Naked Edge (22 page)

I jerk my hand out of hers. “I need to stay close to the bathroom.”

“I told you not to order that cheese burrito.”

“Whatever.”

Anna grabs her keys. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Not that I care, but I’d like an estimate of how long she’ll be gone so I’ll know if I have enough time to go check on Skylar.

Anna narrows her eyes at me. I swear that bitch can read my mind. “I’m going to Walgreens.”

“For tampons?” Please, please, please say ‘yes.’

“I’m going to pick up a bottle of Immodium.”

Shit. Well, there’s goes that plan.

As soon as the front door swings shut, Wade sits down beside me and opens his laptop. “Look what I found online.”

He pulls up a home security website and shows me an extensive array of secret agent type hidden cameras. There’re ink pens, wall hooks, power adapters, watches and even a smoke detector like the one Anna used on me. “Awesome.”

“I ordered one of each of the stationary cameras but I got pens and watches for you, me, Cherri, Derek, Boone and Skylar.” He grins like a kid on Christmas morning. He’s definitely getting off on this spy shit. “I’m having it sent by overnight express. Most of it should get here by tomorrow.”

I had no idea he was so devious. This is going to cost a fortune, but if one of us is able to catch Anna saying something incriminating, it’ll be worth it.

A pink flush spreads across Wade’s cheeks. “Do you think you can avoid having intercourse with Anna until we find a way to stop this insanity?”

“God, I hope so.”
 
I’m tempted to tell Wade about the video Anna’s got on Youtube. I trust him to not go looking for it, but he might let something slip in front of Cherri, or god forbid, Derek, who definitely would try to find it. Just knowing that over a hundred strangers watched it before Anna disabled it makes me want to hit something. Or someone. I can only imagine what it would do to Skylar if she knew. I don’t like keeping secrets from her, but this one would only cause her grief and pain.
 

As long as I can keep it off the internet, there’s no reason for her to ever find out.
 

The anti-diarrhea medication kicks in about two hours after I take it. I fake a few more bathroom runs but if I keep this up, Anna will make me take another dose. I’ll be stopped up for a week. Maybe I can plead exhaustion.
 

She gets up from the armchair and marches over to the couch, where I’m sitting with Wade and Cherri, and reaches for me. “It’s time for bed.”

I ignore her outstretched hand. “It’s nine o’clock.”
 

Wade puts a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve been sick for the past two and a half hours. I strongly recommend you take it easy tonight.”

Anna glares at him. “And I strongly recommend you stop trying to practice medicine without a license.”

“He’s not the one pouring Imodium down my throat.” I stand up and head for the door.
 

Anna chews my ass out as she follows me outside. Even if I didn’t hate her, I don’t think I’d ever be able to handle the nagging.

She pauses beside her car. “Go on upstairs and get into bed. I’ll be right up.”

My feet drag as I trudge up the stairs. I take my shoes off and crawl onto the bed with a heavy heart. I don’t usually sleep in my clothes, but the more barriers between me and Anna’s wandering hands the better. I roll onto my stomach and pretend I’m asleep.

I can hear Anna wandering around my room. I want to see what the fuck she’s up to but if she catches me with my eyes open, it’ll ruin my ‘don’t bother me I’m asleep’ strategy. Besides, I don’t want to risk seeing her take her clothes off. But when I smell smoke, I don’t have a choice.
 

Fuck. She’s lighting candles. She’s also wearing a white, filmy nightgown that floats around her body as she moves. It looks like the bedtime version of a wedding gown.

The bed dips. She digs her hands into my shoulder muscles and starts massaging them. It only makes me more tense.

She straddles my ass and runs her hands up and down my back. “I know you’re not asleep.”

“I don’t feel well. Please get off me and let me rest.”

“I’m not stupid, Rowdy.” Her voice quivers. “I know what you’re doing.”

“What do you expect?”

“I expect you to act like you did this morning before I had to go to work.”

I groan and bury my head under my pillow.

She yanks it off. “I took half a day off work so I could prepare everything. The least you can do is look at me.”

I open my eyes and groan again. She’s got rose petals strewn all over the place, enough candles to give the local fire department nightmares and a fucking video camera on a tripod.

“I thought I told you no more video.”

“You said it was okay, just this once…because it’s my first time.”

“Are you really a virgin?”

She bites her lip and nods.

I still don’t believe her but an idea forms in the back of my mind. “Don’t you want your first time to be special?”

“It will be since it’ll be with you.”

“I don’t want to waste your virginity on one night of passion.” That sounds like a line from a cheap romance novel. “I want you to come to our wedding bed pure and untainted.”

“Wedding?” Anna’s eyes widen, sparkling in the candlelight.
 

But she looks like a demon to me. “Isn’t that what you want?”

She launches herself at me and pounces on me. “Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes. I’d be honored to be your wife.”

“I’ll only marry you if you’re a virgin.”

“Why?” The whiney voice is back.

“If you’re not, what’s the point? Might as well just shack up like a common whore.”

“But you’re not a virgin.”
 

“I’m a man.” I doubt a chauvinistic attitude will make her change her mind, but it’s worth a try. “The rules are different for men. How many grooms have you seen wearing white?”

She frowns, as if considering my argument. But then she nods. “I see what you mean.”

Un-fucking-believable.
 

“Okay. I’ll wait for our wedding night.”

“You better sleep in your own room until the wedding. I’d hate to fuck you accidentally and ruin everything.”

“You don’t have to be so crude.” She blows out the candles.

I close my eyes until I hear the door close then grab my phone and call Skylar. It goes straight to voice mail. Fuck. I forgot that Anna smashed Skylar’s phone. I call Boone.
 

He answers on the first ring.
“How are you holding up?”

“I just bought us six to nine months to find a way out of Anna’s trap.”

“I’m going to put you on speaker so Skylar can hear you. How’d you get Anna to back off?”

“I asked her to marry me.”

~***~

“You what!” Skylar’s voice comes over the speaker, loud and clear.

“Calm down, babe. Getting upset is not good for your brain injury.”

“Did Anna hit you in the head, too? Why the hell would you ask her to marry you?”

“I have no intention of going through with it.” I can tell she’s more confused than angry. “I told her that my bride has to be a virgin to keep her out of my bed for the foreseeable future. As soon as we find a way to dismantle her blackmail scheme, I’m breaking it off.”

“I don’t like it.”
 

“Would you rather have me fucking her every night?”

“Of course not.” She’s quiet but I can hear her breathing over the speaker. “When’s the wedding?”

“There isn’t going to be a wedding.”

“Did you give her a ring?”

“This just went down a few minutes ago. I didn’t have time to plan it out much less buy a ring.”

“I’m sorry.” Skylar’s voice catches. “I know it’s stupid, but the idea of you getting down on one knee and—”

“It wasn’t like that.” Is she jealous? “I didn’t get on my knees. I didn’t give her a ring and I sure as hell didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I know.” She sighs. “I just hate the way she’s manipulating everyone. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I don’t want to keep you from resting, but would it be okay if I come over once I’m sure Anna’s asleep? I’ll leave Old Blue in the driveway and ride my bike so she won’t get suspicious if she looks out the window.”

“Would you?” The vulnerability in Skylar’s voice wrenches my heart.
 

“Get some sleep. I’ll head over as soon as Anna’s light goes out.” I turn my own light out in case she’s watching.

I have no idea what the fuck Anna’s up to, but she doesn’t turn her damn light off until two in the morning. I don’t want to wake Boone up so I climb the tree next to Skylar’s room and crawl in through her second story window.
 

She’s on her back, propped up with pillows. “I was afraid you fell asleep and weren’t going to come.”
 

“I got here as fast as I could. Anna just went to bed.” I pull up a chair and sit beside her.

“Could you do me a huge favor?”

“Anything, babe. All you gotta do is ask.”

“Help me take a shower?”

“Are you sure you feel up to it?”

“I stink.”

“I can give you a sponge bath.”

“I’d rather have a shower.”

It takes her five minutes just to get out of bed. I follow her into the bathroom and have to grind my teeth to keep from swearing when Sky turns on the light and I see the bruises covering her body. I thought I was prepared for it. I saw them forming during my initial exam at the scene but the blue and purple patches covering her now are so much worse.
 

I can’t help but notice that Skylar keeps her back turned away from me and out of the mirror’s view. She’s still self-conscious about her birthmark. “Skylar?”

She looks up and bites her lip.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me.”

She ducks her chin, letting her dark brown hair fall forward, partially obscuring her face. “I know you’ve already seen it, and so has Wade, but…”

“But nothing. You’re beautiful.” I skim my fingers over a bruise on her shoulder. I hate the marks Anna’s attack left on her. Not because of how they look, but because of what they represent.

I sit on the edge of the tub and turn on the water.
 

“Join me?” Skylar’s voice is so quiet I barely hear it over the shower spray.

“It would make it easier for me to wash you. But I’m already sporting a boner.”

“That’s okay. I like it when you’re hard.”

“We can’t do anything, understand?”

She nods then watches me undress. Her eyes widen when my cock springs free.
 

“I mean it. No shower sex until you heal.”

“How about if I just watch?”

Holy fuck. “You want to watch me jerk off?”

She bites her lip and nods. “I’m supposed to take deep breaths so I don’t get pneumonia. It’ll help with the pain if I have something else to focus on.”

“Let me take care of you first.” I grab the bottle of Skylar’s shampoo and squirt some in my palm. The scent alone could make me come. But this isn’t the time for that shit. “Turn around so I can wash your hair.”

“Just do it.” She tips her head forward, refusing to show me her back.

“I don’t want to get shampoo in your eyes.”

Her forehead puckers up as she pulls her eyebrows together.

“I’ve already seen your birthmark.”

She squeezes her eyes shut.

“Skylar, look at me.” I reach behind her and rub the shampoo onto the back of her head. “I know you don’t like it, but I think it’s beautiful.”

Her eyes fly open. “You do?”

I slide my hand down the left side of her back then hold it over the spot where I think her birthmark is. “It looks like an abstract painting of a butterfly sipping nectar from a rose.”

“Seriously?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

She blinks three times then slowly turns around.
 

My hand slides around her body as she turns. From her back to her waist to her lower abs.

She trembles as if she’s cold or going into shock.
 

I know this is hard for her and I’m so fucking proud of her I want to squeeze her—not the best thing for bruised ribs. I squirt more shampoo in her hair and massage her scalp, carefully avoiding the spot where Anna tried to bash her skull in. The cut didn’t require stitches, thank god, so it’s okay to wash it. “Tell me if it stings or hurts in any way.”

“It feels good.” She moans in obvious pleasure.
 

My dick twitches but all I have to do is look at one of her bruises to get myself under control. I turn her around to rinse her hair. She has me do it again, once more with shampoo then once with conditioner. I could play with her hair all day but I don’t want to run out of hot water before I get the chance to wash the rest of her.

Her body wash is the same organic brand and natural, chamomile scent as her shampoo and conditioner. I’m glad she doesn’t use the perfumey shit. I’d still bathe her no matter what she used but I appreciate not having to suffer fragrance induced migraines.
 

I lather up a washcloth and start with her shoulders. I try not to spend extra time on her breasts, ass and pussy but it’s hard. In more ways than one. Especially when Skylar’s obviously enjoying the attention. I kneel to wash her calves and feet.

She tugs on my hair. “Stand up.”

“I’m not done.” Kneeling in front of Skylar has my face exactly where my dick wants it to be.

“It’s my turn.”

“Not until your ribs heal.”

“It won’t hurt me if I use my hands.”

I stand up and kiss her forehead. “It will if I get carried away and thrust hard enough to knock you off balance.”

Her pupils dilate. “I can’t wait to feel you move inside me.”

“Fuck, babe, don’t say things like that. Not until I can make it happen.”

“I want to watch you get off.” Her chest heaves with each breath.
 

I know it’s got to be painful but I don’t see any sign of it on her face. This actually could be therapeutic. For both of us. I turn off the shower then get her dried off, wrapped up in a towel and seated on the closed toilet.