pulled in this one.
A breeze kicks up, sending strands of honey-colored hair across her face. I approach her slowly. She doesn’t look up at me until my shadow falls over her, blocking out what’s left of the sunset. I’m not going to damage the merchandise now, when there’s not much time left before everyone will begin arriving. That’s what I tell myself.
Brigit’s eyes follow my hand when I raise it to brush the hair away from her face. “Sweetheart.”
She swallows then clears her throat. “Yes?”
“Come inside.”
23
Brigit
First, Zeus takes out his phone, dials a number, and shouts into it like a man possessed. The words skip against one another. It’s hard to focus. I gather it’s the chief of police and that the man was supposed to do something but didn’t. I hear “you fucker” and “if you ever” and “tonight.” The gold in his eyes turns dark. He shoves a hand through his sun-kissed hair. Anger curls his lips.
Then there’s the elevator.
The living room of his apartments.
The hall.
The bedroom.
And an enormous tub.
He perches me on the edge of it and turns on the water. That sound—yes. That’s a good sound. That’s a nothing-sound. It’s the sound that blocks out everything else. Does he know I used to do this, late at night, to cover up my uncle’s voice in the house? Does he know? I try to snap myself out of this, whatever this is. It doesn’t work. The thing is, I didn’t expect my father to ever touch me again. I was prepared to trade everything else, knowing he would never touch me again. And he did.
My skin crawls.
Zeus moves around the bathroom, collecting things, the sound of his footsteps muffled by the water. A light touch on my shoulder prompts me to stand, and then—even lighter—my clothes come off. The robe I wore to the spa. The camisole I have on underneath. The bra, the panties. A few days ago, I might have been shocked by all this, by being naked in front of him. Now… nothing. The real horror was outside. Shut it out, shut it out.
He puts me into the bath.
The hot water is the first thing to make its way past the barrier between me and the world. There—water isn’t so bad. It’s hot enough to dissolve that touch. Zeus replaces it with others. A soft cloth, running over my shoulders and my back. He rubs it in neat circles over both arms, taking care with the marks on my wrist. My legs. Between my legs. My shins. My feet. More water runs, and I’m not sleeping, not exactly—I’m reclined. In his arm, one hand in my hair, working shampoo through, then conditioner, then rinsing it out.
He’s still rinsing when I finally open my eyes and see.
But his eyes aren’t on mine. They’re on the window behind the tub. He might as well be a million miles away.
I wonder where he is.
I keep wondering while he wraps me in a thick, white towel and runs a comb through my hair. Back in the bedroom, a neat pile of clothes waits for me. Someone must have brought them. Underwear and a nightgown. He dresses me carefully, efficiently, and then picks me up in his arms.
For a minute, I’m exactly where I want to be. Somehow, I’ve always wanted this, even before I knew it. His heartbeat is strong and steady, and he smells so good.
It doesn’t last.
Zeus puts me into his giant bed, which is neat and clean, the pillows stacked up on each other like they would be at a fancy hotel. He pulls the comforter tight over my legs and tucks it in then sits down next to me.
Feelings hover in the air.
Mine are a train wreck. I don’t know what his are.
Distraction, maybe. His eyes settle on mine, but they don’t stay focused.
I put out a hand and touch his face.
He has a strong face. His bones, I mean. They’re cut sharp, and the breath that escapes from his full lips is just short of a sigh. I don’t know what I’m doing, but it feels right. Some things feel right but aren’t. I don’t care what this is.
Zeus reaches up for my hand and puts it back in my lap. I like it better when he leans closer, because then all I can see is him. There’s no king’s apartment in a whorehouse or back-alley sunset or anything else. His lips brush against my ear. “Stay here.”
Then he leaves.
It’s a long time