Throne of Truth (Truth and Lies Duet #2)(11)

“Let me go.” I reached behind to dig my fingernails into his hip. Shivering hijacked me until my teeth rattled. “Dammit, Greg. Stop!”

He flinched but only held tighter. Reaching with his left arm, he swiveled the tap to hot, and I waited with goosebumps and trembles as the liquid ice slowly switched to tepid waterfall to steamy stream to scalding tempest.

I winced as my skin turned lobster red. “Ouch!”

“Whoops. Can’t have you burning up now, can we?” He twisted the tap again, finally finding the right hot to cold ratio.

My flesh no longer tried to turn into an ice-berg or melt with magma, but I didn’t relax. Not one little bit.

Turning me around, he barely noticed my resistance. My feet slipped with no effort on the bath, my body stiff as a sword. When I stood facing him with my arms acting as my underwear, he grinned. “Back you go.” He pushed until my head vanished under the shower, drenching my long hair.

The water offered a reprieve, filling my ears and eyes and senses with cleansing rushes rather than reveal the tiny bathroom in the tiny cabin with the madman I was currently with.

After I was sufficiently drowned, he pulled me forward and opened a bottle of shampoo on the ledge of the bath. “I’m going to show you how supportive and kind I can be, Elle.”

He licked his lips, tipping synthetic berry bubbles into his palm. “I’m going to make sure you’re squeaky clean, and then we’re going to have a chat about our new life together.”

I bit my tongue.

Words didn’t work on him, and I refused to stoop to a level where I begged or pleaded for some rationality. There was no rationality left. I was in a shower naked with Greg while he promised to care for me after I’d promised I’d kill him if my disappearance hurt my father.

He either believed in his delusions or was so twisted, he honestly thought I wanted him and was merely playing hard to get.

His hands landed on my head, rubbing the unwanted bubbles into my strands, coating me with a foreign smell.

I missed my bathroom and honeysuckle body-wash.

I missed Sage and her morning meow and head-butt.

I missed my father and his gentle smile.

Hell, I even missed Penn even while hating him.

“The silent treatment won’t work on me forever, you know.” Greg gathered my wet tresses, plopping them onto my head where he massaged more suds.

I refused to enjoy his fussing. My skin crawled rather than relaxed with the soft pressure.

I put my chin in the air, glowering.

We’ll see.

“If you’re going to be like that, turn around.” He pushed my shoulder, swiveling me in place. I wobbled on the slippery surface, refusing to unlock my arms from protecting my decency to act as balancing rods.

His fingers trailed from my hair down my back, spreading more bubbles. My teeth chattered in horror as he hooked his hands under my arms, washing me intimately, cleansing me of my past life for whatever he meant to do to me in this twisted present.

“I can’t wait until you’re clean, Elle,” he murmured as his fingers drifted to my ass. “Once he’s washed away, I can replace every memory with me.”

I swallowed a moan as his touch pressed into my crack.

I spun around, not caring anymore if he saw me naked as one arm swung up to punch him and the other gripped the white tiled wall for balance. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

He caught my arm mid-swing, holding me steady. His gaze locked onto my breasts then to my core.

A blackness I instantly feared cloaked him. His cock grew harder as he captured my nipple, tugging hard. “Fuck, you’re stunning.”

“Let me go.” I tried to fight, but he kept my wrist imprisoned and deliberately pushed me sideways against the wall to keep my other arm pinned.

“In another few days, you’ll wonder why you fought this, Elle.” His voice grew husky with desire. “I’ll show you how good we can be together. You’ll see.” His hand dropped from my breast, trailed down my stomach, and cupped my core.

I fought harder, slipping and forcing him to take my weight to keep me standing. He balanced me but never let go where he held between my legs. His fingers remained on the outside, merely a dominating reminder that he believed I was his now and everything about me was his, too.

“This is the part of you that needs washing the most.” He gathered more bubbles, pressing them into my short curls. “Fucking asshole needs to be deleted.”

I tore my eyes from his, glaring at the ceiling while furious tears sprang. He washed me slowly, possessively, with so many threats and promises.

I couldn’t stop the tears overflowing, mixing with the shower, rolling down my chest.

He caught one with his finger, bringing it to his lips. “Don’t cry, Elle. You’re clean now. What happened is in the past, we have a brand new future to look forward to.” Pushing me under the spray, his hands trailed over every inch as he rinsed away the soap.

Cuddling me into him, his embrace reeked of contempt for Penn and lust for me.

A recipe that would end up ruining me.

“Are you hungry?” He kissed my wet scalp. “Come on, let’s eat. And then...we’ll get to know each other exactly the way we should’ve years ago.”





Chapter Six


Penn