CHAPTER TEN

Melina went about her chores the next morning with a lot on her mind. She waited all night for Thomas to call for her, but he never did. She’s guessing he didn’t return yesterday as Kim presumed, or worse, he’s simply plotting a way to kill her without leaving any evidence. Thinking about it causes her body to shake and a cold shiver to run down her spine. She couldn't sleep all night, terrified of what Thomas would do to her, and she couldn’t concentrate on the task at hand. Knowing it won’t do her any good if they find fault in her work, she decides to distract herself from the thoughts that are clogging her mind by singing. She loved singing when she was younger, and still does. Singing one of her favorite artist’s best songs, Melina begins a mini-show for the chairs and tables. She's singing a song by The Weeknd, Earned it.

Melina walks to the back of a chair and places her hands on its edge; if someone were sitting in it, her hands would be on their shoulders. She sways her hips slowly left to right, dropping to the floor as her hands slide down the front of the chair. As she stands, she bends forward and brushes her fingers up her leg, flipping her hair back.

"You’re something else, Melina," Thomas says out of nowhere. Melina immediately comes to a halt and searches the room for him.

She stares at him, wide-eyed, wondering where he came from. She could tell he had just stepped out of the shower by his bare chest covered in water droplets and a towel wrapped around his waist. She's perplexed as to how she didn't notice the shower running. She wonders if she was so deep in thought she didn’t take note when she stepped in.

She looks at his bare chest and eight tattooed abs. Heat fills her body as she recalls the times her hands roamed that chest of his. Her nails dug into Thomas’ shoulders as he brought her release. Little tears well up in her eyes as she recalls the times when what was beneath the towel made her wince for days while walking. She couldn’t believe the same person in her memory was the one standing before her now.

“Continue,” he says as he approaches her by the chair and takes a seat.

“Huh?” Melina asks, her brows furrowed.

“Continue, Melina,” he orders. Melina swallows the lump that forms in her throat. She considers telling him she can’t, but then recalls that she shouldn’t do anything to infuriate him after being caught. She tells herself that it’s just her and Thomas isn’t sitting in the chair before she starts.

Clearing her throat, Melina begins to sing again. She walks to the front of the chair, dragging her nails across Thomas’ bare shoulder. Melina moves to the front, her heart racing, and places her hands on his shoulders, grazing her beast close to his face. She pulls away and takes a few steps away from him. She takes a sexy walk back before dropping down on him. She doesn’t move immediately, feeling something poke her core. Melina considers stopping but doesn’t because he doesn’t tell her to, so she continues. She grinds her waist against him as the song comes to an end. She feels wetness between her cores but she ignores it and finishes as Thomas groans in her hair.

Melina’s chest rises and falls rapidly as she tries to catch her breath. For the first time, she looks at Thomas and sees no furry burning in his eyes. She slowly gets up and puts some distance between them. Melina hopes Thomas didn't notice the wetness between her legs as she sat on him. He gets up from the chair and begins to approach her. Her heart begins to race, fearing Thomas knows and will punish her for staining his towel with her juices. She slowly backs away from him but halts when he turns right and walks into his bathroom. Melina takes a deep breath of relief. She really thought he was coming for her.

Melina begins to gather her stuff to leave before he returns. She flinches as she lifts a broom, dropping it when Thomas curses from the bathroom. She looks toward his bathroom door, puzzled as to what made him curse so loudly. Her eyes widened as she wondered if she was the cause. She quickly gathers her things and heads for the door. Thomas steps out of the bathroom and stops her as she’s about to turn the doorknob.

“Don’t fucking turn that doorknob.”

“I’m sorry,” she says without even waiting for him to tell her what she did wrong. His tone indicates he’s pissed, and she believes she’s the only possible cause.

"Turn around,” he says. Melina complies. “Follow me," he walks towards the walk-in closet, and she follows, praying for her dear life. Once inside, he gestures for her to come closer to him.

"I want you to dress me," he says once she stands in front of him.

"Huh?"

"I said I want you to dress me."

"I should dress you, like help you put on your clothes?" He nods, confirming what she just said. Her brows furrow as she wonders why he just asked her to do that.

"Really, you want me to help you get ready?" She finds it hard to believe what he’s asking her to do.

"Do I fucking look high to you right now, Melina?" he asks, irritably.

"No, you don't."

"Good, now get my boxers from the drawers behind you."

"I’ll help you with even your boxers," she asks, wide-eyed. Has Thomas lost his mind? She ponders.

"Do you have a problem with that?" He raises his brow at her, and she shakes her head. "Good, now get started."

"All right," she says as she walks to the drawers to get his boxers. Picking a lovely black boxer because she loves black on men, she walks back to him.

She bends down to his feet and opens the boxers so he can put his legs through them. She slowly pulls them up once his two legs are through the holes. Her knuckles brush against his skin, giving her goosebumps. She resists the urge to move her hands to the middle of his legs and take him into her mouth. She pulls her knees together on the ground, feeling her core throb at the thought.

"Ouch," Melina exclaims as Thomas roughly grabs her hair, pulling it backward.

"I don't want to feel your filthy hands on me as you dress me. If I feel even your knuckles brush against my skin again, I’ll ensure you remember never to touch me again in the most excruciating ways possible."

Her eyes widen as she digests what Thomas is asking of her. She wonders how he expects her to dress him without touching him; it’s nearly impossible. Melina believes Thomas finds unimaginable ways to torture her. Staring at him, she wonders how she will dress him.

***

Melina exhales once she successfully buttons the last button on Thomas’ Burberry suit. Melina used to buy James' suits, which is why she knows the brands so well.

“I did it, thank God,” Melina whispers to herself as she watches Thomas walk to his mirror to check himself out.

She wipes away the tiny beams of sweat that have formed on her brow with her other hand. She had never been more terrified in her life than she had in the last few minutes. Whenever her hand was about to touch his skin, she quickly withdrew it. She held her breath the entire time she helped him dress up. She’s even surprised she’s still breathing.

"It appears you won't be getting a taste of Kimberly's blades today," Thomas says as he walks back to Melina.

She looks at him, wondering if he really would have had Kimberly torture her if her hand touched his skin. She shakes her head, unable to believe the level of cruelty, and wonders if this is the Thomas she created as a result of her betrayal or if he has always been this cruel. She can't help but wonder if the man she fell in love with is the real Thomas or not.

"Thank God," She says quietly to herself, but Thomas hears. He grabs her hair and pulls her face closer to his. Her scalp burns as he holds on.

"You should really thank God because this is a mild punishment for what you did." Her eyes widen as she realizes Kimberly has already told him what happened yesterday, or at least her own version of what happened. As he didn’t mention it, she assumed he didn’t know.

“I had no choice. I had to help the poor girl” Melina has no idea what Kimberley said, but she’s hoping she told the truth. The truth was enough to put her in trouble, so she won’t be surprised if Kimberley decided not to lie.

He lets go of her hair and grabs the back of her neck. "If you fucking ever use my name against any of my men again, Melina, I'll make sure he does whatever he wants to you and not just him but all of them," he growls, tightening his grip on her neck, causing Melina to wince slightly. "Do you fucking hear me?"

"Yes, I do," She rasps out, her gaze fixed on his rage. Melina is a little surprised he chose Kim’s side, despite knowing the truth. Linda was his nanny, so she would expect he would be furious if someone tried to rape her daughter. She figures it doesn’t matter as he’s more upset that she used his name to save Serena than what the man intended to do.

"Good, now fucking get out of my face," he says, releasing his grip on her neck and flinging her to the side. She stumbles a bit but catches herself before she falls. Wasting no time, she heads for the door while massaging her neck. She bets a bruise will form if she doesn’t apply ice to it by tomorrow. She stops turning the doorknob when she hears his footsteps.

Thomas grips her maid uniform tightly, almost ripping it off her body. "Also, Melina, don't ever fucking wear this again," he says, his hot breath fanning her neck with every word. She closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath as his strong cologne drifts through her nose. She begins to feel hot as his breath continues to fan her neck. Melina is slowly becoming turned on and can’t understand how she could be so turned on by a man who just grabbed her neck a moment ago. She couldn’t understand why she wanted his arms around her and the heat from his body to never leave her. It didn't make sense to her after everything that had happened.

“Okay.”

"If I see you wearing it at this length again, I’ll rip it off so the whole world can see it more clearly." He opens the door and throws her out of the room.

It only lasted a few seconds, but she felt a spark as their hands brushed. Turning around, she stares at the door with tears welling up in her eyes. Her heart is breaking because she couldn’t have him. She longs to be in his arms right now; craves his touch and scent around her, bringing her peace and pleasure that no man has ever given her. The tears streamed down her face as she remembered how impossible it was after everything she had done. She wishes she could stop loving him but knows it will be difficult as Thomas is the best thing that has ever happened to her. Melina sighs deeply. Her heart stiffens in her chest, knowing she will die heartbroken because she tried to save the one she loved.