Page 139 of Wicked Brutal

I feel him pulse inside me, heat against the water, his whole body going tight and then shuddering loose. He holds me through it like he’s afraid I’ll slip. When it finally eases he stays inside me, breathing hard against my skin.

“I love you,” he says into my throat. Quiet. Wrecked.

My fingers stroke the back of his wet neck. “I love you too.”

He kisses me once, soft, then carefully lowers my leg and slips out of me. I make a small sound at the loss. He steadies me until both my feet are flat on the tile. “Just stay there.”

He picks the soap back up. This wash is different from the first. Slower. Almost sleepy. He soaps my stomach again, then between my thighs where he’s still leaking out of me, gentle enough that I twitch and he immediately gentles more.

“Sorry. Sensitive.”

A kiss to my shoulder. “Means I did it right.”

He washes himself after, quick and efficient, then rinses both of us until there’s nothing left but hot water and his soap. No restaurant. No cologne. No Victor. Ryan shuts the tap off.

The silence is sudden. Steam hangs in the glass. He reaches out, grabs a towel, and wraps it around me first — always me first — tucking it in like I’m something he’s putting back together. He dries my arms without touching the bruises. Dries my hair enough that it won’t soak the pillow. Then he wraps a second towel around his waist and opens the door. Cool air hits my skin. He takes my hand and leads me down the hall to his room. I don’t look at the window I climbed through. I don’t think about the two cars that took them to the plane. I just follow him.

By the time I climb into Ryan’s bed, my hair is damp, my skin smells like his soap, and I can finally take a breath without smelling Victor Tremblay.

Ryan comes out of the bathroom a minute later in black boxer briefs beneath a pair of gray shorts, his chest bare while he drags a towel over his hair. I already stole one of his shirts. Apparently neither of us believes in asking permission before I raid his closet anymore.

He kills the bedroom light and climbs in beside me. Ryan settles against the headboard and pulls me against his side, careful about which arm he touches. His skin is still warm from the shower, and when I tuck my head beneath his chin, his hand comes down over my stomach automatically. For a minute, neither of us talks.

Then he kisses the top of my head. “Start at the beginning.”

I sigh. “You already know the bad parts.”

“I know your father put his hands on you.” His jaw tightens against my hair. “And I know Tremblay couldn’t keep his fucking hands or mouth to himself. I don’t know how we got there.”

“You’re going to get mad.”

“Ally, I’m currently lying in bed because you asked me not to commit multiple felonies. We’re past pretending I’m handling this well.”

I lift my head. “You are handling it well.”

“I’m handling you well.” The distinction makes me pause. “My thoughts about them are significantly less civilized.”

“Good to know.”

“I came downstairs around ten. He looked me over and said good. Then he made me sit down because apparently my social life required a performance review. He asked about Catherine first. Then Penelope. Then Rebecca.”

Ryan looks down at me. “Full names?”

“Every one. He said their families have attracted a lot of attention this year and I need to be careful about who I associate with.” I stare at the blankets. “He said graduation isn’t far away and my circumstances will be different afterward. That school friendships feel permanent when they aren’t. Then he said Victor has friends and associates with wives of their own, and I’ll meet women through him who are more appropriate for the life I’ll be living.”

He holds my eyes for another second before nodding. “What happened next?”

“He gave me the rules for lunch.”

Ryan’s expression hardens immediately. “What rules?”

“Be pleasant. Listen when Victor speaks. If he asks my opinion, I can give it respectfully, but I’m not supposed to argue just because I don’t like what he says.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“And I wasn’t supposed to pull away when he touched me.”

Ryan goes completely still. "What?"