I flinched as the hot water ran over the scratches and cuts. I stood there for ages and let the hot water run down my body. The heat soaked into my muscles and a lot of the soreness disappeared. As I watched the water run down my breasts and fall in a continuous stream off my nipples, I knew I must be tired because I didn't find it interesting. Maybe I was getting used to this female body. Not too used to it, I hoped.
Even though I was tired, it was not the bone deep tiredness I felt when I shifted into a completely foreign form. The Jaime-girl form used up a lot less energy. Although I was still getting the "hungers", as Mum used to call them, they were nowhere near as powerful as usual. Thank God for that. With all the running around I'd done in the last twenty four hours, I'd otherwise be chained to the dinner table for hours.
It must have been a good twenty minutes before I could pull myself out of the warmth and comfort of that shower. I dried myself, careful of the cuts on my back and pulled on a silk Japanese bathroom gown. It just covered the essential areas.
But not by much.
When I came out of the bathroom, still towelling my wet hair, I found Theo in the living room next to a dining cart holding covered dishes. He was lighting candles as I entered.
My stomach responded with a growl.
"Ah, Jaime. There you are my dear. I was just setting up our dinner.
"How did you get in?"
"I came through the door. It wasn't locked. I thought you must be starving so I'd save some time by setting up now."
No way had I left that door unlocked.
I looked at the table. Two dinner settings. "I thought Samantha was going to join us."
"Oh, terrible news. Her flight was delayed and she won't be back until tomorrow."
I suddenly doubted this whole Samantha girlfriend story. He was too creepy to have such a great girlfriend. How could I be so gullible?
And that whole Samantha display on the stairs? That just made him downright weird. Especially with those fucking sunglasses.
The jeans and t-shirt I'd laid out on the bed were now on the couch. He picked them up and held them out to me.
The guy not only had got through the locked door but had been creeping around in my bedroom and touching the clothes I was about to wear. Yeah, that made me feel a lot better.
As I took the clothes, he grabbed my wrists. I yelled in pain as he pushed both hands behind me and up high toward my shoulder blades.
The goddam tiny bathroom gown separated, and my whole naked front was held hard against him. I couldn't move.
He fondled my breast roughly. "Very nice." He sounded as if he was commenting on how well someone had mowed his lawn. He touched my medallion. "What's this?"
When I didn't answer him, he mashed his lips against mine. I bit as hard as I could and felt a chunk of his lip come away. He screamed and slapped me hard on the side of the head.
I fell down.
"You bitch. You little bitch. You've bitten off my lip."
"You want it back?" I spat the chunk I had bitten off at him. It hit his legs and fell onto the carpet.
Blood poured down his chin and soaked his white shirt. Mouth open in a grimace of pain, he stared disbelievingly at the bloody chunk of lip on the carpet.
"You shouldn't have done that," he said as he picked a large carving knife off the serving cart. "You don't know what you've got yourself into."
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