46. Cherish

I numbly stepped into the shower, reluctantly washing that enticingly fresh smell of apples from my skin. Perhaps if I stayed under the water and pretended I had heard nothing…no, there was no way to erase what I had just witnessed. Ivan to allow Denton to kill him in exchange for my freedom?

The first deal was atrocious, this one was just sickeningly pointless.

I heard the door creak as Ivan slowly stepped into the bathroom. He slid his shorts down and silently stepped into the large tiled shower space. He simply wrapped his arms around me, pulling my chest to his torso, his hands around my lower back. I followed, my arms naturally finding their place up on his huge shoulders, my hands tangling his coppery mane.

The hot water rained down on both of our bodies as he softly stroked my spine up and down.

“Cherish…I know you don’t want this but I would rather you had a chance at getting out of here. I’m dead anyway.”

“Don’t say that,” I whispered, looking down as my tears mixed int