every thought going through my head... and smirked.
Ass!Whipping around, I moved behind him and shoved on his shoulders—exposing his back for me to scrub.
You’d think that would give me nothing to ogle, but even his back was gorgeous. It was all hard muscle and ivory skin begging for its perfection to be marred with sweat, cum, and scratch—
Cut it out!I shook my head, coming to.This psychopath got you attacked by birds, took over your room, and ripped the mole off your face. What you will not do is be attracted to him. Not a chance!
I repeated that to myself over and over until the devil on my shoulder heard me loud and clear. It was true that with everything going on, it’d been a while since I’d been with anyone in that way. Even before Dora was kidnapped, I was so busy taking on extra shifts to pay down my debts and send my sister off to college, there was no time to think about dating—let alone sex. And now—
Now I’m in hell,my sensible voice reminded.Surrounded by demons, werewolves, fae, and vampires. Which one of these deadly supernatural creatures is going to water my six-month drought? The half-animal, half-dead-man demons? The werewolf that may be lying through his fangs? Or the lamp-eyes vampires that will always want to eat me more than sleep with me?
There was no answer to that.
“Enough already,” Ronin sliced in.
His voice snapped me back. It was then I realized his back was all red from my vigorous scrubbing. “Sorry,” I said, andmeant it. I only wanted to annoy him into leaving me alone. I wasn’t trying to hurt him. “I’ll just do your legs and get out of your hair.”
“Feel free to stay in my hair. It’s not like you have any of your own.”
