“I don’t,” I squeaked. “I didn’t mean to pry. I—”
“Turn. The. Page.”
My fingers flicked to the next page before I could think of protesting. His darkness pulsed around me, lighting up my body with awareness of his nearness.
“Look,” he commanded.
“I don’t want to,” I whispered. “I don’t want to see any more. I’m sorry I—”
“Look.” The word cracked through the air like a whip, and my eyes flicked down to the page.
My entire body flushed, and my heart fluttered in my chest. My stomach did a funny flip, and my mouth went dry.
It was another drawing of me. But this time, I was naked. Bound with rope.
And Joseph was standing behind me, holding the coil as he wrapped it around my body.
“What…” I gasped for air. “What is this?”
“It’s you and Joseph, obviously.”
My heart leapt into my throat, and I tried to swallow it down so I could speak. “He wouldn’t… He’d never…”
Marco made a soft humming noise, considering. “So, he hasn’t tied up his pretty little princess? Does he not want to pervert his perfect angel?”
Angel. Joseph’s sweet name for me was heavy with mockery.
“This is… You’re…” I couldn’t find the words to express my feelings. They were jumbled, my emotions roiling. I was too hot; I was practically panting. Marco was far too close, and his body heat was stifling.
“There’s that pretty blush,” he observed, his voice thick with pleasure I’d never heard from him. “You are innocent, aren’t you?”
I wasn’t blushing. I was burning up. I had to get away from Marco before the inferno engulfed me.
The sketchbook slipped from my hands, and I darted past Marco, gasping for fresh air as I rushed through the bedroom door. His low, dark chuckle followed me out into the hall and down the stairs.
When I burst into the kitchen, I flung my arms around Joseph, looking to him for the protection he’d promised. He cradled me against his strong body, holding me with care.
“What’s wrong, angel?”
“Marco. He…” I took a deep breath. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Joseph about what I’d seen. It was too lewd, too embarrassing. The image of Joseph looming behind me holding the coil of rope burned in my mind. “You’d never…hurt me, right?”
“Of course not.” He curled two fingers beneath my chin, lifting my face to his. “Did Marco say something that scared you again?”
I bit my lip. I’d been the one to pry into his privacy and look at his sketches. Marco had every right to be angry at me for that.
But he hadn’t been angry. He’d been… I wasn’t sure how to describe the thick atmosphere that had built around us as he loomed over me, commanding me to look at the perverted depiction of me with Joseph. Why would he draw something like that?
I didn’t answer Joseph’s question directly. I simply hugged him tighter.
“I don’t like him,” I whispered.
“Marco won’t hurt you,” he promised. “And I won’t, either. I’d never hurt you, Ashlyn. All I want is for you to be safe and happy.”
I nodded against his chest, knowing he fully believed what he was saying about his dangerous friend. I wasn’t at all certain that I was safe around Marco. He made my belly quiver and my pulse race.
“Stay with me?” I pleaded, not wanting to leave Joseph’s side with Marco in the house.
“I’m right here,” he reassured me, stroking his hand up and down my back. “I’ve got you.”
With that promise, I finally relaxed into his strong arms, knowing deep in my soul that he would protect me.
Chapter Twenty
Joseph
“If you’re down here, I’m guessing she’s still asleep,” Marco said as I joined him in the kitchen for breakfast. “You can’t even leave her for five seconds while she’s conscious. You two are kind of nauseating in real life.”
“What do you mean in real life?”
He shrugged. “When I sent people to find you, they took pictures of you together. You looked happy. Then, once you came back home, I saw how you were without her. You were completely fucked up. I thought bringing her here would make you happy again.”
“I am happy,” I said, not really understanding where he was going with this.
He turned the stove off and faced me, abandoning his bacon. His eyes were intent on mine, his mouth drawn and serious.
“You’re not being yourself with her. You’re holding back.”
My brows rose. “And how would you know anything about that? Is this about what you said to her last night? I know you scared her again. She was practically shaking when she came downstairs for dinner. You have to stop fucking doing that. Ashlyn isn’t from our world. She’s innocent and gentle, and—”
“She’s definitely innocent,” he cut me off. “That’s why you’re so obsessed with her. You want her innocence.”
“That’s part of it,” I admitted. “I like that she’s not part of our world.”
“That’s not what I mean. You want to take that innocence. You want to corrupt her.”
My fists curled at my sides. “I don’t.”
“Don’t lie, Joseph. I know you better than anyone. You like that she’s so sweet and pure, but you want her to be your dirty little angel, just for you.”
“Fuck off.” I couldn’t hear more. I couldn’t bear to hear the awful truth I’d been trying to deny. I wanted to shelter Ashlyn from all the ugly things in my life. I wasn’t ashamed of my kinks, but I knew she would be frightened by them. I wouldn’t do that to her.
“She saw my sketches,” he announced, keeping me fixed in his implacable stare.
Anger surged. “You showed those to her?” Marco’s sketches were supposed to be private, something only the two of us knew about.
“No. I found her snooping. She was staring at them, Joseph. She didn’t know I was watching her. Those pretty pink lips were parted, her eyes wide. I could practically see her pulse jumping at her throat.”
“Because she was scared. You scared her.” If Marco was trying to allay my anger, he was only riling it.
“Maybe she was scared. Just a little. Just the right amount. You should have seen her, Joseph. She couldn’t stop staring. And when I showed her the one of the two of you together, she licked her lips and blushed the prettiest shade of pink. I don’t think she even realized it. She wants it, Joseph.”
“She doesn’t,” I countered, even though something tugged in my chest. “She ran down here after. She was holding me so tight, and she was trembling.”
“I like seeing a woman tremble,” he said, his eyes sparking with a rare hint of light. I wasn’t the only one who found Ashlyn’s innocence alluring.
“She doesn’t like you,” I informed him, the words paining me. I hated that she seemed to dislike my best friend so much that she’d seek shelter from him in my arms. “You can’t keep scaring her like this.”