grey panties so far, not since I’d been here.
He smiled down at me. Heat bloomed over my cheeks.
“Anytime. And I mean that. Right, shower.” Firmly, he guided me out of the laundry.
I followed him to the communal showers. In gen pop the women got the showers in the evening and the men in the mornings, though very few paid attention to those rules, which only led to even more danger and abuse. Hence I’d avoided the showers, and Rawson was right, I stank. Connor indicated an open doorway. I peered into the showers, sighing when they were empty.
“Don’t worry, we’ll wait here. No one else is getting in.” There was a hard edge to those words that told me he meant it.
I nodded and gave him a small smile. Being accosted in the shower wasn’t my idea of fun. I grabbed a towel and a bar of soap off the shelf near the entrance and headed in. I didn’t mess about, I was washed, dried and dressed in a few minutes. My hair was a mess. Using soap on it was killing its condition, and I had no hairbrush. I sighed, I’d never been particularly vain, but I couldn’t even cut the damn stuff off. I finger brushed it as best I could. At least there were no mirrors in this place to see how bad I looked.
The water had eased the tension from my body and it had been tempting to linger, but the thought of Connor coming in to see if I was alright had spurred me on. I wasn’t sure I could stop my treacherous body from reacting if he got too close, especially if I was already naked. I coughed and tried to take a deep breath at the image of Connor naked, his body wet from the shower, holding mine up against the wall...
“Everything alright?” said the subject of my dirty thoughts, as I walked out.
“Err, yep, f-fine,” I stuttered with a quick glance at him.
Connor gave me a weird look.
Right, I never stuttered.
“Listen, I’m really quite tired.” I so needed to get out of this meeting with him; otherwise I was likely to jump his bones. “Perhaps I should go back to my pack and we can talk tomorrow.”
“No, Ember, you agreed. We go to my cell and talk before you go back to that other pack. In fact, you can just sit and listen to what I have to say if you are too tired to talk, which would be a miracle by the way.” He smiled and placed a finger on my lips.
I wanted to both bite that finger off and suck it between my lips before running my tongue around it. To stop myself, I stared at him and pressed my lips together.
Chuckling, he dropped his finger and walked away. “If you don’t follow, I’ll fling you over my shoulder and carry you there.”
“I just bet you would. You’re a persistent bastard,” I muttered, knowing he’d carry through on what seemed to be his favourite threat. So much for having a choice.
D coughed, his scar twisting as he smiled, and Reed pressed his lips together, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Dragging my feet, I followed Connor back through a maze of corridors. We reached Connor’s cell, which was right at the end of a corridor. “Come on in.” Connor gestured to the door, nodding to D and Reed, who took up a sentinel pose on either side of the door.
Connor pulled the chair out. “Sit.”
I raised my brows.
He sighed and blinked slowly. “Please have a seat?” This time, his voice was softer, making it a question instead of a demand.
“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I settled myself on the chair and smiled sweetly. That tiny difference between command and choice meant a lot, even if I had practically been forced to be here. Or had I? He’d given me a choice earlier in the day, and I’d agreed to come. I really need to stop fighting him over every little thing. The metal desk creaked as Connor settled his bulk against it. He was like a mountain rising right in front of me. I peered up. Jeez, he was so big...
He gave that gorgeous smile, baring his chipped canine.
A wave of heat washed through me. I’d never tire of it. Even so, I narrowed my eyes. He was up to something.
“No, but you’re too far away.” He grabbed the arms of the metal chair and yanked it towards him.
I