The Isle Of Sin And Shadows - Keri Lake Page 0,138
be so intensely passionate and gentle with me is a vicious blow I wasn’t prepared to suffer.
Especially as nothing’s changed between us now it’s over.
I hate that I can’t muster the same level of detachment. That my stomach flutters twice as much as before. That my heart beats harder. Sex has always been the severing point for me, the inevitable disconnect, but I feel somehow more entwined with this man now. Which isn’t good, considering he plans to hand me over to the cartel.
I’d hoped, maybe, I could woo him with my body, but Thierry is as unmovable as stone. I knew when he called me out on it that he’d already accounted for my stupidity.
Yet, I still don’t regret tonight, and that’s probably the worst of it.
He lifts the necklace with the key from where it rests against my bare breast. “What is this thing you always wear? In the shower and during sex?”
Managing a slight smile, I glance down to where he holds it in his fingers. “It’s the key to a secret chamber.”
“Is that a metaphor for your heart, or something?”
Shaking my head, I wait for him to step inside the stall, and when he flicks his fingers for me, I follow in after him. “It’s the last thing my father gave to me. It opens a secret room in that house.”
“You’ve worn it all these years?”
“I’ll never take it off.”
Gripping my arm, he pulls me into his body, into the hot spray of the water, and holds me tight to him as his lips seize mine. Powerful, dominant. I have no hope against this man, whose kiss demands that I surrender to him completely. Water trickles between our lips, and he licks it away.
With a nudge of my shoulder, he urges me to twist around, and when I do, he gathers my hair up into his hand, and tugs just enough to tilt my head to the side, where he kisses my neck while crossing his other arm possessively over my body. It’s then that the scar on his arm, the one I noticed during sex, catches my eye.
On reaching for it, I pause, hesitant. I’ve always hated when others touched the scar on my face. It always felt so invasive to me.
“It’s okay. You can touch it,” he assures.
Raised, protracted skin brushes beneath my fingertips as I run them across the healed wound. “This is where the wolf bit you.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember it?”
“Not everything, no. I apparently passed out.”
“I can’t remember much of the attack on me, either.” Slow and gentle, I trace the edge of his scar, and he allows it, not bothering to swat my hand away, as I would’ve done. “So, this is the wound that gave you your big bad wolf reputation, huh?”
“In part, I suppose.”
Smiling at that, I draw his arm to my lips and press a kiss to it. “And what else?”
“My lips.” Wet lips trace along the edge of my neck, down to the sensitive crook of my collarbone. “My teeth.” He nips the protruding bone, and as I flinch, a chuckle escapes me. A shiver skitters over me, goosebumps prickling in the wake of his tongue, when he licks the water from my skin. “And my exceptionally agile … fingers.”
Releasing me, he reaches for a bottle of shampoo, squeezing a small bit onto his palm before he lathers it into my hair. The scent of spicy oranges and sandalwood overwhelm my senses, and I tip my head back, allowing him to massage my scalp. For all his rough handling, Thierry can be incredibly gentle at the same time, and once again, I feel of stab of pain strike my heart.
This is all temporary.
I’m nothing but a bargaining chip to this man.
“What are you thinking about?” His question breaks my thoughts, and I open my eyes to find the view blurry with tears.
“Sailing away.”
“You’ve sailed before?”
Chuckling, I shake my head as much as his massaging will allow. “Never in my life. But I dream of, someday, sailing the ocean. Assuming I ever see the ocean again once you’ve turned me over.”
After a long pause, he tugs on my hair, just enough that I tip my head back to rinse away the soap he’s worked up.
“Where would you go?” he asks, ignoring my comment.
“Somewhere tropical. Bora Bora maybe? Then Africa. Australia. As many places as I can see.”
“That sounds like a dangerous trek by yourself. Especially if you’ve never sailed before.”