“Josie, are you okay?”
I move to cover my breasts. “Yes.”
“Okay.”
I think, for now, I should keep him at arm’s length. I can’t go prancing around wanting him to like me again. I have so many questions and I don’t even know where to start with them. My gaze goes to the duffle bag that has Rosalie’s clothes in it. What did they have to bribe her with to get those? The woman glares daggers into me at every holiday function. I’ve always liked her. She keeps her hair short in a pixie bob and I’m pretty sure she could drink most men under the table if last year’s New Year party is anything to go off of. She made a pyramid with her shot glasses and could still walk a straight line after it. I have one cosmos and I feel tipsy. Rosalie has always been badass in my book, even if I’ll never get her to like me.
Does she know what her brother does? The others were here, does that mean they kill people, too? They didn’t even seem fazed by the fact that I was tied to a bed.
What would I be like if had known the truth about my father’s life? Would I be the person I am now?
I rub my face. I want to scream. I feel like I need to sleep on this. I’m not ready to talk to him yet. I need to think more, sort my thoughts. Unplugging the drain, I grab the towel he left me and shakily stand. I think my legs are okay now, I don’t need his help, thankfully. For the longest time, I had fantasies of being tied up by him and other things, but that wasn’t it. Not by a long shot. I agree with him. I wish things could’ve been different. Drying off, I grab the duffle bag and look through it. I’m not even sure any of her stuff will fit me. She likes to go with tight-fitting clothes. I’m not big in my waist, but my ass and chest are another story. Trying to find things that fit my breasts and aren’t baggy around my stomach is a challenge, and from what I remember Rosalie is somewhere in the middle. She’s not flat, but she’s not as big as me either.
I pull out a shirt and try it on. It fits, but it must be one of her bigger shirts. Next, I pull out some soft shorts made of stretchy material. I frown. No underwear in the bag and the pair I was wearing need washed. I didn’t expect her to give me underwear but I don’t like the fact that I have nothing between me and her clothes. I’m going to have to buy her all new clothes. That’s not too much of a big deal, I have more than enough of my own money, but she probably won’t like it.
There’s no other choice. I’m not going to walk around without any bottoms on, I don’t know how much he saw earlier, but that’s not how I wanted him to see me. I’ve had so many dreams of the first time he would see me naked, and none of them went like that. It was sweet of him to get me cleaned up right away, but the entire thing will mortify me for the rest of my life. I put them on and then dry my hair with the towel, before putting it over the wooden bar above the toilet.
I look around. This place isn’t on the level of Cason’s style, but I guess he brought me here so I couldn’t get away easily, so he couldn’t take me to a mansion or anything. Not that I care.
Going over to the threshold of the door, I peek around the corner to find Cason leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. My heart hammers, I wish we were alone here for different reasons. I would’ve gladly come to a place like this with him even if we had to take what we did here to the grave.
His eyes open and he looks at me.
I gulp. “Are you going to tie me to the bed again?”
He moves away from the wall and reaches a hand out to me, I back away. He lets his hand drop. “No. But if you try to escape, you’ll be chained to the bed and it will only be long enough for you to walk to the bathroom.”
Not knowing what to say, I nod.
He licks his lips. “I’ll go make us some food and give you some space. The window was painted shut years ago, just so you know, and I’ll hear you if you break the glass.”
I glance over my shoulder at it. The thought hadn’t struck my mind at all, I have no desire to run into a bear out there. They run rampant through these woods. Several times a year there’s news stories about a bear that either attacked campers or did something it shouldn’t. “You don’t have to worry about me running away while out here. You know I have a phobia of bears and always have. That didn’t go away in college.”
A grin pulls at his lips as I look back at him and he laughs.
My cheeks heat up, I don’t even have to read minds to know what he’s thinking about. “Don’t you dare say it.”
He laughs. “It makes me think of that time when I took you to that hiking souvenir shop and you got scared of the taxidermy bear they had there. Cried your head off while Ros tried to climb it. What were you, like eight?”
I jut out my lower lip. “That bear wasn’t stuffed well, it looked terrifying. It still haunts my dreams and I would appreciate it if you didn’t remind me of it!” I fold my arms over my chest.
Quicker than I can react he brushes a damp strand of hair behind my ear. “You don’t have to worry about bears while I’m around, Jo, I’ll protect you from any and all things that try to hurt you.”
I swallow hard. “Even yourself?”
His hand lowers to his side and his eyes turn cold, an expression I’ve only seen on his face once when his grandfather died and my father took us to the funeral when I was fourteen.
“I would never hurt you, Jo. Not on purpose, not ever. You....” he trails off before taking a deep breath and letting it out. “You mean more to me than you will ever know.”
My heart flutters at his words, but I’m not ready to unpack any of that. I’m still processing seeing him shoot a man in the head. I’m certain the image will haunt my dreams for years to come. Not only that, but also the news of my father not being the man I thought he was. Hell, neither of them are the men I thought they were.
I walk around him and sit on the bed. “I won’t try to escape, but I think I need to be alone right now, Cason. I’m not ready to talk.”
He turns to look at me, his fingers flex at his sides. “I’m sure you’re hungry, I’ll go make you something to eat. Fair warning, I’m not as good of a cook as you are a baker, but I can make something edible.”
I don’t say anything before he leaves. The door shuts behind him followed by what sounds like a click of a lock. Getting up I go to it and try the brass knob, it won’t turn.
Chapter Nine
