FOUR

I sat in the kitchen, watching and waiting. His footsteps pounded closer, my heart beating in sync with it. Selena was behind him. I could almost smell her worry.

Now, he was standing right behind me. It would be embarrassing if he could smell my arousal. I knew he could. I just hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t acknowledge it. Not in front of Selena, at least.

“Stand.” It was not a request. Far from it, even. I stood, my legs pulsing as I struggled to maintain balance. He walked toward where I stood, now in front of me, his eyes assessing me like a predator would its prey. Now that I thought about it, we were more predator and prey than mates.

“If you have anything important you would like to take with you, now would be the right time for it. Fifteen minutes.” He set a time, his eyes keeping a record of every movement, every twitch my body made.

I hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room, the first and only things on my mind being my art supplies.

With shaky hands,