Hugging Janice, she kissed her mom on the cheek. “See you in the morning, Mom. Sleep well. Don’t let Dad do anything stupid.”
A wry smile stretched Janice’s lips. “Like call the authorities?”
Ronnie chuckled even as my gut clenched. “That. And treat you like you’re not his equal. I think, after what we’ve been through, you’ve proved otherwise.”
My gut twisted tighter. Clearly, I needed to find out what had happened to them while White had them in his company.
Janice hugged Ronnie again and then slid her gaze to me. I had no clue what she was thinking or feeling. In fact, had she spoken a word to me since she first climbed out from under White’s dining table?
Damn it, I could handle not having William on my side, but what if Janice now hated me as—
“I always told your mother you were important,” she said, holding my stare. “That the world had something big planned for you, something special.”
I swallowed, a ghost of an image floating through my head of my mom and her talking.
She smiled. “I’m very glad that something special was being my little girl’s.”
“Little girl’s what?” I asked. Christ, my voice sounded scratchy.
“My little girl’s everything,” Janice finished.
I swallowed again. “She’s the reason I breathe, Mrs. U.”
She flicked Ronnie a glance, smile widening, and kissed her on the cheek again. “Sleep well, you two. See you at breakfast.”
And then it was just Ronnie and I, standing outside our room.
She looked up at me, lifting an eyebrow. “So?”
Wordlessly, I opened the door.
She stepped through it, trailing her fingers over my crotch as she passed me.
My body reacted. My cock twitched.
It shouldn’t have. After what she’d been through, my body should have had the fucking decency to chill for a while.
Pulling a steadying breath, I followed her into our room and closed the door behind me.
“I’m going to have a shower,” Ronnie said.
“Okay,” I answered. For some stupid reason, I was nervous. Rooted-to-the-spot nervous.
She studied me for a heartbeat and then stripped the dress White had made her wear up over her head, revealing the sexy-as-sin corset she’d teased me with back at the resort at the start of the day.
My heart slammed up into my throat. My cock throbbed, way beyond twitching now.
Now it was hard. Hard and impatient for her touch, her heat.
Fuck, I needed to control myself. I still had no fucking clue what White had done to her while he had her except make her change out of her wedding dress. Had he touched her? Hurt her?
Remaining motionless, I ran a slow gaze over her.
No marks, no bruises. Just her beautiful body.
“He didn’t.”
Her soft whisper lifted my stare back to her face.