Page 36 of Wallflower
Silence lingers too long before the third voice picks up again. “May I?”
“Of course.”
“Alone.” The unknown man’s voice is authoritative—clipped, like he expects to be complied with.
“Certainly,” Maximus replies. “Richmond, let’s step outside for a moment.”
Footsteps cross the room, the sound of the closing door sending a chill down my spine.Who am I alone with now?
I’m being watched, I can feel it. Every ounce of energy I have left slides across my skin, goosebumps rising in its wake. My ears strain to hear, but nothing comes through over the sound of my own laboured breathing.
Suddenly, the dark hair cascading around my face is fisted, head jerked back from the force. “I asked you a question,” a voice deeper than any heard thus far rumbles, hot minty breath fanning across my face.
Unfortunately, I don’t recall being talked to.
Did I pass out?
A warm palm slaps my cheek. Not hard, but jarring. I force my eyelids to raise, blurry vision clearing.
When the world reappears around me, I’m gazing up into the most hauntingly gorgeous set of eyes I’ve ever seen.
His dark eyelashes are long and thick, the kind every woman on the planet would be jealous of. Irises the colour of obsidian watch me, stalling my shallow breaths.
What’s someone likehimdoing in a place likethis?
“Answer me, or I’ll use all this blood you’re spilling as lube to fuck that cunt before anyone else can.”
Well, I guessthatanswers my question.
He’s one of them.
“Hmm?” I murmur, hoping he will repeat himself without any annoyance.
“Your name,” he demands. The sound travels across my rapidly cooling skin like a promise he’ll follow through on his threat. “What is it?”
“D-does it matter?” I cough. “In here I’m just a number.” His onyx hair is disheveled, strands grazing his tanned cheeks ashe observes me. Everything about him is dark. His clothes. His features. The cloud around him. He’s a living shadow, towering above me by almost a full foot of height.
“Why was he cutting you?”
I chuff out a laugh. “‘Cause he’s a sadistic lapdog.”
The man’s eyebrows quirk up at that, something glinting in his devouring gaze. “Did you cause a problem?” His voice lifts, amusement evident in his tone. “A fight, perhaps?”
The darkness creeps closer, framing in around this man’s lethal masculine jaw. “Mhmm…” I sigh, trying but failing to catch my breath.
“Did you scream for him?”
Deep breath in.“Unfortunately.”Exhale.
“Cry?”
My lashes flutter, eyes slowly closing as a small smile graces my lips. “Never.”
Though I can’t see him, I feel him, hear him, circling me like a predator.
The warmth of him heats the skin of my throbbing back. He’s close enough that the material of his shirt grazes my wounds with each slight sway of my dangling body.
His large hands land on my hips, moving slowly across my skin. They criss-cross over my abdomen, the touch light and reverent. A gentle lover’s caress.
