The Vessel - Jenika Snow Page 0,8

leaned against the counter and closed my eyes for a minute, the pounding in my skull intensifying. My stomach clenched, roiled, the discomfort making its way behind my eyes and in my temples. But despite the fact I felt like shit, I pictured Elise.

I pictured her long black hair tied up. I imagined myself reaching out and taking the pins that held the strands in place, letting those silky locks tumble down her back. Then I imagined tangling my fingers in them, yanking her head back, her throat bared, her mouth parted as she looked at me with dilated pupils and a hazy, arousal-filled expression.

I bet she tasted sweet. I had no doubt her lips would be soft, pink, plump flesh I could run my teeth along. Her mouth looked like a Cupid’s bow, delectable and addicting.

I groaned, the sound a mixture of my powerful desire for Elise and the raging hangover that consumed me. Maybe a shower would do me some good? Yeah, it sure as fuck would. I’d wash away the stink of being drunk, maybe tamp down some of this lust that was obnoxiously intense.

I pushed away from the counter and made my way upstairs. I could still hear someone working in one of the back rooms, the soft patter of shoes moving back and forth over the hardwood floor sounding loud, especially this morning. I took the carpeted steps two at a time, because I just wanted to get where I was going and try to push this fog out of my head.

Once on the top landing, I gripped the banister and fought off a wave of nausea.

My room, the last door down the hallway on the second floor, seemed miles away. But I pushed forward and glanced down at my shoes, realizing I still wore them from yesterday, padding over the thick carpet that partially covered the tile floor. I was a fucking train wreck this morning.

Once in my room, I didn’t bother shutting the door, just grabbed a change of clothes—a pair of gray sweats and a white T-shirt. No point in putting anything remotely professional on. I had no plans to leave the house. I tossed the clothes on the bed and headed into the bathroom, shutting that door and leaning against it.

I was going to take a cold fucking shower, the coldest one imaginable, not just to wash away this hangover, but to hopefully tame this arousal and calm my fucking erection down. As it was, I walked with the damn thing tenting my slacks. But even that discomfort couldn’t match what I felt from the love affair I had with that scotch bottle.

Or maybe I just needed to jerk one off to the filthiest thought I could muster of Elise and me and at least get control of one of the demons consuming me right now.

6

Elise

I grabbed my cell and changed the song before slipping the phone back in the front pocket of my apron.

I arrived at the Blacksmith mansion half an hour ago with strict instructions from Merla on what rooms needed extra attention. This was only half a day for me, but overtime I desperately needed. Then after work, I’d head to the store and grab some ingredients to bake something to take to my aunt’s tomorrow.

Heck, maybe I’d get crazy and buy some cheap boxed wine, a pint of ice cream, order a pizza, and watch something romantic and sappy on TV.

That sounded like the perfect Saturday night in my book.

I finished cleaning the room I was in and grabbed my bucket of supplies before heading upstairs for my next room. The master bedroom. Lucius’s room.

I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t a bit uncomfortable with cleaning his bedroom. I’d never actually done it before, had never even been in that particular part of the house at all. It had always been Merla’s domain. I guess she figured the head housekeeper should be the only one to clean the boss’s area.

But today, because she wasn’t working and it needed done, she’d given me the task. But after the kitchen incident with Lucius just the day before, I felt a little bit more on edge.

But I hadn’t seen him, so I assumed he already left for the morning, maybe went to the office. I knew he worked strange hours, long ones most days. I felt like he was at the office more times than not. But I guess you couldn’t be a billionaire and not put in the hard