Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Licking her lips, she had no idea what to say. They hadn’t ever gotten to this point. He always left, and she was used to the questions and confusion, not knowing what to do or say.
Like now, words failed her. She didn’t know what to do to fill the silence.
Was the silence even awkward? She had no idea.
Glancing around her bathroom, she went to her next comfortable line of thought—cleaning. She didn’t have a clue why she thought about cleaning. Her mother always told her that a clean home was a happy home. She didn’t know if that was some kind of slogan, or merely her mother’s mantra. Either way, it was working because she was feeling a lot happier by thinking about cleaning.
“How is your pussy?” he asked.
That brought her right out of her comfort zone with a heavy thwack.
“Huh?” she asked, a little confused.
“Your pussy. The last time I … you were hurt.”
“Oh, ugh, it feels fine.”
He smiled. “What are you thinking?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Try me.”
“I’m thinking about cleaning.” She couldn’t help but wince.
“Cleaning?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? Do you feel dirty?”
This time, she did frown. She shook her head. “I don’t feel dirty, but I feel those tiles over there are going to need cleaning. I’ve … we’ve never done this.” She nibbled her bottom lip, attempting to find words that would make sense.
“Done this?”
She forced a smile to her lips and now she was nervous in case he decided to leave. “You always leave. We don’t have the … after conversation. You just leave, and I … I kind of like seeing you naked, finally, and you being in my bathtub, and I don’t know what to say.” She let out a little laugh. “I don’t even know your name.”
Silence filled the space between them. Jade had a feeling she had really stepped her foot in it, and she hated herself. Why couldn’t she just stay quiet and not make a sound? That would be a lot easier.
He’d probably been with hundreds of women, if not thousands, and they had all probably acted with a sophistication she didn’t possess.
“Braxton.”
Jade looked at him. “What?”
“That’s my name. Braxton.”
“Braxton.” She didn’t know why, but it felt like a huge step for her. “Do I get to know your last name?”
“No,” he said.
“Oh. Well, I like Braxton.” She couldn’t help but smile and she held her hand out. “I’m Jade.”
There was a lilt to his lips, and she was going to take that as a win, and that he was a little charmed by her.
“Why don’t you want me knowing your name?” she asked.
He stared at her. “Jade, I think we both know I don’t have the conventional nine-to-five job.”
“No, I didn’t think you did.” She pressed her lips together. Seeing the scars on his face, the cut knuckles, and his overall attitude, she figured he was someone different. “Do I get to know who you are?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“For your own safety.”
“My own safety.” She said the words slowly and she knew she was doing a lot of repeating what he said. “You told me not to go to the police. Not to say anything.”
He nodded.
“You took care of the guy that attacked me, didn’t you?” she asked. She had also seen a small piece in the paper a couple of weeks ago about a lone body found in an alley. Detectives had put it down to a street gang or bad drug deal, or at least that was how the media described it.
Jade had seen the location and knew exactly who it was.
“Yes.”
“Are you a murderer?” she asked.
“Yes and no. That’s all you’re going to know.”
“Should I be afraid?”
“No.”
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“Jade, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. I don’t make a habit of fucking women I’m going to kill. That does not get me all worked up.”
“You do realize it’s a shock to me to be having this conversation.”
“Then talk to me about something else.”
“Like what?”
“Anything. Just talk.”
“I have absolutely nothing to talk about. My mind is a blank right now. You have just told me a little about who you are, and I … yeah, words fail me right now.” She was just waffling on.
“Tell me about your day,” he said.
He rested his head on his hand, and he even closed his eyes.
She had no idea if the only reason he wanted her to talk was so she would send him to sleep.
Glancing around the room, she tried to think of where to start, so she told him about when she woke up. She skipped right over her morning routine. She went straight to her morning coffee and Danish pastry. Not homemade, but she had treated herself at the bakery the day before. She didn’t always go to the bakery, but it had felt like the kind of day that she needed the sweet taste. She told him about work, that it was long, hard, and then she made it all the way back to where he joined her tonight. Jade stopped and had a feeling he was about to snore.