Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
Castle was insatiable.
We made love two more times that night before exhaustion took over and we fell asleep. His left leg was pushed against my body in a possessive way.
That unfamiliar glint in his eyes had faded, and he was back to being his usual self.
That was the strangest part of the night and I wondered if I’d imagined it.
My brain hadn’t conjured him whispering ‘Millicent’in that deep, husky voice, yet it still gave me the tingles. A swarm of butterflies took flight in my stomach as I replayed that moment in my head like a tape.
There was a brief knock on the door and before I could even answer, Penelope entered the room. I was embarrassed by my lack of clothing, and honestly, I felt a little uncomfortable being promoted from employee to wife.
I used to be one of the staff, and now I wasn’t.
Mrs. Millicent Montgomery.
The name had a nice ring to it.
She didn’t even look up as she wheeled the breakfast in, served the food and left the room.
I guessed that was the routine since the time Castle slept here alone. Now that I was going to share the room, nothing was going to change.
I had to wake him up and force him into the bathroom because he would rather stay naked and in bed than get on with the day’s activities.
After his bath, he sat on the bed while I stood between his legs and combed the tangles through his thick, wet hair. Even though I was his wife now, my duties remained the same, and I loved every second of it.
He watched me intently. His light brown eyes glimmered in the sunlight that streamed through the window. There was something so intimate about the moment, in the comfortable silence of companionship.
Castle’s hand slipped slowly into my bathrobe and caught one breast in his hand.
I laughed, “Can you please stop? I’m trying to concentrate on your hair.” But he wasn’t listening. He circled my nipple, and with a possessive tug on my waist, he covered his wet, hot mouth over it.
The comb just slipped out of my hand, and my fingers replaced where his comb had been, making a mess of all the tangles I’d just removed. “Castle...”
He lapped and suckled like he’d die if he stopped. Moisture pooled between my legs. I cupped his face and his mouth met mine in a soul-sucking kiss.
We were breathless a few minutes later and staring hard at each other. “What happened to you last night?”
“What happened?” He repeated.
I bit my lip. Should I ask him or should I let it go?
“You called me Millicent.”
“I did?” He asked me, his brows furrowed in confusion.
I watched his expressions to see if he was being honest or lying and I could only see sincerity. I wondered if Castle was a talented actor and I was curious to find out.
“Yes.” I kissed his cheek.
“What did I say?” He asked, not breaking eye-contact.
I could have sworn I’d seen a glimpse of the old Castle last night, the Castle that had all his memories intact and who knew far more dark secrets than he was letting on.
The Castle that was dangerous and calculative, who had been single-handedly running the Montgomery empire. That man had excited and frightened me in equal measures. While I hoped Castle would recover his memories, I also feared the consequences. Somewhere deep down, I wondered if Ireallywanted to awaken the old him.
What if the old him was like Devin?
“You need to remember it yourself. I won’t tell you anything.” I said.
“Millie, I…I…have something for you.” He reached across from me towards the bedside table and pulled out his wallet from the drawer. From inside, he took out an Am Ex card and handed it over to me.
“What’s this for?” I inquired. The black card had his name inscribed on it.
Castle Montgomery.
I ran my fingers over his name.
“I remember you told me that...” he paused, “you told me once that…you never bought nice things for yourself…because…your uncle used to take most of the money. I...I want to give you everything, Millie. Everything. You deserve it. I’ll give you this…this…card that I rarely use. You can buy stuff you want.”
My eyes were brimming with unshed tears, and that made him worry.
“Why are you crying? Did…did I say something wrong?”
I sniffled, wiping my face with the back of my hand. “I have what I need. I got what I wanted.” I assured him as I pressed the card back into his palm.
“What’s that?”
“You.”
He liked that answer because I was rewarded with a heart-melting grin. “I was already yours...it…it was the day you stepped into this house. Buy something for yourself, Millie.”
I sighed. “I can’t go out of the house without permission, and you already know that. Your brother would never let me.”
“But I’m your husband!”
I giggled, “That you are, but even if we’re married, I don’t know if I’m allowed outside and also, look...” I pointed at the anklet, “If I get far from the property, the sensor will blink and Devin will get notified.”
Castle stared at me. “I’ll tell you a secret. The anklet notifies for only about thirty minutes when you’re in town...and...when you drive out of town, it cannot trace the location.”
Whoa!
“So you’re saying we have to sneak out and hope that Devin doesn’t notice until we’re far enough?”
He nodded.
I smiled. “I know how you feel, but I don’t want to risk it. Besides, I can let Winston know whatever I need and he will deliver it to me.”
He picked my hand and kissed each knuckle. “One of these days...Millie...I’m going to take you out on…on a date.”
Castle couldn’t remember what he had said last night, and that made me wonder if he slipped into his old self once in a while.
I needed to keep an eye on him.
Most of the members in the house ignored me, which suited me perfectly.
The only person I enjoyed interacting with was Theo. He was different from the rest of his evil siblings. I played board games with Chandler and we had a great time together; he was warming up a little towards me since I was his sister-in-law, but to be honest, I wouldn’t trust Chandler with my dog.
I met Susan on the stairs as I made my way towards Castle’s room and she told me she’d baked some blueberry muffins that I could pick from the kitchen area downstairs.
Blueberry muffins were Castle’s favorite.
I started descending the stairs when I heard the sounds of soft conversation drifting from the hallway.
From Devin’s study.
I took off my shoes and walked towards the room. The door wasn’t fully closed, but I assumed they believed it was.
I tried to pick up bits of the conversation.
“Stupid bitch thinks she’s smart for flushing down his medications.” I heard Devin say.
My heart thundered as I realized who they were talking about.
They knew!
“She’s doing all the work for us and she doesn’t even know about it.” Dayana chimed in.
Devin guffawed. “Did you see the smug look on her face? Thought she one-upped us. Now Castle’s just gonna fuck her six ways to Sunday. No pun intended.”
“Are you sure we should let her keep doing it?”
“Yes. I want Castle wide awake for everything that’s going to follow. I’m a lot of things, Dayana, but a coward is not one of them. He will fucking pay!” Devin said angrily, his voice rising a notch.
They planned to kill Castle!
“Devin, do you hear that? Someone’s at the door!”
I looked down the hallway.
There was no way I could make a run and not get caught.
I quickly tiptoed into the room right next to Devin’s study and sneaked into the old closet, and shut the door behind me.