My phone beeped with a voice message. It could wait till tomorrow. Dad was a smart guy, but he was wrong about this. Wasn’t he?
“Yes.” Fuck, now I was talking to myself.
Camille stood and walked to the table Timothy had set up near the door. She leaned over and adjusted the microscope, then left the room and headed to the greenhouse. I watched as she inspected the plants. She’d pick leaves off here and there, pruning as she went. Nothing escaped her gaze when she perused her greenhouse kingdom.
Another gulp of bourbon, but this one didn’t burn at all. Maybe it was smoother than I’d first thought. She continued her inspection, and I thought about our future. Christmas was only two days away. Dad would come by for dinner. Maybe then I could explain to both of them how all of this was working as intended…mostly.
My plan made so much sense. The most nonsensical thing was that they didn’t see it the way I did. They were wrong. Not me.
I finished off my drink and stumbled down the hallway. The floor flipped like a see-saw, and the walls wouldn’t stay still. Thank god the bedroom door was open or I’d never have gotten past the keypad.
I collapsed onto the bed not even bothering to take my clothes off. Snagging her pillow, I inhaled her scent. It quieted my mind. I resolved to stay awake until she came to bed, and then I’d tell her I loved her. Because I did. So much so that the thought of losing her was the one thing that pierced through all my cold calculation and caused a slow bleed deep inside. Without her, I would die.
I would tell her all of it.
38
Camille
He was out when I crawled into bed. I watched him for a long time, traced the lines of his face into my memory. His brow clenched at one point, as if he were having troubled dreams. I reached out and ran my palm down his cheek. The tension disappeared, and he’d calmed. My heart ached as I watched him, but my plan was in motion, and I wouldn’t turn back.
Even though I saw a spark in him that echoed inside me. Even though his touch made me feel more alive than I ever had. Even though I wanted him. It could never work while I was a prisoner. No matter how many ways I tried to tell him that, he doggedly insisted that this was the only way we could be together. I fell asleep with the thought that the only way I could show him he was wrong was for us to be apart.
I awoke before he did, the slanting rays of sunlight shining in his hair as he rolled toward me and pulled me close. He sighed with contentment, and I didn’t have it in me to push him away. Besides, part of my scheme was to draw him closer today. I snuggled up to him, not because I loved the contact. It was necessary for everything to work correctly. It wasn’t because I knew this would be the last time.
His eyes fluttered open, and he winced at the light streaming through the windows. “Fuck.”
“Good morning to you too.”
He buried his face in my hair and ran his hands down my body. “Damn pajamas.”
Sliding his hand beneath my shirt, he flattened his palm against my lower back. “Better.”
“You smell like a whiskey bomb.”
“Good bourbon.” His muffled voice was scratchy and sexy as hell.
“I drove you to drink?”
He smoothed his hand higher up my back. “Yes.”
“Good.”
“Vixen.” He slid one knee between my thighs, entangling our bodies in the same way I feared our souls twisted around each other. “Are you still mad at me?”
“Of course.”
“No.” He groaned and pressed his lips to my throat. “Please don’t be.”
I let him kiss me, and I ran my hands through his hair. He was so dark, had so much raw intensity to him, that he easily eclipsed every other man I’d known. But in moments like these, he was stripped down to the simple desires inside him. He wanted me to be happy, especially with him.
“I’ll put it aside for the next two days. It’s Christmas and all. But we’re going to have to talk about it.” My core heated as he kissed lower, his teeth nipping at me. “I’m not okay with this.”
“Thank you.” He eased his hand around and cupped my breast.
“Sebastian.” My warning tone turned breathy as he pressed his thigh against my pussy.
“Let me make you feel better.” He slipped his fingers over the stiff bud of my nipple. “Just for this moment.”
I bit my lip as he pulled my t-shirt aside and kissed my collarbone. He sensed my indecision and took full advantage by sliding down my body and capturing a nipple in his mouth.