The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 157

**TITLE: Keeper 157**

Coban’s POV

I craved the cold.

Desperately.

The bathroom door clicked shut behind me, a dull sound that echoed in the silence, and I twisted the tap with force, sending icy water crashing against the tiles. I stripped off my clothes in a hurried frenzy, stepping under the frigid stream fully, hoping to shock myself back into some semblance of reality.

Goddamn it.

I leaned forward, my palms pressed against the wall, my head hanging low as the water cascaded over my shoulders, sliding down my spine. The sensation was sharp, biting—exactly what I deserved…

Because if I didn’t cool off right this moment, I risked losing control with her.

That damn kiss…

With her perched across my knee…

Jesus Christ.

I never anticipated it would hit me like a freight train, but after hours without her, I realized just how profoundly I’d missed her. Her mouth always fit against mine like a missing puzzle piece, and I hadn’t been prepared for the way she melted into me this time, how her hands clutched at my shirt as if I were an anchor in a storm.

I raked a hand back through my damp hair, exhaling sharply.

I’d desired women before. Plenty of them, without a doubt.

Many had come on to me over the years, and I’d been eager enough to act on those desires without a second thought.

But this?

This was something entirely different.

It wasn’t merely about wanting her body.

It was about wanting her entirely—the way she curled into me, the way her breath caught when I touched her, the way she trusted me without even realizing how much she relied on me in this chaotic space…

That was the dangerous part.

I wanted to claim her as mine, whether she was ready for it or not.

Even in the outside world, she would be mine.

She belonged to me now.

I wouldn’t let her slip away…

I exhaled deeply and turned fully into the cold stream, letting it pound down on my chest, my back, my face. The water numbed my skin, but it did nothing to alleviate the tension coiled low in my groin.

I could still feel her warmth on my lap.

Still feel the heat radiating from her body, the softness of her lips, the faint hitch in her breathing right before she surrendered completely to my kiss.

Mine.

The word slipped through my thoughts uninvited, heavy with possessiveness.

I turned off the water abruptly and stepped out, wrapping a towel around my waist. My chest was still heaving slightly as I pulled on a pair of boxer shorts and pushed open the bathroom door.

What awaited me nearly unraveled all the progress the cold shower had made…

Margot was asleep.

Curled up on the bed as if she belonged there and nowhere else, as if she had always been meant to be with me.

Her hair was a tousled mess against the pillow, her lips swollen and slightly parted, lashes resting gently against her flushed cheeks. One knee was bent, the hem of her shirt riding up just enough to reveal bare skin.

My chest tightened painfully.

I crossed the room quietly, my movements instinctively careful as if I were approaching something fragile and precious. I perched on the edge of the bed, simply watching her for a moment.

She looked so peaceful.

So safe.

And a fierce protectiveness twisted inside me at that thought.

I lay down beside her slowly, pulling the blanket up and easing her into my chest. She stirred slightly, her brows knitting together for just a moment before she sighed softly and melted against me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I pressed a kiss into her hair, inhaling her scent deeply.

Mine.

Damn it!

She had me completely wrapped around her finger already, and she didn’t even know it. She had no idea how deeply she had burrowed under my skin in such a short time.

I didn’t want to hand her back to Leo later.

The mere thought scraped against my insides.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify