I sat in the warm water for longer than I should have. My skin had already started to wrinkle, but I made no move to get out.
His voice still echoed in my head.
“Go. Bathe. I want you soft and clean when I finally taste you.”
A shiver slid down my spine, though the water was still hot.
It wasn’t fear. At least not the kind I was used to. It was something darker. Something that pooled in my stomach, twisted in my chest, and flushed hot under my skin.
I hated that I was reacting this way.
This man… this creature… had bought me like an object. Like I was something to be owned, to be used. But when he’d stood close, when his breath had ghosted over my neck, when his voice had dropped so low and rough... I hadn’t backed away.
Worse, I’d leaned in.
I dunked my head under the water briefl
