“I’m sorry.” I squeezed her tighter.
“Me too. I miss them.” She sniffled. “What about your mom?”
“She died when I was a kid.”
She pushed up and rested on my chest, her stunning eyes pinning me. “That’s all?”
I would have talked for hours if it kept her perched on top of me. “She was sort of cold. Not like my father. They were opposites. My dad was the one who tried to teach me. She sort of…I don’t know. I guess when I look back on it now, she didn’t know what to do with me. Dad was patient and taught me everything I needed to know to pass in the real world.”
“Pass?”
“As a person, just like everyone else. With feelings and empathy, and all those tools that normal people are born with but I lack.”
“Hmm.” She rested her chin on my chest.
“What?”
“I’ve never really thought about it like that, like you were disadvantaged.”
“I wasn’t.”
“If you say so.”
“I had everything. Mom didn’t take an interest in me, but Dad more than made up for it. I think maybe she was his strength. He leaned on her, and I leaned on him.”
“Were you sad when she died?”
I wanted to say yes. That was the correct answer. Instead, I told the truth. “I don’t know. I knew Dad was sad, which wasn’t a good thing. The whole thing just struck me as unbelievably odd. One minute she was there, the next she was gone. Death didn’t make sense to me. Still doesn’t, I guess.”
“I think that’s a common existential issue.”
“So maybe I’m not as odd as I seem?” I threaded her hair through my fingers.
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
I loved how quick she was. Loved. That deep feeling, the one that shot fear and excitement through me in equal measures, roared back to life. And there was nothing else to it. Not really. The simple truth had been there all along. I loved Camille.
She shifted off me.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to get out of this dress.”
My cock woke at her words.
I must have given away my thoughts, because she rolled her eyes. “No. I still can’t believe I—we…yeah.” She covered her face with her palms. “In a public place.”
I wanted her again, her body, her heart, her everything. “It wasn’t public. Except the part where you were up against the window.”
She squeaked beneath her hands. “And you’re a psycho.”
“I think we both know you love my psycho.” Shit, did I just say love?
Peeking through her fingers, she said, “You’re overselling it.”
“Don’t be shy now.” I licked my lips and noted her nipples hardening beneath the crimson fabric. “Not after our little understanding earlier this evening.”
“That was a one-time thing.”
“If you say so.” I smirked.
She whirled and retreated into the bathroom. “By the way, no more kissing. Not in the deal anymore, remember?” Her words echoed off the marble tile.
We’ll see about that.
36
Camille
He kept me at the penthouse for the rest of the weekend and made sure I had no chance for escape while he worked on Monday. Timothy shadowed my every step, and there were plenty of times when I wondered if he was going to enter the bathroom with me. I slept with Sebastian as required by our deal, but I fought off my desires and his. Being with him at the restaurant had clouded my judgment, but seeing Link brought a new clarity to my situation.
I had to get out and return to my life. Sebastian had warmed to me so much over the past couple of days—and if I were being honest, I’d warmed to him far more than I wanted to admit—that I felt the time was right to ask for my release. Or, at the very least, more freedom than I’d been given so far. I could make a deal with him. I wouldn’t tell anyone about what he’d done, and he’d give me more room to roam.
Time ticked away on Monday evening, and I paced the living room as Timothy read a men’s magazine.
“Do you think he’ll let me go?”
“We’ve been over this.” He turned the page and yawned. “Not happening.”
“You’re no help.”
He arched a brow. “I’m plenty of help, just not in that particular area.”
“I think maybe he’ll let me go.”
“After the restaurant, I would have thought you’d want to stay.”
My cheeks flamed hot, and I gave him an acidic glare.
He shrugged. “What? I couldn’t help but overhear.”
I wrinkled my nose at him and retreated to the kitchen where Rita was cleaning up. When she was done, I had no doubt the kitchen would look brand new. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and plopped down on a bar stool.
When I heard the sound of a key in the front door, I laser focused on it. Steeling myself, I rose and met Sebastian as he walked in. His dark gray suit fit him perfectly, hugging every angle and giving him a debonair look that plenty of men would kill for.