“I saw the police photos.” He ran his hand through her hair to soothe her.
Laken let out a shuddering breath. “I did what I could to minimize the scarring. Most of those cuts were shallow and those scars faded over the first year. For the other scars I use a special cream.” She placed her hand on her side, where the worst scar was.
He removed her hand and kissed the puckered skin. “This is just proof of what a fighter you are.”
She smiled at him.
“Once this is all over, the two of us are going to go away. I need you to myself for a while.”
She smiled tremulously. “That sounds good. But I’ve got a shop to run and I—”
He placed his hand over her mouth. “Let me take care of that. Just say yes. Say you’ll come away with me. Say you’ll trust me again.”
“I do. I trust you.”
“I don’t know that I deserve it, but I’ll take it and I will spend every day living up to your trust. You’ll never regret giving it to me.”
“I know.”
Chapter Thirteen
Duncan clasped his large hands around her waist and lifted her down from his truck. The pleasure he’d given her last night seemed to have only increased her need for him. She’d spent the whole day thinking about him, wondering about what tonight had in store.
Taking her hand, he led her to his house. He’d insisted they come back here tonight. He had a security system so she hadn’t argued.
Today was Tuesday. They had until Saturday for her to grow more at ease with submitting to him. For her to trust him enough to let him put her in situations which filled her with fear.
There were moments when she experienced complete terror at the idea. Not because she didn’t trust Duncan, she did. But what if this guy got close to her, what if he touched her? She didn’t know who he was, he could be someone she trusted, anyone.
She bit her lip as she waited for Duncan to check through his house. What if something went wrong and Duncan left her while she was tied up. Logically, she knew he would never do that but the part of her that didn’t work on logic couldn’t help but fret.
“Laken?”
She looked up to find him standing in front of her.
“What’s wrong?”
She forced a bright smile onto her face. “Nothing at all. Well, other than the fact that I’m standing here waiting while you search for the bogeyman. Did you check the closets? How about under the beds?”
He gaze grew firm as he sighed. “Strip and put your clothes away. Go to the bathroom if you need to, then you will join me in the kitchen.”
She nodded and ran off, grateful to get away from his too-piercing gaze. He didn’t need her to start freaking out on him. It wouldn’t take much for Duncan to pull the plug on this. He wasn’t sure she could do this and she needed to show him that she could.
Even if she wasn’t so sure herself.
She stripped then used the bathroom, taking a moment to just stare at herself, to calm down and bring her shields back. When she had some semblance of control she walked back into the kitchen. Duncan placed a pot of rice on the stove.
“Can you chop up those veggies for me?” he said.
They worked in silence, cooking up a stir-fry and some fried rice. Duncan spoke about his day as they ate, sharing some funny stories. Jake had put him permanently on days until they caught this guy. Something she was grateful for. There was no way she would feel safe by herself at night anymore.
They washed the dishes then Duncan turned to her. “You ready to talk about what was frightening you earlier?”
“Well, the mustard carpet in your hallway is pretty damn frightening. Do you think it was always that color or that the previous owners had some cats with severe stomach issues?”
He shook his head. “Sugar, you’re going to have to start talking to me sometime. This isn’t going to work unless I can trust you to tell me when you’re scared or overwhelmed.” He grabbed a cushion off the dining room chair and placed it on the tile floor. “I want you to kneel here while I go prepare some things.”
Sugar and spice. That didn’t sound good.