I wasn’t going to back down. And if he wanted a fucking show then he was going to get one.
I mentally amped myself up for what I was about to do, turning to the wall as I took in a slow breath.
Do it.
I dropped my hands, turned around and moved right into his personal space. His eyes widened in surprise as I laid my palms flat on his hot, naked chest and pushed him back a step. He didn’t give in, growling with desire as his eyes dipped down to stare at my breasts.
I pressed myself against him, having to rub my way past him to the door and feeling the hard length of him brushing my skin as I went. Heat burst between my thighs and I stamped my teeth to my lip to fight a moan of desire.
I stepped out onto the bath mat, snatching up a towel and Saint’s robe before hurrying into Kyan’s room to dry myself off. That big-balled piece of shit had gotten me all kinds of hot. Angry hot. Physically hot. Gonna-be-turned-on-for-a-week hot. And I was so pissed at him for it.
When I was dry, I dropped the towel on the floor for him to clean up then pulled on Saint’s robe. It was still hanging open when Kyan walked in, holding a towel to his junk as he rubbed it dry and brushed his teeth with his other hand.
I quickly did up my robe, my throat overly tight as he continued walking toward me, smirking around his toothbrush.
“Get out of my room,” he demanded and I turned my back on him, heading to the door.
“Gladly, asshole,” I called back and his laughter followed me.
I was flustered as hell by the time I reached the stairs leading up to Saint’s room. And it took me way too long to realise Saint wasn’t sitting at the breakfast table on his phone like he had been the past few days at this time.
My pulse elevated as I rounded onto the top of the stairs and found him sitting on the end of his bed with his elbows resting on his knees like he’d been waiting for me. All week he’d left my clothes up here to get changed alone. So why was he here right now? Was everyone in this house determined to see me freaking naked today?!
“Your hair’s wet,” Saint said sternly, rising to his feet. I was only supposed to wash it on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. And I was fairly sure the reason for that was because Saint was batshit.
“Yeah, well tell Kyan not to fucking walk into the shower while I’m in it already and maybe I’ll be able to keep it out of the flow next time,” I snarled and Saint’s eyes widened.
“That asshole,” he muttered, but not like he was pissed at him, like he was freaking jealous.
I pursed my lips, folding my arms around myself and straightening my spine. “I go along with your bullshit, Saint. But we had a deal. Nothing sexual.”
“You being naked doesn’t count as sexual unless one of us is inside you, Barbie,” Saint said coldly and my lips parted in refusal before he barrelled on. “It’s Kyan’s shower, so if you don’t wanna share then get the fuck out of it before he gets in. You gave up your privacy when you became ours. So we’re gonna see you naked and you’re gonna see us naked too. That’s the way it is.”
The injustice of it made me pout like a child and I was half a second from stamping my foot before he turned and stalked away from me into his closet.
I closed my eyes, counting to ten, trying to retreat into that calm place inside of me, but I just couldn’t manage it this morning. I was so pissed off and turned on and gah.
Saint appeared a moment later with a black maxi skirt and a lacy pink top in one hand and a delicate, dark blue lingerie combo in the other.
“Put these on,” he demanded, placing them on the bed and folding his arms as he waited.
I could tell this was a test. He wanted me to blink, to beg for him to turn around. But I was not in the mood to be fucked with anymore. So I was going to front it out just like I had with Kyan.
I walked over to the clothes then turned to face Saint and undid my robe. I stared him right in the eye and let it fall from my shoulders to pool at my feet. I knew I was flushed and my nipples were hardened from my encounters with Blake and Kyan. Saint could probably tell how turned on I was and suddenly I found a power in that.
The vicious mask he wore dropped for the first time since I’d met him. He swallowed hard and his eyes softened to something dark and hungry that almost drew me in. I grabbed the panties, pulling them on before putting on the bra. Neither did much to cover my nudity and if anything they just enhanced my body even more. Next, I pulled on the skirt which fit snugly over my ass before falling down to my feet and splitting up both sides to the knee. I tugged the pink lacy top on over it and it gently caressed the skin above my navel, leaving my stomach on show.
Saint moved toward me, taking my hand and guiding me to a large mirror on the wall. He placed me in front of him and my heart juddered as he reached up to pull my hair out of its knot. A waterfall of gold tumbled around me and Saint combed his fingers through the damp strands, arranging it over my shoulders. Every touch was firm and controlling, but then he stroked his finger down my side and over the curve of my hip with the most gentle of touches and a breath snagged in my throat.
“Beautiful,” he said softly, pressing up behind me and gazing at me in the mirror.
It wasn’t a compliment from him. I was just one of his pretty possessions. A thing to be admired.
“Well?” he asked, stepping to my side and fixing his already perfectly styled hair. “Aren’t you going to comment on how I look?”
I blew out a derisive breath, looking him up and down in the mirror and wetting my lips. “You look merciless, Saint Memphis. Like always.”
He smirked and that expression sent an angry tirade of butterflies swarming through my belly. Better call pest control for those little bastards.
Saint leaned in and pressed an icy kiss to my cheek, making my entire body freeze in reaction to it.
“Do your makeup,” he breathed then walked away and every butterfly dropped dead just like that.
***
An entire Saturday with the Night Keepers was predictably long. I brought them drinks while they played video games then they made me count pebbles on the shore while they swam in the lake and laughed together about how fucked the world was. I didn’t quite mind that display of muscular bodies dripping with water. Shame about the personalities attached to them though.
When the sun finally did me the solid of setting, I was ready to go to bed and be done with this day. It was only a few more hours of torture until they let me and I finally stepped into the bathroom with a sigh of relief.
Although, it was short lived, because I soon remembered I had to do this all over again tomorrow. And the next day and the next…
I stripped down and put on my nightdress, climbing into the bathtub ready for another uncomfortable night’s sleep. My phone battery was low and I made a mental note to ask the asswits to charge it. I knew they would; they wanted me on call at all times. As it was essential to them controlling me.
My eyes fluttered closed and I drew in a long breath as I begged sleep to come and take me away from this nightmare. And hopefully not fling me into another one. I just wanted the sweet gift of nothingness to steal me away for a while. And at long last, I got my wish.
***
I woke with a cold sense of dread in my bones and I knew something was wrong. A hand clamped over my mouth and my scream was stifled by the huge palm. Blake hauled me out of the bath, crushing my back to his chest and holding me so tightly I couldn’t breathe.