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Crimson drapes formed a half canopy over the nearly black wood. There were still a dozen pillows on
the bed and they were all screaming, brilliant red. Even after the night I'd had, it was eye-catching.
"I like the new decor, I guess."
"The linens needed to be changed. You are always complaining that I should use more color."
I stared at the bed. "I'll stop complaining."
"I will run your bath." He went into the bathroom without a single joke or risqué comment. It was almost
unnerving.
Whoever had changed the sheets had also removed the chairs that Edward and Harley had used. I didn't
want to sit on the clean sheets still covered in whatever the hell I was covered in. I sat down on the white
carpet and tried not to think. Not thinking is a lot harder than it sounds. My thoughts kept chasing each
other, like a werewolf chasing its tail. The image tore a laugh from my throat, and on the end of it a sound
like a sob or a moan. I put the back of my hand against my mouth. I didn't like that sound coming out of
me. It sounded hopeless, beaten.
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I was not beaten, dammit, but I was hurt. If what I felt had been an actual wound, I'd have been
bleeding to death.
The bathroom door opened at long last. A puff of warm, moist air flowed around Jean-Claude. He had
taken off his shirt, and the cross-shaped burn scar marred the perfection of his chest. He held his boots in
one hand, a towel as scarlet as the sheets in the other.
"I washed up in the sink while the tub filled." He walked barefoot across the white carpeting. "I'm afraid
I used the last clean towel. I will fetch you more."
I took my hand away from my mouth and nodded. I finally managed to say, "Fine."
I stood before he could offer to help me up. I didn't need any help.
Jean-Claude moved to one side. His black hair lay in nearly tight curls across his pale shoulders, curled
from the humidity of the bathroom. I ignored him as much as it was humanly possible and walked inside.
The room was warm and misty, the black marble tub full of bubbles. He offered me a black lacquer tray
from the vanity top. Shampoos, soap, bath crystals, and what looked like oils were grouped on the tray.
"Get out so I can undress."
"It took two people to dress you tonight, ma petite . Won't you need help getting undressed?" His voice
was utterly bland. His face so still, his eyes so innocent, it made me smile.
I sighed. "If you get the two straps in back, I think I can manage the rest. But no monkey business." I
held my hands over the bra because one strap would loosen it. The other strap, as far as I could tell, was
the pivot point for the rest of the outfit.
His fingers moved to the top strap. I watched him in the fogged mirror. The strap came unbuckled, and
the leather gave with a small sigh. He moved to the second strap without so much as an extra caress. He
undid it and took a step back. "No monkey business, ma petite ." He backed out of the room, and I
watched him go like a phantom in the mist-covered mirrors. When the door was shut, I started on the
rest of the straps. It was like peeling myself to get the goo-soaked leather off.
I put the tray of bath accessories on the tub edge and slipped into the water. The water was hot, just this
side of too hot. I sank into it up to my chin, but I couldn't relax. The gunk clung to my body in patches. I
had to get it off me. I sat up in the tub and started scrubbing. The soap smelled like gardenia. The
shampoos smelled like herbs. Trust Jean-Claude not to buy a name brand from the grocery store.
I washed my hair twice, sinking under the water and coming up for air. I was scrubbed and virtuous, or
at least clean. The mirrors had cleared and I had only myself to stare at. I'd washed off all the careful
makeup. I smoothed my thick, black hair back from my face. My eyes were enormous and nearly black.
My skin so pale, it was almost white. I looked shocked, ethereal, unreal.
There was a soft knock on the door. " Ma petite, may I come in?"
I glanced down at myself. The bubbles were still holding. I drew a pile of them a little closer to my chest
and said, "Come in." It took a lot of effort not to hunch down in the water. I sat up straight, trusting in the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]