Page 25 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly

“Yes.” Jericho nodded once.

“How were you able to do that without thinking twice about it?” she asked. This was what she couldn’t seem to get over.

She could see the scene replay over and over in her head. She knew she would dream about it for the next several months. How could Jericho take a life without thinking twice about it? Even though the man was hurting her, Jericho made it seem like killing was easy. Perhaps he hadn’t intended it for it to come across this way, but it did and she couldn’t seem to understand how.

“I saw him on top of you,” he replied seriously. “I saw you were in distress. He knew you came with me. I made sure to make it no secret that I was with you. That, alone, should warn people off, but sometimes, the fact that they can’t have something makes them want it more. Maybe he had an issue with me and was using you to get to me. Maybe he saw something lovely and wouldn’t take no for an answer. His reasoning means nothing to me. The fact that he was on top of you without your consent was enough for me to kill him.”

“But-“

“There is no but,” he told her. He was short with her but not to be mean. More like to insist that he was being serious. “You are someone I care about. I would kill for those I care about. Especially you.” He reached out and traced the curves of her face with his fingerprint. The touch was so soft, like a butterfly’s wing, and yet she still felt as though he had somehow tattooed his fingerprint to her skin.

“And besides,” he continued, sitting back against his side of the tub. “People need to learn that they cannot mess with me or my loved ones.”

Her eyes shot to his. “You love me?” she asked.

“Are you surprised?” he returned.

“You don’t even know me,” she said after sputtering.

“I don’t have to know you to love you,” he told her. “The minute I laid eyes on you, I was yours. In that moment, I knew you had me. Your big hazel eyes, your long, blonde hair. You look so innocent.” He touched her face again. Annie felt herself lean into the touch whether she wanted to or not. It just felt… right. “I knew I had to be around you. I wanted to know more about you.”

Her eyes dropped to the water, now a darker pink. She noticed that the knots in her back had all but vanished. She felt more refreshed, more relaxed. When she looked up, she saw the transparent material of his collared shirt cling to his body, revealing his peachy flesh through it. Jesus, he was beautiful, with broad shoulders and a toned torso. She swallowed and forced herself to look away.

“There’s blood everywhere,” she told him. “I just want it to go away.”

He nodded, not saying anything. Instead, he took her hand and placed it on his shoulder. From there, he turned to the nearby sink and grabbed a loofa and soap. Once the soap was lathered into the loofa, he took her hand back in his and slowly began to scrub her skin gently.

The water got more and more pink while her skin was free from blood. In fact, though he was gentle when he scrubbed, her skin felt raw. But that was what she wanted. She wanted to be clean. Once she was done with the bath, she planned to stand up and shower.

When he was finished washing one arm, he dropped the loofa into the tub and brought it up to his lips. She watched in awe as his lips pressed against the inside of her wrist, just where her pulse was beating frantically against her skin. It sent a jolt, straight to her heart. Her brow wrinkled as it pushed up; she watched him move his lips upward so they could press against her palm. Another jolt sent straight to her pelvis.

This was dangerous.

Especially considering the way he was looking at her. That pale green turned into forest green as he watched her watch him. She swallowed but it did nothing to moisten her throat. She was doomed.

When he brought the pad of her thumb between his lips and sucked just enough to put pressure on her skin, she let out a small gasp, her eyes going wide. This was too much. How was this too much when he barely even touched her? Why did she feel so damn exposed when they were both fully clothed? His brow pushed up at her reaction, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he tested his luck even more. Rather than release her thumb from his mouth, he flickered his tongue against her pad. Her eyes widened. She still did not pull away.

He moved onto her index finger and did the same thing. He kissed it, sucked it, and flicked his tongue against the pad. And then, he put it in his mouth. His lips puckered against her skin, protecting her from his teeth, but his tongue danced around her finger, like it was cleansing her. And maybe it was.

She didn’t realize she had been leaning forward until some of the bath water sloshed out of the tub. The sudden noise didn’t stop her, though. It just brought greater attention to her movement but that didn’t stop her. It was as though she needed to see what he was doing at a closer angle because she couldn’t quite believe what she was feeling.

And then, he looked up and made a decision. She could read it in his eyes before he did it, but in that moment, she knew he was going to kiss her.

Jericho dropped her hand so it fell back into the water but he reached out to grip the back of Annie's head with long fingers. He tilted her head back and placed a soft but intimate kiss on her lips. This wasn't a friendly kiss, nor was it gentlemanly. It was both sweet and seductive simultaneously and it didn't end right away.

Annie's eyes rolled back and she opened her mouth just slightly on her own accord. He didn't force anything; she simply reacted to his kiss and allowed her body to take her. She reached her hand up to clutch his face and the slight stubble on his face was rough against her skin like sand paper.

He pulled away from her for just a moment.

"You kissed me back," he murmured, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. He seemed awed by this, almost as though he didn't quite believe it had happened.

To be honest, she didn't believe it happened. She didn't believe she had kissed him back. She dropped her hand from his face and curled damp hair behind her hair, nodding her head.

"I did," she agreed, picking her eyes up to look him in the eye. "I kissed you back."

"I'm going to kiss you again," he told her, his eyes dropping to her lips. She had no idea why, but the look in his eyes seemed to highlight his sharp cheekbones and it was hard for her to think of something more beautiful than Jericho fully wet looking at her with both lust and adoration in those gorgeous green eyes.

"Okay," she replied because she couldn't find any other words to say except an affirmative response and she didn't move when he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own.