AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That didn’t mean I was lazy. Quite the opposite was true. I was driven by a primal need, and I’d never forgotten the days when my motivations were the choice between life and death. After Birdie and I got out of California, our lives had taken a dramatic turn. I didn’t think it was selfish to do what was best for us for a change. I never felt for a second that putting us first was wrong when we’d spent our whole lives coming in dead last. And just because Lucian was rigid in his schedule didn’t mean I had to be too. So, when I heard him move from the bed, I chose to ignore his request for me to get up and get ready for the day.
He’d already taken everything away from me anyway, so I didn’t see what else he could really do. There was also the matter of facing him after he’d spent the entire night holding me in his arms. A surreal and unfathomable truth. I didn’t want to discuss it, or think about it, or even try to play this whole situation off as normal when I looked him in the eye. So I kept snoozing. For all of about twenty minutes until he returned.
“Am I to believe you’ve suddenly grown hard of hearing?”
When I opened my eyes, he was in front of me. Fresh from the shower and naked from the waist up.
I tried not to look.
While I could appreciate the art of a male body when I saw a good one, I certainly didn’t want to appreciate this one. Even if it was beautiful and muscular and lean.
“It’s Saturday.” I wedged my head beneath the pillow and closed my eyes.
“Very good,” Lucian replied. “You get a gold star for that. But you know what you don’t get a star for?”
“Are these stars theoretical?” I mumbled.
“Ignoring a direct order,” he answered. “Is everything going to be a fight with you, Gypsy?”
“Probably. I did try to warn you.”
He was quiet for a minute, and I waited patiently for the next threat. I was already prepared to get out of bed and do his bidding when he yanked back the covers and hauled me up into his arms. An awful squeal ejected from my throat as he carried me into the bathroom, and I laid in his grasp like a limp noodle.
“What are you doing?”
His answer was to turn on the shower and force me directly beneath the spray. The ice-cold spray. I was still in my tee shirt and yoga pants, and he was officially the king of assholes.
“This is bullshit.” I crossed my arms and shivered. “Let me out of here.”
Lucian didn’t move from the shower entry, and the only way to leave was to push past him. He knew I wouldn’t do that, and it wasn’t fair.
“You’re a bastard,” I thundered. “Do you know that? What they say about you is true. Every word.”
He didn’t even flinch. My words had no effect on him, and they were the only weapons I currently had in my arsenal.
He crossed his arms and leaned casually against the wall. “Are you going to behave? Are you going to do as you’re told?”
“Why should I?” I shot back.
“Because that was the agreement we made.”
He had a point, even if I didn’t like it. I still didn’t like him either, and I had a feeling the longer I spent with him, the more I would grow to hate him. But I was freezing, and right now, I was willing to lose the battle if it meant I still had a chance in the war.
“Fine, whatever. Will you leave now so I can take a shower in peace?”
He checked his watch. “You have ten minutes.”
I reached for the knob to turn up the heat, but a flash of color on his retreating form caught my eye and my curiosity. Knowing Lucian as the straight-laced man he was, it shocked me to see the vivid riot of colors on his back.
It looked as if the asshole had a tattoo.
When I stepped out of the shower, the wet clothes I’d discarded on the floor were gone, and on the counter was a new set. The same crappy tee shirt. The same yoga pants. I drew in a deep breath and groaned. This was not turning out to be a good day, and I hadn’t even had my coffee yet.
It pissed me off that I had a closet full of designer clothes, and he wanted me to wear this crap. I had come too far in my life to regress so fast, and I couldn’t stomach another second of it. Sometimes, my temper got the best of me, and the only thing to do was roll with it and deal with the consequences later.
