Here is something that never crossed my mind. What do you do when you are catatonic, and in need of taking your clothes off but the only people present are two men? At least one of them has seen me naked before, but that doesn't exactly ease my need to jump out of the window. Only if I could.
We are in the bathroom, and Graham and Mason are having a very interesting, heated exchange over who has more right to undress me.
I never thought I'd live the day but here we are. None of them do, but I can't exactly pitch in, can I?
Sweet mother, have mercy on me.
" I'm her friend, " Graham seethes through clenched teeth," I would never do anything to disrespect her. You are engaged to another woman. You've lost any right when you decided to put a ring on another woman's finger," I'm not sure what to think. I don't want either of them to undress me, frankly.
Currently, I am in Mason's arms, sandwiched between the two men, with front-row seats to the show. It's well past midnight and I'd like to lie down on a flat surface. Any flat surface would do at this point. I'm not picky. I've been hauled around by Mason since we left the academy, and the man doesn't show any signs of letting up.
" You think I give a shit," Mason bites back with a sneer," Back off Graham, before the fucking water turns cold,"
" I'll draw another one. I know for certain that Lily wouldn't want you near her when she is this vulnerable," Graham has a point. I don't. But I don't want him either. I'll never be able to look him in the eyes again. At least Mason and I have a shared history, it doesn't make it better, but still, it's nothing he hasn't seen before. I'm not a prude when it comes to the body. It's not like we have a choice when it comes to our genetic makeup. We are, what we are and that is something I learned to embrace.
All of a sudden the room turns quiet, both men are silent, when I look up, I find them both staring at me. Sure, now they have decided to get my opinion.
" Which one of us is it, Lily? Blink once for Mason and twice for me," This is unexpected. So far, my body still refuses to cooperate with me, even though I'm fairly sound in my mind. Debatable.
I make an effort to open my mouth, but my jaw is locked so tight, that even the slightest movement sends a jolt of pain so sharp, that I feel it all the way to my bones.
Damn it. I don't need this right now.
Graham's brows rise in a silent question, urging me to make a choice, something I really don't want to do.
Slowly, I force my eyelids to go down, and I hear Graham strut out of the bathroom muttering to himself something about me being incredibly stupid, gullible or gutless. I'm not sure.
To some extent, he is right.
On the other side of the battleground, Mason is smiling victoriously as he lowers me into a seat next to the bath, from where I can see the water. It's milky white, with all sorts of aromatic oils cloying my nostrils. Even though my entire body has seized, I feel my body wind up even tighter when Mason's hands grip the hem of my top to pull it over my head.
My breathing turns erratic, I'm on the verge of a panic attack. Why did I think that this was such a great idea? Having your ex-lover strip you.
" Look me in the eyes, Lily," Mason says quietly.
When our eyes meet, I find his pinned on my face. There is a sharp hitch in his breath when his knuckles brush against my skin, but his eyes never leave mine.
It is not much, but I find it comforting, and at the same time, I feel disappointed that he won't look at me. The top that I'm wearing it's not much, it's simple, and practical, good enough to have the floors wiped with while I got my ass kicked by Mason.
There is another sharp intake of air when he pulls the top over my head, and our eye contact is broken. Pervert.
Our eyes meet once more but there is a glint in Mason's eyes, one that I easily recognise as lust. I've seen it before, and right now is burning like a furnace
Luckily or sadly, my heart seems to function just fine, because right now is beating down my breastbone with the force of an angered bull. I'm on fire.
" So beautiful," He breathes reverently, but catches himself before he continues any further And I realise, that just must've slipped out, against his will.
Slowly, the smouldering gaze hardness, reining in his not-so-saintly thoughts, but his eyes never leave mine. Eyes that say more than he has ever said with words.
Eyes are the windows to the soul. If you look closely enough, you'll find that in there there is no place to hide, not even from ourselves.
Slowly, his hands settle on my hips, and it feels a lot like he is taking his sweet time undressing me.
His face betrays nothing, but his gaze softens on me, unable to hide what he is really thinking. His resolve is slipping away from his grasp, slowly but surely.
His hands have not made an attempt to take off my trousers. Now, he is reconsidering his choice to stay with me. I can see he is faltering.
He is preparing to step away and let Graham do it, instead.
After a good ten minutes, he slides his hands under my waistband, and cups my behind, and that's when something snaps inside his mind because his jaw is ticking at an incredibly fast rate, any faster and it will probably crack.
All of a sudden, he pulls his hands out of my trousers, stands and turns to face the door. He can't do it, and I know it had nothing to do with him being engaged to Ava or the fact that he pretends to hate me when he really doesn't.