She nodded.
God, fuck, yes, he would know. She was an open book of emotions.
He nodded in agreement. “Goodnight.” Galen left the room.
Peeping under the blanket and using the dim light of dusk to aid her, Zara stared in disbelief at her body. Her traitorous body. The tattoos were black once more. All he had to do was mention punishing her and she was hot for him. What a horny devil she’d become in two days.
Zara patted the blanket down and crushed Mr. Cuddles in her arms. Time to think about how she was going to break into Galen’s computer system. It would at least distract her from other thoughts.
Chapter Six
Zara woke to find Mr. Cuddles on the floor.
Poor thing!
She’d abandoned him with her tossing and turning. Regardless of her troubling dreams, she was determined to stay optimistic. Now that Galen had revealed the purpose of the tattoo, the circumstances of her agreement—she hated to think of it as a punitive sentence—weren’t likely to worsen. For one thing, he worked all day, and consequently, the opportunity to spend any time with her was limited to an hour or so in the evening. His demands so far, although challenging, were hardly an endurance. And soon, she hoped, she would have her research notes to keep her occupied.
She shot out of bed and into the shower. The warm spray of water splashed off her body. There was no trace of the tattoo and her skin had returned to its normal appearance. She felt relieved and sang to herself as she dried her hair with a towel. With no need for nudity, she stood in front of the closet with a towel wrapped around her chest and selected a few clothes.
Bisma arrived with a breakfast tray. Being in Galen’s house was like staying in a hotel with room service. Okay, maybe not the same given she was locked inside the room. But, Zara had a plan for that, too. If she kept Galen happy he might slacken off on the rules, especially keeping her stuck inside the room all day, and some of those other pesky requirements, like nudity and chains.
Putting the tray on the table, Bisma straightened up and inspected Zara. “You’ve cleansed yourself thoroughly?”
Mortified by the abrupt question, Zara held back from snapping a retort at Bisma. “Yes, of course,” she replied with forced courtesy, then sat at the table and selected the ripest piece of fruit on offer. She was ravenous.
“Good. Because I have instructions to insert this inside you.” Bisma held up a glass bulb shaped like a thin pear.
Zara dropped the half-peeled banana onto the tray. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and planting her hands on her hips.
“Over you go.” Bisma ignored the indignant tone of Zara’s voice and pointed at the bed.
Zara waved her finger through the air. “Nothing goes in there. No-thing,” she articulated before folding her arms across her chest.
The nurse’s eyes widened. “You don’t wish to be prepared? Why ever not?”
“Prepared?” Eek, prepared! How benign Bisma made it sound, as if Zara was an object.
“For anal pleasuring. The judge is keen for you to be available to him as soon as possible.”
“Anal pleasuring!” Zara’s jaw dropped. “His, I take it? Because look,”—she pulled the towel away to reveal her nudity—“not one dot of ink is magically showing when I think of anal pleasuring.”
Bisma blinked. “I should hope not, since I am not the one you should invoke such feelings for.”
“I’m not talking about that thing going up my ass. I mean, him sticking his… you know…” There was the tickle around her nipples. The prickly, slightly buzzy sensation. No, fuck no! Zara fanned her face with her hand. “Is it hot in here? Could we open a window?”
“These distractions won’t work, Zara.”
“I’m not distracting.” As she spotted the first hint of color entering her skin, she yanked the towel over her breasts.
Bisma’s cheeks flushed bright red. “This is not a suggestion. You will wear this plug for the duration of today. Tomorrow, a larger one, then the day after—”
“Fuck off.” The words left her mouth before her brain had engaged. Immediately, she regretted them. “I mean, no way. Just… don’t…” She closed her eyes. Too late.
Bisma stormed out of the room with the plug in her hand. The bolt shot across the door with a clang.
Zara stood in the middle of the room and cursed.
Idiot!