Freed (Bad Boy Hitman Romance) (43 page)

Chapter 16

Emily

The bathwater was divine. I felt like a queen soaking in the large tub full of bubbles, smelling of lavender and roses. The bath oils were working their way into my skin, leaving it soft and lightly scented. Tanner had turned on some music, some jazz station. I never really listened to jazz, but it was nice and soothing. It was so relaxing that the events of earlier that day seemed like some sort of bad dream. Heck, the events of the past few weeks seemed like another lifetime – some nightmare I’d finally awoken from.

A soft knock sounded on the door – there was even a door to this bathroom! It didn’t lock, but still it was a door. A moment later it opened and Tanner poked his head in. I sank deeper into the water until only my head and shoulders were visible above the thick layer of bubbles. “If you don’t come out soon you’re going to shrivel up.” He smiled, a sweet, sexy smile. Even his dark onyx coloured eyes carried an amused twinkle. It was the same smile he’d flashed me at the club and it had the same effect, making my tummy flutter and my pulse race.

“Do you want me to get out, Ma—” I bit down on my lower lip and smiled. I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to use his name for a change. “Tanner.”

“I just thought you’d like to see your next surprise. I think you might like it.” He gave me a wink. “But if you’d rather stay in the bathtub…” He left, closing the door behind him.

Now I was facing a dilemma. Continue to enjoy the bath or venture out to see what else he had planned? The problem was that what he thought would be a nice surprise was a crap shoot. But he was right, I was starting to wrinkle up. My curiosity got the best of me. I quickly shaved my legs and mound, then pulled the plug, got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around my body.

Leaving the bathroom, I found Tanner in the middle of the bedroom doing up a pair of black pants and fastening his belt. I stood watching him for a moment. He was wearing a dark blue, long sleeved, V-neck sweater that hugged his lean, muscular torso and broad shoulders. Hearing me enter the room, he looked up and gave me another smile. The smile was friendly and made me wonder if I’d imagined the past few weeks.

“Curiosity got the best of you, huh?”

I nodded. “Kinda.”

He walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer and my heart sank with disappointment. That was where he kept the handcuffs and butt plugs and heaven knows what else. He had already informed me that we were yet to even begin our ‘journey’ together.

When he turned around he was holding a thin, square velvet jewelry box in his hands. “What’s the matter?” He asked as he walked towards me.

“Nothing. I just…”

He looked at the drawer and nodded. “You thought…”

I nodded.

“I told you this was a special night for you. I’m not forcing anything on you tonight, I promise.” He stopped a foot from me and opened the case. “I picked this up for you the other day, for tonight. I hope you like it.”

A wide smile spread across my lips as I looked down at the gold necklace with a heart pendant with diamond center. I also noticed a pair of diamond pear drop earrings and bracelet to match. They were all so beautiful, the light from overhead making the diamonds sparkle and gleam.

I’d never been given beautiful things growing up, certainly nothing like these. Father always felt that people bought things like this for vanity’s sake, so we were never given such things. The only jewelry I owned was a set of pearls, pearl stud earrings, which were reserved for church and church events only, and a plain Timex watch with a black leather band.

“They’re for me?” I looked up from the jewelry and caught his gaze, my brow furrowing. Why would he give these to me? There had to be a catch.

“I thought I’d already said that.”

“It’s just a little hard to grasp.”

His smile faded to a frown. He looked like he might actually be hurt. “I don’t follow. You don’t want them?”

“I just don’t understand why you would get them for me, that’s all. I’m confused.” I wanted to reach out and touch them, but I needed to know the strings that were attached to the beautiful gift.

“You told me not too long ago that you’d never been on a real date. I felt, aside from trying to kill me, that you’ve coped pretty well with this situation and your being here makes me happy, so I wanted to do something for you. I thought I would do what I could to make you happy tonight. Is that wrong?”

This whole messed-up situation is wrong
, I wanted to say, but bit my tongue.
Keeping me prisoner here is wrong
. I said neither of those things. Instead I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve never been given a gift like this before, I’m just taken aback. That’s all.” I smiled at him and the anxiety that seemed to have entered his eyes quickly faded and he relaxed, returning mine.

“In that case…” He reached into the case and pulled the necklace out. Setting the case on the bed, he motioned for me to turn around. “Let me put this on you.”

I lifted my still wet hair as he slipped the necklace around my neck, his knuckles lightly grazing my bare shoulders and sending a shiver through me. Once the necklace was clasped, he grabbed the bracelet and secured it around my wrist.

“Pretty. Very pretty.” His eyes lowered to the pendant and then back up to meet mine. “I’ll go start dinner and leave you to get dressed.”

“Thank you.”

 
He started to walk away from me, stopped and turned back. My breath hitched in my throat as he leaned in to me. I half expected him to grab me by the throat and toss me onto the bed, or something similar, but he didn’t. Instead he grazed his knuckles along my jawline and lowered his lips to mine for a sweet, soft kiss, before straightening again and leaving without another word.

*-*-*-*

Tanner

I whistled as I prepared the spaghetti and salad. The smile on her face has been so sweet when I’d given her the necklace. I was glad that I’d taken the time to pick it out for her. What kind of life did she have that she wasn’t given nice things once in a while? I have to admit, my curiosity about her father and family was getting the best of me. Hearing her enter the kitchen, I placed the lid back on the pot of boiling spaghetti and turned towards her.

“What do you think?” She gave me a timid smile and slowly turned.

I watched her for a moment. “Beautiful.” I wished I could take her out and show her off. The dress fit her beautifully, the neckline dipping just enough into her cleavage to be enticing but not so much as to give off a whore vibe, and the skirt landed just above the knees. She’d applied some make-up – not a lot, but enough to make her eyes really stand out and gloss on her lips. “Really stunning.” Though stunning was an understatement.

Blushing, she chewed lightly at her lower lip. “Thanks.” She tentatively approached me. “What are you cooking?”

“Spaghetti, meatballs, thought I’d put together a Caesar salad.”

Leaning over the saucepan, she inhaled deeply. “Smells good. How come you don’t get me to cook?”

I frowned, feigning hurt. “You don’t care for my food?”

“No, I just… I was wondering. I did a lot of the cooking at home.”

“Considering how the last time you were in the kitchen with a knife turned out, I’m not sure I’m feeling too confident about you being around the knives.” A grin was forcing its way onto my lips, but I fought to keep a stern expression.

“Tanner, I’m sorry…”

“I’m teasing you, Emily.” I gently took her upper arms in my hands. “It’s fine. I’ve already told you, that night was a great rush to me.” I shrugged. “Besides, I deserved being stabbed.” Releasing her arms, I went back to stirring the pasta.

“So if I stabbed you right now, you’d get off on that?”

A burst of laughter escaped me. “Not exactly. It was the chase. The being stabbed sucked.”

“But if you like the chase, then why would you be mad if I tried to escape now?” she asked as she leaned back against the counter.

I stopped stirring the pasta and turned back to her. “Good question.” She cocked a brow up at me and waited for me to further explain. “I’m not sure I can explain it to you Emily. I’m not quite sure I understand it completely myself. The feelings I have for you, I’m not completely familiar with. I just know I want you with me.”

She nodded as if she knew what I meant, though she didn’t. How could she, since I didn’t know myself? “Would you like me to set the table?”

I looked over at the empty table and nodded. “Yeah, that would be good.” I watched as she took her time setting the table, ensuring everything was in order. This was so strange, but nice. This was the first time since my parents died that I’d actually had my kitchen table set and was about to eat there with a woman. It was such a common practice to a normal person, but to me it was a foreign experience.

Sensing my eyes on her, she finished setting the table and turned to return my stare. “Is everything all right?” she asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

~*~*~*~

Emily

“Can we go for a walk outside before we sit down to watch a movie?” I looked longingly out the kitchen window into the night. It looked beautiful out, the sky clear.
 

“It’s your night. Whatever you want, love.”

We got to the front door and I stopped, chewing my lower lip between my teeth, looking down.

“What’s wrong?”

My brow creased as I looked at my bare feet. “Ummm, shoes.”

Opening the foyer closet, he stepped aside and motioned inside. “Take your pick. I got your size from the shoes you were wearing when you arrived and picked some things up for you the other day. Since you’re going to stay here, I assumed you’d need them. There’s a half dozen or so pairs to choose from.”

Sure enough there was a variety of shoes in my size from sneakers to sandals. I picked a pair of beige flat sandals from the pile and didn’t miss the fact that they said
Prada
and slipped them on
.
I really had no idea how much something with the name
Prada
cost, but knew it was a lot. It was confusing to me. Why would he buy me such things? I would have been happy with Wal-mart brands. Heck most of my wardrobe was hand-me-downs. Something new from Wal-mart had always been considered a luxury.

“What’s the problem?”

Shrugging, I forced my eyes up from my beautiful new shoes, not sure how to respond. I really didn’t know what the problem was, I mean, I knew to a certain extent, but I was so confused. “Why buy me these nice things? If I’m just some slave to you, why give me such nice, expensive things? Is this another game you’re playing with me?”

He captured my chin in his hand and forced my eyes up to meet his. I was expecting to see the hard anger in his eyes that I’d seen many times before, but that wasn’t the case this time. This time I saw a sliver of compassion. “Emily, I bought you these things because I thought they’d make you happy. My intention isn’t to make your life so miserable that it isn’t worth living. Yes, I do put my interests first and always will. You’re mine, and what I want from you I’ll take when I want it. And yes, seeing your family will never happen – that part of your life is over – but this new chapter in your life doesn’t have to be miserable.”