Chapter Five
Leah splashed more water on her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The same unremarkable woman stared back at her. She wasn’t a knock-out. Leah didn’t see herself as beautiful.
She could’ve passed for pretty maybe but beautiful?
She must be the most unattractive woman Knox had ever been with and Knox Carter could have any woman he desired.
Wait. It shouldn’t matter. She couldn’t want him.
Knox had taken her against her will—except there was something wrong with that statement. Knox didn’t do anything. Leah came along for the ride. A captive would’ve fought her captor tooth and nail. All Knox had done so far was feed her a very good dinner.
She studied her reflection. There were dark shadows under her eyes. Leah looked far too pale and she had been working double shifts lately.
“He called me a treasure,” Leah whispered to the empty bathroom.
He couldn’t hear her, not with the water running.
Knox wasn’t trying to charm her. He didn’t need to bother, not when Leah was technically his to do with as he pleased. Leah turned the water off and finally took a good look at the bathroom.
It felt like being in a fancy five-star hotel. He had two sinks for some reason. A damn jacuzzi alongside a shower that could probably fit four people.
“Why would anyone need a jacuzzi in their bathroom?” Leah wondered out loud.
The knock on the door made her jump.
“Leah, you okay in there?” Knox asked.
She opened the door. “Yup, sorry for making you wait. I was just admiring your giant tub.”
“I don’t use it often. A friend of mine persuaded me to get it.” Knox paused. “You were in there for a long time. Getting nervous?”
“Not at all. Where were we?” Leah demanded with a confidence she didn’t quite feel.
She only caught a glimpse of Knox’s bedroom before making a hasty retreat to the bed. Like everything else, his bed was enormous. King-sized. Knox could fit an orgy in that bed.
Jealousy sparked inside her, then she remembered Knox telling her that he’d never invited women to his apartment. She was the first and if she allowed it, he’d be her first as well. The man she’d give her virginity to.
Leah thought she had been saving herself for the right man to come along. Maybe there was no time like the present.
“Scared, kitten?” Knox teased.
“Not at all.”
“Lie down on the bed,” Knox ordered.
Heart thudding, Leah willingly crawled onto the sheets.
“Scoot down a little. There. Perfect,” Knox said.
Leah lay there, unsure of what to do. He neared the bed, lifted her left leg, and took her sneaker off. He did the same with her right foot.
“Knox, what—” Leah began.
“Hush, kitten. Relax. Tonight is all about you and you alone.”
Her socks came next. To Leah’s embarrassment, she noticed they were mismatched. Knox didn’t seem to care. She began to wonder what he meant by his words.
Knox hooked his fingers into the belt loop of her jeans and tugged them down, exposing her legs and her fiery red lace underwear. It had a white bow over the crotch area.