Page 73 of Dance of Thorns

She struggles, hissing and swearing at me furiously. But again, I ignore the slaps and punches as I grab a fistful of her yoga pants and start to yank them down off her hips.

“Excuse me?!” she blurts, trying to kick me and jerk out of my grip.

Not happening.

I yank again, peeling them over her ass and starting to rip them down her thighs.

“Get your fucking hands off me!!”

“I would, but I don't trust you to do this yourself,” I growl. “Now stay the fuck still so I can?—”

“Let me go!!”

She squeals and thrashes and writhes, kicking and lashing out as I deftly pull the yoga pants down to her knees and then try to shove her t-shirt up her torso.

“Stop—!”

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, little bird,” I sigh in a bored tone.

Her dark eyes burn into mine. I pause just long enough to draw in a breath, then slowly exhale as I glare back at her. “Would youliketo do it yourself?”

“I’d like to stab you in the eye, actua—Bane!”

She claws and hits at me as I shove her t-shirt up over her breasts and grab the front of the sports bra underneath.

“Okay!!” she finally yells. “Okay! Jesus! I’ll do it!”

I hold her firmly for another second, eying her. Behind me, the tub fills with hot water, the steam curling around us as it fills the tiled bathroom.

“What are you even doing?!” she asks.

“Giving you a bath,” I grunt. “You were hit by a fucking bus and lying in the middle of East 52ndStreet, then in a hospital bed.”

“Spoiler: I’m capable of bathing myself just fine,” she snaps, trying to wrestle out of my grip while simultaneously attempting to shove her shirt back down.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” I hiss back.

Her brows knit deeply. “What?”

“I haven’t had time to safety-proof the bathroom,” I growl. “So no, you will not be bathing alone yet. Not take off your fucking clothes orI will. I’ll count to three. One. Two?—”

“Fuck you.”

I allow her to wriggle free but stay right where I am, watching her closely as she half turns. She pulls her clothes off and stays turned away from me, her arms crossed over her nakedness, her cheeks heating red.

“There, happy?” she mumbles. “Now can youpleaselet me bathe my?—”

“No. After your little stunt tonight, I don’t trust you alone in here until I’ve made sure there’s nothing you can use to harm yourself.”

She seems to forget all her bashfulness and any fear she had of me earlier as she whirls to stare pure daggers at me.

“Fuck you?—”

She gasps, shuddering as I surge into her. My hand jerks out, wrapping tightly around her throat and pinning her against the wall at her back as steam curls around us.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” I hiss. “You belong tomenow. You’remine. And nobody gets to hurt what’smine. That very-fucking-much includes you.”

She stares at me, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Then her stare turns lethal as she curls her lip at me.