He swallows and stands, pulling me to my feet, and stupidly, I allow it. Tentatively, he trails his knuckles from the valley between my breasts down to the button of my shorts.
“Tobias,” I object, stopping his hands.
“Allow me this,” his eyes implore mine. “Please?”
A word I never thought would ring sincere coming from his lips. I remain silent, watching him with clear accusation as his expression remains earnest while he pushes the shorts past my thighs, and grips my hand to help me step out of them. Slowly, he lifts the hem of my shirt before easing it over my head and leans in pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder as he unclasps my bra, discarding it onto the growing pile on my floor. Bare in nothing but my simple cotton panties, I cross my arms over them thankful I opted for a tampon this morning, my cheeks heating before he gently pulls them apart, his eyes gliding down my body in an appreciative sweep.
My pulse kicks up as he retrieves the gown from the floor and lifts my arms before he pulls it down, the silk caressing me as it slides down my frame, where it hangs mid-thigh.
He steps back. “Exquise.”
I bite my lip as the atmosphere swirling around us thickens just before he plucks his wallet from his pants and tosses a few hundred dollars on the bed behind me. He sees the insult his action causes and palms me flush to his side, his thumb sliding along my hip when he speaks, his voice heated. “I didn’t know where you got the dress, so I couldn’t replace it. But the negligee felt like you. Soft,” he presses a kiss below my ear, “sensual,” and another, “delicate,” he pulls back to weigh my reaction before licking along my bottom lip, “beautiful.” He releases me and steps back, eyes searing me before he turns and leaves me staring after him, covered in silk, thoroughly seduced, and utterly perplexed.
I rinse a day of work away, opting to call Christy tomorrow. I don’t even know what to tell her at this point. I’ve been in a daze, just going through the motions since Tobias left me with his confession. Even Melinda has left me alone with my thoughts as I made it through my last few shifts on autopilot.
More and more, I’ve become attuned to my surroundings after my shifts at the plant, fearful at times despite those flanking me to get to their cars and back home. Even though I know I’m being watched, and am under Tobias’s protection, I sometimes get a sinking feeling. More and more, my dreams are becoming nightmares, and more often than not, sleep is starting to evade me. Whether it be guilt for the part I’m playing in my father’s downfall or the lover I’ve taken, or the scary truths that have been revealed to me, something is off.
I’m to the point where I trust nothing and no one.
I told Tobias he feared me as much as he hated me, but with the way he left me days ago, it’s clear he’s attempting to turn the tables and paint himself in a better image.
I refuse to believe him. He’s far too deceptive for his apology to have been authentic. I have to chalk his sudden change in behavior as an attempt at more manipulation. There’s something he wants, and I have to figure out what it is and whether it’s worth it for me.
His sudden change of heart is too convenient, too far-fetched to consider. He was convincing, I’ll give him that, but I will not fall victim to him or his performance. Fool me twice.
I will not be played again. No matter how much I desire him.
The more I think about my conversation with him, the more curious I become about his fear of us being discovered.
Would they even care at this point?
It’s been nearly nine months of utter silence.
But something in Tobias’s confession alluded to the fact they would care—very much—about us sleeping together. And still, days pass without a word, without a trace they exist.
During our conversation at the clearing though, Tobias couldn’t be sure. He assumed that necklace came from Dominic.
Why?
What is he not telling me? That’s what I have to figure out.
But his admission to me was ammunition against him, and he said he wouldn’t fight me on it. He gave me a grenade and