the water sloshing around my ankles. Damn it. With a grunt, I flung the door open, the prudish voices in my head screaming to cover up my bits when several people passed by.
Pride won out. Plus, I doubted nudity even registered here.
I stormed out of the room with my head held high, my message clear. Okay, I limped out, terrified of his retaliation, but I didn’t pause as I went to the room and slammed the door.
Fuck Warwick Farkas. The moment I could get out of here, I was going home.
Back to where I belonged. To my life and the man I loved.
Chapter 28
A few moments after entering the room, there was a knock on the door just before a figure burst through. I grabbed the bedspread, tugging it over me, building myself up for another attack from the Wolf.
“Hey, luv.” Rosie sauntered in, her arms full of clothing.
I exhaled, my shoulders sagging with relief, thankful it wasn’t Warwick slamming back into the room for revenge. I was far too exhausted to fight him again. I still had no idea how I had been able to push him over. He was a mountain, and in my weakened state, I shouldn’t have been able to move him at all.
“Thought you might need something to change into.” She dumped the pile on the bed. I reached out, picking up a tiny silk tank, which had to be more of a nightshirt. “Went around to find someone more your size.” I guessed she meant bony, no curves, and small breasted—the complete opposite of her.
I peered at her, feeling a stab of envy. Rosie was everything most men would desire. Stunning face, voluptuous in both hips and boobs. She rouged her cheeks a deep rose color, false eyelashes making her blue eyes pop. Their English Rose. The perfect sweet seduction.
She was exactly the kind of woman I could see Warwick inviting into his bed. Surprised he hasn’t already. Probably just working down the list.
I had never been insecure before. Most women in my world were envious of my slim figure. The skinnier, the better was the motto of the elite, who were entitled enough to starve themselves purposely. They lived in a place that had plenty of food, but they wanted to be thin. Here, people were starving; curves were worshiped.
No one would envy how I looked right now. I wasn’t sexy in the slightest. Nor should my emaciated figure be envied. This wasn’t because I refrained from eating the biscuit at teatime, trying to hold on to my figure. This was a prisoner’s body.
“Sorry there aren’t more options around here. Clothes aren’t important at Kitty’s, especially normal, everyday items.” She lowered her head as though embarrassed. “I’m sure you are used to much finer stuff.”
“What do you mean?” I sat on the bed, my leg throbbing, my energy tanking.
“It’s obvious you aren’t like us.” She shrugged a shoulder. “You are a proper lady.”
“Proper?” I snorted. “What gave you that idea?”
“A lot of our job is observing, figuring people out. It’s how I know what they want, even if they don’t. I can tell their ultimate desires. We pick up on even the tiniest of nuances.” She motioned to me. “The way you sit with your back straight, your hands in your lap. The way you talk. Hold yourself. You came from money, grew up educated and with decorum. These are all qualities you don’t find in this part of town.”
I blinked, my gaze dropping to my hands folded in my lap. Etiquette had been drilled into me from an early age, and I didn’t even think about it. Pulling my hands apart, I reached for a piece of clothing, picking up a slip, which normally would go under another skirt. The thin white cotton was worn and frayed, but it was clean.
“This is perfect, thank you.” I pulled the skirt into my lap, seeing the lacy undergarments beneath. I was a cotton-bikini-bottoms-and-sports-bra kind of girl. Swallowing, I picked up the black scraps of fabric. They were only for decoration; there was nothing to them, no support.
“Sorry, no granny pants here.” Rosie snickered, winking at me. “If you’d rather borrow a bodice…”
“No.” I shook my head firmly. I had worn dresses with bodice tops—they were worse than any torture device Halalhaz could think up. “This is fine.”
“Thought so. I’m so used to them now; I feel naked without it.” She smiled, tugging the top of her bodice and stuffing her plump breasts back inside