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“Beckett’s clothes?” I winced.
“Yes, who else’s? Believe me, he has enough to spare.” Eve shoved me into the bathroom. “Now go, you’re looking more and more miserable by the second.”
She had a point. My wet jeans and sneakers felt awful, and I wanted to warm up. I locked the door and switched the shower on, marveling at the luxury of the room.Wow.So, this was what a really nice bathroom was like. It was decked out in white marble veined with gold. All the fixtures were brushed gold to match, and the shower was big enough to fit half the team. Well, big enough for three or four people, anyway. I wondered for a second if Beckett had ever used it to shower with someone else then cringed. Of course he had; he was a hot, rich Ice God. Sometimes even my imagination was a virgin.
I took off my clothes and wringed them out over the sink before diving into the shower. The water was perfect, and the soap and shampoo smelled divine. I luxuriated in it way too long.
After I got out and wrapped a huge towel around my body and another around my hair, I wiped the steam off the mirror to stare at myself. The moment during truth or dare when I’d crawled to Cayden flashed through my mind and I let myself feel it again. A heady excitement that I couldn’t deny. That moment between us had been ten times hotter than my dared kiss with Josh. It was the boldest thing I’d ever done. It had felt wicked in a way I didn’t know what to do with, except that it reaffirmed what I already suspected. Being around Cayden West was dangerous for me. He made me want to break all the rules I’d self-imposed to be the perfect daughter for my sacrificing parents.
My reflection met my eyes. Skin that was too pale and littered with freckles. I liked my eyes, but usually my glasses hid their color and shape. My hair was too long and way too red. When I was a kid and readAnne of Green Gables, I’d never felt so seen. Poor Anne. Poor me. Still, I was healthy and average-looking enough not to be able to complain.You don’t feel average when he looks at you.That was an undeniable truth. My entire life I’d felt plain enough to blend into any crowd or background. I’d gotten used to being invisible. The only place where I wasn’t was in class, and even then, I wasn’t exactly eager to raise my hand, even when I was confident I knew the answer.
When Cayden’s eyes landed on me, I felt seen. For the first time, I wasn’t the background but the focus. That kind of attention was dangerous indeed. It felt like something a girl could get addicted to if she wasn’t careful.
“Did you find something for me to wear that isn’t ten sizes too big?” I called to Eve as I made my way out of the bathroom—then promptly froze.
Cayden leaned against the closed bedroom door, his arms crossed over his chest, and a bunched handful of material in his grip. “No, but you’ll wear it anyway.”
My eyes darted around the room, desperately searching for Eve. An outfit was laid out on the bed. Basketball shorts and one of Beckett’s hockey jerseys.
“Where’s Eve?”
“Asher needed her.”
“She’ll be back in a minute,” I warned, unsure why I felt compelled to tell him that.
He smirked and shook his head slowly. “No. She won’t.”
“Why are you here?”
“I brought you something to wear,” he said lazily, like that was a normal thing for him to do.
“I think Eve has it covered.” I pointed to the outfit on the bed.
Cayden glanced at Beckett’s jersey and shook his head. “You don’t wear his number. I won’t let you.”
“Why not?”
“You know why.”
His words were delivered with perfect confidence. There was a challenge in his eyes, daring me to disagree. That was Cayden all over. He didn’t hide away from the ugly truth; he simply embraced it. He was daring me to face facts right now, and I didn’t like it one bit. Hiding from reality was my safe space.
“No, I really don’t.” I folded my arms over my chest, clamping my towel in place in case the way I’d tucked it dared to loosen.
He pushed off the door and strode toward me. I was rooted to the spot. There was an instinct to run back into the bathroom and lock the door behind me that was totally uncalled for.Is it really, though?My hindbrain screamed at me to move it, but I couldn’t make my limbs cooperate.
Cayden seemed to read that instinct somewhere on my face, because he was suddenly before me, moving faster than I’d thought possible.
“Liar. We need to talk. You broke the rules.”
He was so damn tall I had to tilt my head right back to look up at him. I wet my lips, suddenly parched. His eyes followed the movement.
“What rules?”
“Myrules. I own you, remember? I know your deepest, darkest secrets.” His tone was almost sweet as he reached out and tugged at the towel on my head.
It slid to the side, and my wet hair tumbled free, cool around my bare shoulders.
“According to you, I know yours, too,” I reminded him. Whatever he thought I’d seen that day after the shower was clearly terrible enough that he felt compelled to terrify me into submission. I burned with curiosity to know. If I was being punished for seeing, I wished I’d damn well seen properly, and maybe even taken a photo for prosperity.
