House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1)(34)

Lexen needed some fun in his life.

The bathtub came into sight and I let out a breathy sigh. “Okay, now that looks like fun.”

It was deep, oval shaped, and filled with jets. I wanted to live in there. It had been a long time since I took a bath. Disappointment hit me but I pushed it aside. My jailer was probably standing outside, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the clock. This was no time for a bath.

I quickly used the toilet, and after washing my hands I was about to leave when I caught sight of the shower. There was no time for a bath, but I still really wanted to wash off. And warm up. Parts of me were still chilled from the rain.

I glanced at the door, and straightening my spine I decided that he would just have to deal. Wasting no time, I stripped off Star’s borrowed shoes and clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor. The shower cubicle was one of those glass monstrosities with ten shower heads and gleaming dials everywhere. It was still damp and wet, clearly from Lexen, and I tried very hard not to think about him standing naked here only moments ago.

After multiple attempts I managed to get water to run. As I stepped under, it went scorching hot and I jumped back.

“Shit!” My curse was louder than I intended, but I was pretty sure there were third degree burns on my back now.

There was a loud knock on the door. “Are you okay in there?”

“You have a stupid shower. It’s … stupid!” I shouted back.

The boiling hot water was still cascading down; I had tucked myself right into one corner, which seemed to be the only corner not getting soaked. I heard the door to the bathroom open, and I would have been mortified if all of my attention wasn’t currently on staying alive.

The glass was fogged, so I couldn’t see anything, but I had to assume it was Lexen. The door swung open and he appeared, his eyes darting over me briefly before he reached in through the water to the control panel. He showed no sign of distress as the boiling water ripped across his skin, and I tried not to gasp too loudly. He hit a few buttons, swiveled a dial, and the water cooled considerably to a medium warm. I relaxed, tension seeping out of me

“Did you get burned?” His eyes were locked on my face. For once he wasn’t scowling at me.

I blinked a few times, unused to that look from him. “I don’t think so. It hit my back, I … I’m fine.”

“Turn around,” he commanded. “Let me see. If you told me you were going to shower I could have changed the temperature. It’s programmed to my preferences.”

I crossed my arms, trying to hide most of my naked parts. For freak’s sake, this was worse than my cliché moment before. Now I was naked in the shower with him. “I’m not turning around. I’m fine. You can leave now.”

He seemed to realize then that he had me cornered, naked, and he hated humans. In a flash the glass door closed, and I slumped even further until I was pretty much sitting on the floor, warm water beating down on me. I hadn’t for one second felt vulnerable or scared that he might take advantage of me. His eyes had not even drifted below my face. He didn’t care. He wasn’t attracted to me.

We were not the same species! I was going to keep repeating that mentally until it started to sink in.

Exhaustion pressed in on me and it took everything I had not to curl up under the massaging shower heads and go to sleep. I forced myself to stand, to wash my hair with whatever amazingly expensive shampoo was in here. Then I figured out how to turn the water off, stepping out to find a thick white towel on the sink. Next to it was a shirt.

I blinked a few times, my hand going out to pick up the soft piece of clothing. Had Lexen given me one of his shirts to sleep in? It definitely hadn’t been sitting there when I’d got into the shower.

I dried off quickly, gingerly patting the tender parts on my back. It didn’t look too bad in the mirror, just bright red, no welts yet. I wished I had some cream to rub on it, but I didn’t want to push my luck. Slipping back into the underwear bottoms from Star, since I hadn’t worn them for long, I then pulled the huge shirt over my head. It caressed my skin, silky and smooth, falling almost to my knees.

There was a comb on the bench and I used it to tame my mane. The curls would still spring up haphazardly when they dried, but combing it out would help a little. When I had procrastinated as much as I could, I gathered up the rest of the clothing and slowly left the room. I didn’t see Lexen anywhere, so I chose to run like a bitch and hide in my cupboard bedroom. When I was safely inside, the door closed firmly behind me, I dropped Star’s clothes on a chair in the corner and made my way to the bed. There were a few pendant lights on, as well as a lamp right near the bed. I shut everything off except the lamp.

My stomach gave a rumbling protest. I shushed it. I was not asking Lexen for anything else tonight. Crossing to the bed, I was about to yank the covers down and slip beneath them when I noticed a small white plate resting near the pillow. On top of it was a sandwich.

What in the…? All thought faded as my stomach rumbled again, almost painfully. Uncaring of etiquette, I dove and snatched the bread up, shoving it into my mouth. I had no idea what was on it, and frankly I didn’t care. It was food. I was not going to turn my nose up at anything edible.

When half the sandwich was gone, I took a drink of water from the glass on my bedside. It had been set there with a little note propped next to it. I wasn’t surprised that it was Star who had brought me the food. That made much more sense than Lexen.