A strong hand shuts the door she’s about to open. Waylen lowers his head and begins to leave as many hickeys on Leilani’s neck as he can. She wonders if he’s doing this as some sort of punishment or if he’s simply being possessive.
“Don’t shower!” he commands.
Leilani feels the hickeys forming on her neck. She doesn’t have to see her skin to imagine what it must look like.
“I’m sweaty and smelly,” she complains, “Do you want me to go out like this?”
Her words seem to hit a nerve.
“What smell?” Waylen asks, “Are you afraid Andrew might catch my smell on your body?”
“That’s enough!” Leilani snaps, stepping on his shoe, “Let go of me!”
She wishes she could flush him down the toilet. Waylen releases her slowly and reluctantly. He doesn’t want to force her, but he wants to take her again—her smell is intoxicating.
Leilani pushes the bathroom door open and then closes it swiftly in case Waylen changes his mind. She leans against the door and takes a long breath. Then she takes off her dress. The smell is not that noticeable, but it’s still there. Leilani takes another breath and smells blood. She frowns and steps into the shower. She turns the dial, but no water comes out. She tries again and then tries to turn on the overhead rain function. Not a single drop of water emerges.
“Waylen Bamford!” Leilani screams.
She puts on a bathrobe and slams the door open. A cool, fresh breeze reaches her, but it does nothing to calm her fiery temper.
“Try dear husband next time,” Waylen suggests dryly.
Waylen is sitting on the sofa with the smug look of someone who has just thoroughly enjoyed s.e.x. He’s holding a clear crystal glass and swirling a pale white wine.
“Did you do it?” Leilani demands.
She knows Waylen too well. The knowledge that Waylen had the water turned off just to spite her makes her want to slap him across the face. Instead, she clutches the collar of her robe more tightly.
“Did I do what?” Waylen asks.
He leans forward and puts the glass down.
“There’s no water in the bathroom,” Leilani says.
“Ahh yes, the Peters’ house is temporarily cut off,” Waylen says casually.
The casual tone angers and frightens Leilani. She’s sticky and can smell him on her skin. Dark hickeys blot her neck and body, deliberately placed by Waylen.
“Are you out of your mind?” Leilani asks, peaking at a wet tissue on the table.
Waylen spots her gaze and throws the tissue away before Leilani can even try to grab it.
“I’m losing my mind for you, can’t you see?” Waylen said.
He grabs her and holds her in his arms, burying his face in her neck.
“You have to get this close to smell me,” he whispers thickly, “Do you want to let other men get this close?”
Leilani can’t hear everything he says, but his intensity makes her dizzy. She reminds herself that he just denied her the right to shower to force her to become pregnant and she slaps him soundly across the face. Waylen tastes blood, but he licks his lips in a flirtatious way. He gently grabs Leilani’s jaw and gazes intently into her eyes.
“If you slap me one more time, it means you want to make love with me again,” he says.
Leilani slaps the hand on her chin.
“Twice means you’re in for a hot night,” he says with a chuckle, “We can start now or you can owe me later.”
“Tell them to turn the water back again,” Leilani insists, trying to remove the hand that Waylen has snakes around her waist.
“Do you want to know what three slaps mean?” Waylen asks.
“No!” Leilani hisses, “According to your perverted understanding, three slaps can only be worse.”
His smell is driving her mad. She just wants to take a shower and get it off her body. She wants to hit him, but she doesn’t want to play his stupid game. She squirms in his arms and glares up at him.
Waylen stills her and stares into her eyes. His eyes are as deep as the sea as he looks at her, and she finds it impossible to look away. Suddenly his face changes and he smiles.
“If you slap me three times it means you love me.”
“I think I should have a doctor come take a look at you,” Leilani said, “Maybe your back wound has deteriorated and affected your brain somehow.”
Waylen ignores her, “Four means you’re in love with me.”
Leilani stops squirming with shock. She feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room, leaving them in a sort of vacuum, clinging to each other.
“Five means you want us to be together forever.”
“That’s enough!” she says, a ragged edge in her voice.
She can’t stand his irresponsible flirtations. She bites her lip and lowers her head to avoid eye contact. She’s afraid her principles will collapse if she looks up at him. She reminds herself to calm down.
She takes a deep breath and looks up at him again, “Waylen, are you trying to tell me you love me?”
Waylen doesn’t do anything to negate her statement, but he gazes intently back at her. His reaction makes Leilani more nervous. She bats her eyes at him and gives him a seductive look.
“Then what does six mean?” she asks flirtatiously, “I want to have your child?”
Waylen stares at Leilani with an unfathomable but urgent expression.
“If you want,” he whispers.
Leilani feels her breath hitch in her chest. She shakes her head and forces herself to inhale and exhale.
“I don’t,” she says.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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