Page 66 of Unbalanced

It’s not loud. I can barely hear it from where I’m standing. But it has the same effect as if she cried out directly into my ear.

Covering my cock with the shirt, I let go. I bite down hard, grinding my teeth and cracking my jaw, so I don’t make any noise when I come. The pleasure is so intense that I stumble back. Jets of come, one after the other, soak the inside of my shirt until I’m left panting.

The shower turns off, and before she can walk out here and find me like this, I run out into the hallway. I don’t stop until I’m in my room with the door closed.

Leaning against the cool wood, I close my eyes and take a moment. She is not safe around me. Every raw, dark, and feral part of me that I keep buried unless I’m killing wants every fucking inch of her.

My cock is still hard and begging for more.

“Fuck,” I snarl and march to my ensuite.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

EMILY

Why hasn’t Alden bent me over the dining table?

Dinner flows with the same easy conversation, but Alden doesn’t flirt…at all.

Is he changing his mind about me?

Where have I gone wrong?

These thoughts plague me as I get ready for bed. I dress in the plain white dress shirt and sleep pants Alden left and replay the last few hours. It feels like he’s thrown a wall up between us.

I lie awake until three, waiting, praying, hoping Alden sneaks in. Other than some staff, we are the only ones here. It’s the perfect opportunity for him to bang on my door and take me…but he doesn’t.

Not a peep comes from his side of the wall. I know…I’ve put my ear against the adjoining door twice, but nothing.

Have I overplayed my hand? Was the shower too much? Maybe I will mention his late-night visit and flirt it up.

No, I know him, and I can’t second-guess myself now. He needs to come to me and declare that he wants a relationship. If I deviate from my plan, I’ll be no better than all the rest who have come and gone from his bed.

Tossing the blanket aside, I stand and stare at myself in the full-length mirror in the corner. This won’t do.

Pulling off the pants, I slip on a pair of underwear from the new package sitting beside the extra clothes and toiletries. I hadn’t bothered with panties after my shower. Wishful thinking, apparently.

I believe in dressing for success, and if he hears me moving around…he won’t be able to resist hunting me down.

Opening the door, I step out into the hall and walk past Alden’s room. I’ll do a quick lap and maybe head to the kitchen.

Instead, I’m drawn toward the other side of the house. The room I avoid when I’m here. The room that I’ll never be able to forget for as long as I live.

I stand in the hallway like a ghost, staring at the closed door. Every part of that night comes flooding back. The smell of my mother’s cigarettes, the feel of that monster’s hands, and the sound of my screams as they echo back at me.

That old sense of helplessness presses in on my chest, and my heart beats faster. The memories snake up from the floorboards and grip my ankle, holding me hostage in this house once more.

My hand clenches into a fist. No, I’m not that girl anymore.

That girl died in there. I was reborn that night.

Alden’s father is dead. But it doesn’t stop the shiver that races down my spine. It’s as if he is somehow still here, leering at me.

“Emily, what are you doing?”

My heart lodges in my throat when I whip around and spot Alden in the middle of the hall. He’s no more than fifteen feet away. The dim light from the window keeps him in the shadows, but his blue eyes pierce my soul.

Jesus, he’s quiet. A tiny flutter of panic takes over as I try to explain being here.