Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
And was that mascara around her eyes? Shit! Hadn’t she washed off her makeup properly? She looked like a raccoon.
God, this got worse and worse.
“Bebe? Are you all right?”
The knock on the door startled her and she glanced over at it.
“Um, yes. I just . . . need a shower.”
“Your food is waiting. The ice cream will melt. Why don’t you shower after you eat? I don’t want you getting light-headed in the shower.”
That wouldn’t happen.
Although, a wave of wooziness did have her leaning against the bathroom counter.
“Okay, just give me a moment.”
Even though she’d barely drunk anything, she still desperately had to pee. She sat on the toilet but couldn’t go.
Darn it.
Sometimes this happened. And there was nothing else she could do except . . . sing the pee song.
“Could you, um, wait in the hallway?” she called out to him.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked.
Nothing except for the fact that she needed to sing a song to make her bladder release.
This was ridiculous!
Why couldn’t she just be like a normal person and pee when she wanted to?
“Nothing’s wrong. I just need to pee.”
“Then pee, darling.”
She could hear the amused tenderness in his voice and it made her melt.
“I have a shy bladder.”
“Do you want me to put some music on?”
“Yeah, okay,” she grumbled. Couldn’t the man just drop the food and leave?
But she heard some music turn on and sighed in relief.
Now she could sing her song.
“Do you have to pee?
When you’re sitting in a tree?
Or when you’re on the bus
In a big rush?
Do you have to pee while drinking tea?
Or watching a buzzing honey bee?
Pee, pee, pee,
Do you have to pee?”
Finally, she started to go.
Oh, thank God.
Sometimes, she panicked when she couldn’t go, worried that she wouldn’t be able to let go at all.
After flushing and washing her hands, she attempted to brush her hair and pull it up into a ponytail. Then she grabbed her bathrobe and drew it on. It was a bit old and threadbare, but it was also soft and cozy.
Stepping out into the bedroom, she eyed Corbin. He was standing between her and the bed.
“Um, thanks for the food,” she said, stepping farther into the room.
Why did he seem so intent?
He crooked a finger at her.
Uh-oh.
He wasn’t headed to level five, was he? What reason did he have to be upset at her?
“Come here, Bebe.”
“What did I do?” she asked.
His eyes widened, then he shook his head and uncrossed his arms. “Hey, nothing. I’m not upset with you. I just wanted to give you a hug.”
A hug?
He wanted to hug her?
Ohh. She really wanted that hug.
“Sorry. It’s just you looked like you were upset about something.”
“Maybe the fact I haven’t gotten my hug yet?”
This wasn’t smart. And yet, when was she known for being smart? She found herself walking toward him and letting him bring her into his chest to hold her tight.
Ohhh.
That was so nice.
For the first time today, she really relaxed. Sounded crazy when she’d basically spent the whole day in bed. His hand moved firmly up and down her back, massaging sore spots she hadn’t realized she had. She melted into him when he rubbed the back of her neck.
“You worry me.”
She tensed slightly and he shushed her, continuing his one-handed massage. “Don’t get upset. Just telling you the truth. I’ve been worried about you all day.”
“I wasn’t going to jump off the bridge, Corbin.”
“It’s not about that. Well, not just about that. If you say you weren’t, I believe you.”
The last of the tension left her. She hadn’t realized how much she needed to hear that.
“I do wish you’d talk to someone. It doesn’t have to be about that, just in general. With everything your mother has done . . . is still doing… to manipulate you. You should talk that through so it doesn’t bottle up inside you and eat you up.”
He wasn’t wrong.
But she didn’t want to spend money on a therapist. And she didn’t have anyone else to talk to.
What about Corbin? Hmm. She’d told him most of the crap with her mother. But he didn’t know the rest of it. Was she brave enough to disclose it all to him?
Not yet.
“I’ll consider it,” she said instead.
He kissed the top of her head. “That’s my good girl. Come and sit down. Eat your food.”
This was so dangerous.
Every day in his presence, she fell more under his spell. Wanted more of him. Craved his attention and his praise.
His touch.
What she should do was pull back . . . but she just wasn’t confident that she was strong enough to do it.
25
“Ineed to go for a run.”
Both Hayes and Corbin glanced up at her. Hayes scowled.
No surprise there.
But Corbin stared at her with longing and heat in his gaze.
Oh heck.
She was wearing yoga pants, a crop top, and a lightweight jacket.