Wordlessly, Calvin reaches for something on his bedside stand. Relief grips me when he uncaps a bottle of water and hands it to me.
“Thank you,” I murmur instinctively, then flinch because I have to stop thanking this asshole for things.
My body feels so much better as I gulp down half of the bottle. Even my head doesn’t seem to hurt as much. I’m irrationally afraid he won’t give it back if I don’t finish the whole thing, so I only stop to come up for air, then I gulp down the rest of it.
He takes the empty bottle and replaces the lid. “I take it you were thirsty.”
I don’t want to talk to him. He’s the only person who knows what happened to me, though, so on the off chance he tells the truth, I ask woodenly, “What did you do to me?”
Some part of me imagines he will tell me, but not because he’s honest.
Because he enjoys it.
Because he likes confessing perverse things when he knows I’m powerless to leave.
I’m prepared for it, so I don’t flinch when he says, “You passed out, so I picked you up and carried you in to bed.”
He says that like it’s a natural thing to do, like there was any chance I would have ended up in his bed of my own volition.
“Did I lose my clothes along the way?” I ask a bit dryly.
“No, but while the dress I picked out for you looked beautiful on, I figured it wouldn’t be comfortable to sleep in. Then, once I peeled that off, you looked so much more comfortable, I thought I’d keep going.”
“How gallant.”
His lips quirk ever so slightly. “Once I got your bra off, your lovely tits were just begging for attention...”
Here it comes…
I swallow.
The bedding rustles as he moves closer to me. I stiffen, but don’t immediately pull away when he peels back the soft blanket that was covering my boobs.
My nipples harden the instant they’re exposed to the cool air. They’re hard when he reaches over and takes one between his thumb and forefinger like it belongs to him.
“You have truly remarkable tits, Hallie.” He says it like we’re lovers and I’ll enjoy the compliment as much as his touch. I try to shove his hand away, but his grip on my nipple tightens painfully when I do, and the pressure increases until I stop. To reward me for giving in, I suppose, he lets go and rubs the pad of his thumb across my abused nipple, then he bends down and gives it a little kiss.
A wicked tingle dances down my spine, but I refuse to feel guilty for it. I have very sensitive breasts. It’s not my fault they respond to physical stimulation. That doesn’t mean anything. The tautening of my tummy muscles… it doesn’t mean anything.
His hand leaves my breasts and skims the gentle curve of my bare tummy. “I enjoyed looking at your body, knowing you couldn’t stop me. I wanted to see more of it.” His finger grazes the line across my hips where my panties should be. I squeeze my legs together, but he still runs his hand over my thigh, then reaches around and grabs my ass. “I wanted to taste you, Hallie. I wanted to feel your soft skin beneath mine. I wanted to fuck you, and remember, I’m a man who takes what he wants.”
There it is. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to swallow past a lump in my throat. I knew, but it still hurts to hear.
“But…”
My heart stops.
But?
I’m so surprised, I stop clenching my muscles as tightly and his hand slips between my thighs. He cups my pussy in the palm of his hand and leans so close, I feel his breath on my skin as he murmurs, “Right before you passed out, you asked me for a favor. Do you remember that?”
I swallow, but that lump is still lodged stubbornly in my throat as I shake my head.
“You asked me not to hurt you. You said please.” Between my legs, his finger lightly traces shapes over my entrance. I realize my body doesn’t feel like he’s been inside me. There’s no ache like there was the last time. No lubrication if he used it so as not to hurt me while I was passed out.
My tummy flutters. I don’t know if it’s the way his finger grazes my entrance, or the hope his words give me. “You… you didn’t…?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t fuck you. I didn’t even taste you beyond a few kisses.”
Relief reinflates me and I feel as if I can finally breathe again.
“I thought about it,” he confesses. “I’ve never fucked an unconscious woman before. It didn’t seem appealing, but then you were lying here naked in my bed. If you hadn’t asked me so sweetly to control myself, I might not have.”