Chapter 11 - Adley

The growing well of nausea and insecurity that swarmed my guts like bees grew every passing second. This room, the entire fucking house, was like a goddamn dream that someone else should be living. I couldn't stop staring at the incredible view, and still…

I clutched the empty package of birth control in my hands. I hadn't even moved from where I'd managed to shuffle over to the bed. Nothing in my brain made sense right now, as oddly juxtaposed as the scenery and the darkness I'd seen come off Ivan in an all-encompassing wave.

"Umm…"

I didn't really want to say anything, not even to myself, but I needed to break the silence that still hung over the room. It pressed down too effectively, and I just couldn't stand it anymore.

Nearly laughing at the ridiculousness of my thoughts, a shuddering breath left me instead, and I slowly stood up from the bed. I was unsure where I was going; my body just moved, and I ambled around. Eventually, I found myself in the bathroom again.

The room with the toilet and tiny trash can was right there.

I stepped inside, holding my hand over the small garbage as I pressed down the lever with my foot. After a few seconds, I open my fingers. They shook as the useless container fell into the bin.

What in the absolute hell is my life?

A buzzing sound shook the stagnant air, and I realized my phone was vibrating. It stopped as soon as I heard it, suggesting a notification or text message.

Mom?

Speed suddenly felt important, and I hurried back to the bed, not sitting on it but sliding down onto the floor next to it as I grabbed my forgotten phone. Flicking open the screen to indeed a new text, I quickly saw that it wasn't from my mother but from Dad. I frowned, my brows pinching together.

He didn't text hardly ever.

Hey Sunshine. I just wanted to tell you again how truly grateful we all are. Mom and the twins. Me. You've saved this family. SUCH BIG TIME. The twins say thank you, too. They're excited to start school when the time comes and say you have to BTS shop with them? I don't know what that means. Love you.

I giggled lightly as the tears streamed down my face. Dad constantly texted like an English professor or something. Periods, commas, etc. It was hilarious…and I suddenly missed it like I wouldn't see it again.

Which is ridiculous. Ivan said you could see them.

"Such big time," I murmured—our little catchphrase.

Holding the phone between my hands, my thumbs poised at the ready, I tried to think of what to say. I couldn't exactly tell Dad I was having second thoughts or that, apparently, he was going to be a grandpa at some point.

My heart thudded against my ribs, and I sighed. They…they needed me. And I would not let them all down.

Of course, Dad. Sorry, it was so abrupt. I just wanted to act quickly. Ya know? I love you. Tell Mom and the twins the same. I'm beat. Heading to bed.

I hit send and set the phone down, not bothering to look for the delivered notification or read one, for that matter. I was actually tired—tired of trying to process what exactly was happening and why Ivan still intrigued me.

"Clear your head. You need to just reset, Adley."

Looking around the room again, I tracked the room in a circle, from the view in front of me to the wall with the closet and bathroom doors to the bricks behind the bed. I knew I shouldn't leave, and I didn't really want to chance going downstairs and running into Ivan or his scary-ass brothers.

My clothes were put away, and I winced a little at the memory. I wasn't going to sleep and wasn't hungry enough to go for the granola bar I'd snuck into my duffle.

"Sooo…"

I eyed the room again, and my attention landed on the bathroom. Through the open door, I could see the massive claw-foot tub in the middle of the far wall. There was a little tray that sat in the middle of the thing, dark wood and holding a washcloth and a candle. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Ivan used the thing much, but damn, a bath sounded really good to me right now.

Getting up off the floor, I tossed my phone on the nightstand and walked into the cooler bathroom. My steps were light on the white marble floor, and I proceeded straight to the tub, turning on the faucet.

The sound of rushing water filled the silence, and without breaking eye contact with the liquid filling the bath, I began to strip. Each layer I peeled away felt like releasing myself from the weight of the day, and before I knew it, I was standing naked in a pile of clothes.

I leaned over, moving the tray closer to the faucet so that I could step inside the tub. A tiny bottle was there, and I picked it up, realizing that it was a bubble bath.

"Huh."

I poured some in. I didn't understand why Ivan had it, but I wanted it all the same. As the foamy bubbles churned into being, I bundled my hair up in my hands, twisting it over and over until it naturally coiled in on itself. Taking the hair tie from my wrist, I secured my hair to keep it out of the water.

Returning my attention to the tray, I looked at the candle. Next to it was a silver lighter—the classic kind with a lid that flicked on and off. I stepped into the water, goosebumps rushing over me as I lowered myself down and picked up the lighter.

Holding it to the wick, I noted that it wasn't white, char covering a little portion of the end. He'd used it at some point, and I didn't really want to consider why. Guys usually did that shit when they were "entertaining" women, and the idea made my stomach turn over.

I shook it off, not wanting to examine that emotion any more than I already had. Soft light filled the dim bathroom, and I set the lighter back down before leaning back against the tub.

Bubbles wafted around me as the tub filled. They covered the entire surface, and then I used my foot to turn the faucet off. I was glad that it only had one handle, unlike back home, where there was a hot and a cold knob.

Silence crept back in. The only sounds were my breathing and the gentle flicker of the candle. As the water filled up, I realized how deep the tub was. There wasn't an overflow drain at the top near the faucet, either. I was able to fill the tub right up to the brim.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the way the warm water felt on my skin and muscles. Everything was so tense, and that slowly began to bleed away as the therapeutic heat sunk in.

"Ahh," I sighed, "at least you can always count on a bath, huh, Adley?"

A mirthless chuckle left me, and I was so damn tempted to slip under the water. Still, I wasn't ready to deal with the trouble that would cause, thanks to my hair, so I just reached up for my face, scrubbing my wet hands over my skin.

The memory of Ivan right up behind him, his obvious erection pressing against me, swirled in my head. I couldn't believe that had happened on so many levels. He'd been hard when he touched me, and I couldn't deny the way he'd been looking at me since we first spoke.

Ivan had also been a bit terrifying, and I could peg the exact moment that the feminism had left my body when he'd made me flush those pills, and my pussy still wept with excitement.

Seriously, Adley. What is wrong with you?

I couldn't deny how I felt, though. Ivan was this new, mysterious, and undeniably attractive addition to my dull existence, and he looked at me in a way no one ever had. I…liked it. I liked to be stared at like I was the hottest thing in leggings, and the fact that he didn't do it with the usual pity I saw behind people's eyes made it that much better.

Mr. Ustinov…Yeah, sure, because that doesn't sound made up. He paid for me. Essentially. And that really shouldn't be so flattering.

But who was I kidding? Of course, it was. The guy had spent thousands of dollars and was apparently going to keep doing so to hang out with me—to own me.

I really didn't feel like I was worth that much or even half that, and Ivan not only did it without batting an eye, but he was also showing no signs of buyer's remorse. He wanted me. He wanted to claim me, marry me, and…breed me.

My skin rippled with renewed goosebumps as I remembered Ivan's words.

I am just so excited to see what you look like fucked raw and bred with my seed.

Time slowed, and I tried to let my mind wander aimlessly, but again, it settled on Ivan—his striking eyes and the tattoos that covered his skin. My eyes closed, and I slipped into another place, no longer thinking of the bath, the pills, or the future.

Behind my lids, I could see his fierce stare as it stalked my body like prey, that hungry look drawing out something deep and primal from within me.

How had I not noticed how compelling those eyes of his could be? Focused and somehow soft in a way that didn't speak to the violence and bloodshed I knew dogged his steps. I could imagine the darkness that likely filled him up. Hell, the guy's stunt with the BC spoke volumes.

Still, all I could think about now was how his eyes tracked me, the way it felt to have his hand on my throat, stealing my air. There was this animalness to Ivan, one that should have scared me.

Sure, it did a bit, but it also fascinated me and set something in my soul ablaze.

It intrigued me in a way it really fucking shouldn't, distracting me from my concerns over my family and filling my thoughts with images of Ivan coming toward me in the dark of night. Was he going to hunt me down tonight ?

Fuck you until you can't remember your name…

Alone in the bath, I smoothed the water over my skin, thinking of Ivan's hands on my skin. The world fell away, and it became just the visions of Ivan and me tangling with each other, his muscular body dwarfing me with its raw power.

I imagined him touching me as I lay there naked in the water—in his tub. Ivan's mouth on mine, his hands gripping my hips as he shoved his cock deep into my pussy, his cum filling me and apparently breeding me like his good little wife.

Losing all track of time and my sense of reality, the images swirled, driving me to sink my hand lower, finding the growing wetness that pooled deep inside as I dipped my finger past my folds.

Stroking slowly, I circled my finger against my walls, and my pussy squeezed. My breaths fluttered, a chill rushing over my nipples as they peeked out of the water. Thank God for the damn bubbles, or I'd have to really face what I was doing.

Why was I like this? Why did it fill me with some kind of sick enjoyment that I was driving that man to such dark, possessive thoughts?

But there were no answers in the bath, just the need to feel myself fall apart as I pictured Ivan's thick cock spearing into me. I was clearly a desperate hussy who needed to get fucked, because all I could think of was how damn good he'd feel—claiming me, tasting me, making me his…

The sensations intensified, and I slipped another finger inside me and pushed down on my clit hard enough to feel it burn. I was barreling toward an orgasm, and I didn't have the wherewithal to stop myself, to feel guilty about it.

Goddamn, Adley. Over your fucking head…