CHAPTER8
Colby
This blush was never going to go away. It was humiliating having to bathe in front of them, but the minute I’d looked like I was going to get out of the tub, they’d all tensed up. I’d rather bathe myself in front of them, than have them do it for me. I’d try to keep whatever dignity I had left.
My mind went over what had happened in that alleyway. I’d hit the wall, my ears ringing, when Arsen had run up and started attacking the men coming after me. I’d be lying if I tried to say—in that moment—I wasn’t happy to see him. The enemy I knew was better than those I didn’t. At least with these three I was beginning to realize they weren’t going to kill me. Why would they go to all the trouble of rescuing me twice if they were? It was also clear that they had no intention of raping me, though there were no personal boundaries either. My body still belonged to me, but only just.
I snatched the towel out of Sig’s hand and quickly wrapped it around myself. Scrambling out of the tub, I evaded him as he tried to grab a hold of me. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to help or keep me from running. The hurt look on his face told me that maybe he’d been trying to help me out of the tub.
What do you care if you hurt his feelings? He helped kidnap you!I berated myself when guilt pricked at me.
Sig turned and walked over to his cot where he knelt down, digging around for something. Coming back over he handed me a white t-shirt.
“Thank you,” I said, hesitantly as I took it. I walked to the back of the room, gave them my back and quickly dried myself before putting it on.
Glancing around, I tried to find my underwear, but none of my clothes were in sight. I turned to ask where they were—it was a hard habit to break, speaking even when I knew they didn’t understand—and sucked in a breath.
Standing, completely naked, was Rafe. My jaw dropped along with my eyes. I couldn’t resist the temptation of scanning his body. His chest and arms were bulging muscles that nipped down into a trim waist.
Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.
I looked. His dick was thick and long, standing proudly away from his body. My eyes widened and flashed back up, clashing with his. There was a smirk on his lips and a knowing look in his eyes, but deeper than that was anger. He was mad at me.
I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. Leave it to a man to be angry that I’d tried to escape him when he was holding me prisoner. An amused snort caught my attention and I realized I was still staring.
Jesus. He’d just caught me ogling him. Not knowing what to do with myself, I spun around. His laughter was loud and surprisingly smug.
I heard the door close and peeked over my shoulder. Arsen and Sig had left. My mouth went dry, wondering what that meant. But Rafe was using the cloth and soap to wash himself and didn’t appear to be paying me any attention now.
The thought that I should turn my head back around and give him privacy floated through my mind. Then again, they hadn’t given me any. I watched as he smoothed first the cloth then his hand over his chest. Now that I wasn’t trying to catch a look at his dick I realized he had tattoos. A lot of tattoos. His chest and arms were completely covered in them. Sig seemed to be the only one who didn’t have any ink on his skin. I’d noticed before when we’d been wrestling on the cot.
Rafe’s tattoos were all black and gray and my eyes traced them as I stared at his body. I could also see, as I looked closer, that they covered scars and wounds. He was a gorgeous man. The door opened and I turned my head, facing the back of the cabin as Arsen and Sig brought in more buckets of water.
Once the splashing stopped, I peeked again. Rafe had a towel wrapped around his waist and was running a hand through his wet black hair. I gulped and tried to catch my breath.
Apparently it was Sig’s turn because he was stripping down. I slapped a hand over my traitorous eyes as a muscular back and the top of a tight set of buns came into view.
What the hell was wrong with me? I needed to come up with an escape plan, not drool over my captors. Even though my attempt today had failed miserably, I couldn’t just give up. It was my duty to resist and escape.
This is not what they meant when they said to resist your captors.
Without knowing what I should be doing, I went over and sat on the cot I’d woken up on that morning. I stared down at the floor, refusing to look when splashing resumed and someone left the shack.
I could wait until they fell asleep. This time I’d be more prepared. They had enough water for baths, so I’d take all the water and weapons I could find and I’d leave. I’d also put on something other than my uniform. This time I’d follow the tracks they left this morning. Clearly the direction I went wasn’t safe.
Bare feet appeared in my vision and before I thought better of it I lifted my head. Thank God Arsen had a towel wrapped around his massive hips or I would have been eye level with his naked cock.
He smiled at me, then bent down to rummage through a bag next to his cot. I’d already rifled through it earlier that morning, so I wasn’t surprised when he pulled out clothes. I looked away again as his hand went to the towel knotted at his waist. He murmured something to me, but I just shook my head and kept my eyes averted. His low chuckle sent tendrils of lust shooting through my belly.
If this had been any other time, in any other situation I absolutely would have been interested in any one of these three men. But I didn’t have the luxury of being attracted to them. Not when I was a prisoner. Not when I didn’t know what they planned to do with me.
Since they’d gone after me and saved my life, twice, it was a fair guess that they weren’t going to murder me. So, that left some kind of prisoner exchange thing. Ransom maybe? It was the only thing I could think of that they could use me for. Their clothing and the way they moved proved they had some kind of military training, despite their lack of official uniforms. Mercenaries probably. Which would explain the multiple languages.
The bath, along with some water, had rejuvenated me to the point where I could think straight. It was good to be out of that mental fog.
Arsen said something to me and I peeked through my lashes at him. He was dressed. He motioned for me to follow him. When we got to the door he said something again.
I wasn’t sure what it was, but considering the way he was scowling, I’d guess it was something along the lines of ‘if you run, I’ll chase you.’ Something deep and primal in me purred at the thought.