Ruin (Rhodes #1) by Rina Kent

                             I spill water on my shoulders then rub them gently. I close my eyes at the soothing sensation. An image of Mum massaging my shoulders jumps into my closed lids. An unwilling tear rolls down my cheeks at the memory of my family and friends. They seem so distant now. So out of reach. Thinking of them always sucks me into a depressive black hole.

                             Enough. I won’t get swallowed in that place again.

                             Without opening my eyes, I reach to where I put the shower gel. My fingertips travel the length of the cold marbled surface before the bottle is placed in my palm.

                             “Thank—”

                             My lids open and the bottle falls into the water with a flop.

                             Aaron.

                             He came? Before my mind goes blank, the reality of my current nakedness slams at my brain.

                             “G-get out!” I pull my knees to my chest and clumsily wrap my arms around them.

                             “Is that how you greet me after this long absence, bird?” A smirk plays on his lips and he arches one of his eyebrows. “Besides, I had cameras on you in the dungeons. If I wanted to see you unclothed, I would’ve already.”

                             Wait. What? My gaze roams sideways in search of the spying things.

                             A low chuckle pulls me back to Aaron as if hypnotised. “Always the curious little kitten, aren’t you?” He leans over until his breath brushes against my flushed skin. “There is none in this room.”

                             The beautiful bastard. I can’t ignore how attractive he is when he’s this close.

                             I clear my throat and narrow my eyes. “Am I supposed to be grateful that you’re not a pervert?”

                             His lips twitch in his signature almost-smile. “Who says I am not?” He tilts his head to the side, his heated gaze travels my length leisurely as if recording every inch to memory. Tingles erupt all over my skin and heat smothers my cheeks. To my horror, it’s not out of embarrassment or discomfort. My fingertips twitch to release my legs. Show him myself in full. And then... what? Seduce him?

                             I shake my head at the horrifying thought.

                             “Stop looking at me like that!” I don’t know if the shout is directed at him or at myself.

                             His intense black pools travel back to my face and stay there. Unmoving. In complete freaking silence.

                             This is unbearable. I want to drown in the water.

                             Unable to hold eye contact for long, I tear my gaze from his and focus on his clothes.

                             He’s wearing a neat elegant tuxedo, its black colour in perfect harmony with his trimmed hair. Power and elegance. He’s dressed to impress. Not that he’s not most days. Only this time, it seems more deliberate.

                             “Where are you going?” Intolerable silence breaks to shreds at my hesitant question.

                             “Do you care where I go?”

                             I shouldn’t, but I do.