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He doesn’t leave h He unties htly, then he takes off ht in the roohis fingers around et you into the shower"

I let his feel shaky, and I’ me I don’t know if I could’ve walked there by myself

He turns on the shoaits for the water to heat up for a few seconds, and leads us into the large stall Then he thoroughly washes every part ofaway all traces of lube and seers ain By the time he’s done, I feel clean and cared for

"Now it’s your turn," he says, turning upsome body wash into it

"You want me to wash you?" I say incredulously, and he nods, a s down his eous than usual, like sood

A sea monster, I correctatto see if I will do as he asked, and IWhy not wash him, really? It won’t hurt me in the least And besides, as much as I hate him, I can’t deny that I a I find exciting

So I rubthe soap all over his bronzed skin He raises his arms, and I wash his sides and underarhened in just a few places by dark,underthis experience In this moment, I can al creature is hly as he washed s, his feet By the tiain, and I freeze, realizing that my ministrations unintentionally aroused him

He correctly interprets my reaction as fear "Relax, my pet," he murmurs, his voice filled with amusement "I’m only human, you know As delicious as you are, I need more than a few? He hadn’t forced me to touch him I had done it of my own accord He’d asked, but I am pretty sure I could’ve refused and he would’ve let it slide The dark undercurrent I’d sensed in hi is not there now In fact, Julian seeood et out of the shower now, so Iers Then he bends his head and kisses entle onainst hih After about a minute, he lifts his head and s with satisfaction "Now you can go"

Utterly confused, I step out of the shower, dry myself off, and escape into ht I learn about Julian’s nightmares

After the shower, he joinsaroundover my torso I stiffen at first, unsure of what to expect, but all he does is go to sleep while holdingas I stare into the darkness, and then I gradually fall asleep too

I wake up to a strange noise It startlesfroe

What was that? For a moment, I don’t dare breathe, but then I realize that the sounds are co beside me

I sit up in bed and peer at hiathering all the blankets to himself I’m completely naked and uncovered, and I actually feel a little chilly with the air-conditioning running at full blast

The sounds escaping his throat are oosebu hard, al for air

"Julian?" I say uncertainly I don’t really knohat to do in this situation Should I wake hi me about his fa pity for this beautiful, twisted man

He cries out, his voice low and hoarse, and flops over onto his back, one ar the pillow only a few inches away from me

"Um, Julian?" I reach out cautiously and touch his hand

He mumbles and turns his head, still deeply asleep If ere anywhere but on this island, this would be the perfect moment for me to try to escape As it stands, however, there’s really no point in going anywhere, so I just watch Julian warily, wondering if he’s going to wake up on his own or if I should try harder to wake hi down, his breathing calain

It’s a name this time

"Maria," he rasps out "Maria"