afghan and kissed him on the forehead.
“You should have listened to me, you stubborn ass. Sleep now.”
• • •
I wiped the steam from the mirror with the corner of a ratty towel. Usually, I bathed in rivers, but once in a while, I’d break into a house and have a quick shower with real soap. It had been months since I’d done that. I’d forgotten how good it felt to be clean.
Standing in front of the mirror, I pulled my fingers through the sopping bird’s nest on my head. My reflection made me jump. Even through my illusion, exhaustion decorated my skin, purple bruises took hold beneath my tired, bloodshot eyes. Nice. I look like the walking dead. At least my outside matched my inside. I closed my eyes and grabbed onto the sides of the sink, grinding my teeth.
“I should never have come here.” I pounded my palm down on the porcelain.
With a grunt of frustration, I turned away from my reflection and rifled through my bag to avoid the coming war in my head. I had to leave, so why did I want to stay?
Something about this place.
Something about Liam, but what?
I needed to protect him. Maybe he was the first good person I’d run into. Does he know what I am? No. I could sniff out liars the way a shark could sense blood in the water.
The idea of leaving made my stomach churn, but I couldn’t stay. Liam would be terrified of me, and I’d put all of the men in danger—if they were still alive. Nope, I’d get a bit to eat from the fridge and get away before he woke up.
The only spare underwear I owned caught on the zipper as I pulled them from the bottom of my pack. The once tiny hole in the bum tore across the cotton from seam to seam. The terrible ripping sound made me jump.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Put on sweat-soaked ones again, clean ones with the entire ass ripped out, or go commando—not great options when hiking through the bush in jeans.
After opening up two doors in the yellow hallway—one room sat empty, and the other was a linen closet—I found Liam’s room at the end.
Small room for a big guy, he’d painted the peaked ceiling blue. The sparse decor included a double bed under the sole window, a night stand and two dressers. An old rumpled quilt lay half on and half off the mattress, and one corner of the white fitted sheet had sprung up. Neat and tidy on the outside, messy on the inside. That described me most of the time.
The glossy white dresser on the right side of the bed had a jewelry box and a few packages of panty hose on top—must have belonged to the hair dresser.The peeling blue one on the far side held an armload of guy’s underwear.
I went to the white one and pulled the top drawer open. The left side of the drawer held more lace than I’d ever seen. On the right, a fold of pink tissue covered a bundle of bras and panties—still sporting a little lace but not a frightening amount—with the tags still on. Perfect. After ripping the tag off a black pair, I slipped them on and added a blue one to my pack.
Before I shut the drawer, I hesitated, grabbed a red pair with a matching bra and stuffed them in too. I found two pairs of jeans in the next drawer down and a few t-shirts in the bottom.
The closet door sat halfway open, revealing mostly women’s clothes inside. Hanger after hanger of dresses hung in a row. Everything from little black ones, to sun dresses, to beach cover-ups. A bunch of sweaters were piled on the top shelf. I grabbed a black hoody and a red cable-knit and stuffed them in my pack.
The floor squeaked behind me.
“Take anything you like.” Liam said. “I’m sure one of them dresses would look real pretty on you.”
I cinched the towel around me, eyes cast to the floor. “I—I’m sorry. It’s just—winter’s coming. I wasn’t thinking.” I paused, remembering he probably had questions. “You don’t need to be afraid of me.”
Liam held up his hand as he walked farther into the room. “I don’t know how you did
“You should have listened to me, you stubborn ass. Sleep now.”
• • •
I wiped the steam from the mirror with the corner of a ratty towel. Usually, I bathed in rivers, but once in a while, I’d break into a house and have a quick shower with real soap. It had been months since I’d done that. I’d forgotten how good it felt to be clean.
Standing in front of the mirror, I pulled my fingers through the sopping bird’s nest on my head. My reflection made me jump. Even through my illusion, exhaustion decorated my skin, purple bruises took hold beneath my tired, bloodshot eyes. Nice. I look like the walking dead. At least my outside matched my inside. I closed my eyes and grabbed onto the sides of the sink, grinding my teeth.
“I should never have come here.” I pounded my palm down on the porcelain.
With a grunt of frustration, I turned away from my reflection and rifled through my bag to avoid the coming war in my head. I had to leave, so why did I want to stay?
Something about this place.
Something about Liam, but what?
I needed to protect him. Maybe he was the first good person I’d run into. Does he know what I am? No. I could sniff out liars the way a shark could sense blood in the water.
The idea of leaving made my stomach churn, but I couldn’t stay. Liam would be terrified of me, and I’d put all of the men in danger—if they were still alive. Nope, I’d get a bit to eat from the fridge and get away before he woke up.
The only spare underwear I owned caught on the zipper as I pulled them from the bottom of my pack. The once tiny hole in the bum tore across the cotton from seam to seam. The terrible ripping sound made me jump.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Put on sweat-soaked ones again, clean ones with the entire ass ripped out, or go commando—not great options when hiking through the bush in jeans.
After opening up two doors in the yellow hallway—one room sat empty, and the other was a linen closet—I found Liam’s room at the end.
Small room for a big guy, he’d painted the peaked ceiling blue. The sparse decor included a double bed under the sole window, a night stand and two dressers. An old rumpled quilt lay half on and half off the mattress, and one corner of the white fitted sheet had sprung up. Neat and tidy on the outside, messy on the inside. That described me most of the time.
The glossy white dresser on the right side of the bed had a jewelry box and a few packages of panty hose on top—must have belonged to the hair dresser.The peeling blue one on the far side held an armload of guy’s underwear.
I went to the white one and pulled the top drawer open. The left side of the drawer held more lace than I’d ever seen. On the right, a fold of pink tissue covered a bundle of bras and panties—still sporting a little lace but not a frightening amount—with the tags still on. Perfect. After ripping the tag off a black pair, I slipped them on and added a blue one to my pack.
Before I shut the drawer, I hesitated, grabbed a red pair with a matching bra and stuffed them in too. I found two pairs of jeans in the next drawer down and a few t-shirts in the bottom.
The closet door sat halfway open, revealing mostly women’s clothes inside. Hanger after hanger of dresses hung in a row. Everything from little black ones, to sun dresses, to beach cover-ups. A bunch of sweaters were piled on the top shelf. I grabbed a black hoody and a red cable-knit and stuffed them in my pack.
The floor squeaked behind me.
“Take anything you like.” Liam said. “I’m sure one of them dresses would look real pretty on you.”
I cinched the towel around me, eyes cast to the floor. “I—I’m sorry. It’s just—winter’s coming. I wasn’t thinking.” I paused, remembering he probably had questions. “You don’t need to be afraid of me.”
Liam held up his hand as he walked farther into the room. “I don’t know how you did
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