42. A Road Trip
A Road Trip
Electra
" I have everything," Bastian groaned when I checked the room for at least the tenth time to see if we forgot to pack something. "And if my pants or shirts stay, they can auction them." He winked at me and exited the room.
"You're not Marylin Monroe," I mumbled, shaking my head and closing the closet door. Saying goodbye to the place where I spent the most horrifying time of my life was liberating, and I hoped I would never come back.
Catching Bastian in the hall waiting for the elevator, I took a backpack from him so he had better balance.
He objected but didn't want to argue with me.
I didn't trust his legs completely and wanted him to use a wheelchair, but he hated it.
He suggested he would crawl out of the hospital rather than be seen sitting in that devious thing.
Nothing could force him to use it if it wasn't absolutely necessary.
"Daniel parked the car at the back entrance as you ordered," I announced, reading the message from Andreas, who had to leave urgently because of some emergency with a client in Washington.
"I hope he's not waiting for us," Bastian said, reading the text over my shoulder. "Why is my brother reporting his whereabouts to you? "
"Daniel left, sad and disappointed because you didn't want him here," I replied, quickly typing the message. "And your brother needed a friend when you were out." I hid my phone in the backpack and threw it over my shoulder, grabbing the suitcase handle.
"I'm not out anymore. And he hasn’t texted me since the interrogation report," Bastian pointed out, following me outside. His walking stick clicked on the floor, the metal sound piercing my skull every time he made a step.
"He doesn't want to bother you with little things," I reassured him, knowing too well why Andreas avoided contact with his older sibling. He didn't like pretending everything was okay while his private life fell apart.
"So he's bothering you instead," Bastian growled, lifting his brows when another text came.
"He's not," I stated, closing the trunk and walking to the driver's seat.
Bastian insisted on me taking him home, even when we had a dozen security guys with driver's licenses at our disposal at any time.
"And I don't understand your attitude," I added when we got in.
"What is so wrong with us being friends? "
"Andreas doesn't have friends," Bastian replied, fastening his seatbelt and placing his phone in the holder. "He considers friendships a weakness. He only forms alliances with powerful people who can help him reach his goals. All his relationships are within the family."
"What about his wife? He didn't just snatch her off the street and force her to marry him," I joked, masking the unsettling feeling in my stomach. I believed I’d pushed through Andreas’ defense and considered him a friend after those absurd, chaotic couple of months.
"It was an arranged marriage, princess. They met twice before the wedding," Bastian answered, typing the final destination into the GPS while I tried to process what I'd just heard. But then, the address on the display caught my attention.
"Where are we going?" I inquired, scowling at the map. The app showed it was a seven-hour ride.
"You'll see," he smiled cryptically, adjusting the seat to his liking. "We have enough time to talk about pretty much anything. "
"You want to spend seven hours in the car with me arguing about Rosalind and our fake marriage?" I raised an eyebrow at him, starting the engine and pressing the glass pedal. It had been almost a year since I drove a car, but hopefully, we would survive unharmed.
"I have no intention to argue with you, baby girl." He gently took my hand, entwining our fingers, and I grimaced. There was no way in hell we could talk about his ex without a considerable fight.
"Rose met someone," Bastian announced, disturbing the flow of my thoughts, and I snapped my head in his direction, almost crashing into the car before us. I hit the brakes hard, cursing under my breath while he chuckled.
"Sorry to be the one to deliver bad news, but the only person she's meeting is Peter, your brother," I said, blinking in confusion when he shrugged.
"I don't know about that, but she came to me yesterday while you were at the police station and told me she was seeing someone," he replied with a slight smile, pointing to the road because I didn't move for the green light.
“And she didn’t tell you who it is?” I whined, curiosity getting the best out of me. Their contract contained a clause saying that if she found another Dominant capable of handling her, her contract with Bastian would end. He would be free of her.
“No, but she said I know him and that they need more time to know each other better.”
“Oh, my God! It's Peter!" I yelled, staring at the road in disbelief. "It has to be. They were constantly together in Thorn Enterprises."
"I really don't know." Bastian shook his head, throwing me sideways glances, but I ignored him, replaying all the meetings with them in the hospital or the firm.
"They are like a dog and a cat, but opposites attract, right?" I mumbled, excitement growing in my chest.
"I suppose?" Bastian shrugged, squeezing my hand gently. "Are you okay, princess? "
"I'm ecstatic," I blurted out, grinning at him. "No Rosalind fucking Adeline between us. This is better than a Ferrari for Christmas!"
"Do you want a Ferrari for Christmas?" he teased, snickering. I stopped the car at the red light, jolted my hand from his hold, and leaned closer, cupping his cheeks.
"Every single day is Christmas while you're with me, sir." I pressed my lips to his, kissing him passionately. If we weren't in the car, I would've ripped his clothes off and had my way with him. That's how happy I was about Rosalind and whoever she met.
A honking van broke the spell between us, and with a few profanities flying from my mouth, I led the car onto the highway and out of the city.
My mood improved rapidly. I joked and sang to almost every song on the radio, but when I noticed Bastian’s head was about to explode, I shut up for a few minutes to give him a break.
After almost three hours, when the only stops we made were for a bathroom, Bastian suggested lunch, and I quickly agreed.
My stomach was rumbling because I’d skipped breakfast, but if I told him that, he would've used his precious walking stick to punish my ass.
Not that I was against some fun with my Sir, but driving for another four or five hours and sitting on the welts wasn't an attractive prospect.
Bastian picked a nice family restaurant with great reviews near Portland.
We ordered so much food that it looked like we hadn't eaten for a month, and then we spent almost two hours laughing our butts off with a group of older bikers.
Their stories were hilarious, and I found myself musing about getting a motorcycle and exploring the country with the wind in my hair. It would be a fantastic adventure.
"We should do this more often," I suggested when we speeded through the highway again, and Bastian woke up from a nap. The medication often made him sleepy, so I let him rest for a while. There wasn't much to see anyway.
"I would love to, princess, but with my work, I'm happy to have one vacation in two years," he remarked, opening his laptop.
I knew he couldn't wait to return to Thorn Enterprises.
He had already moved Derek to the second office on the highest floor, and for the last week, I worked on his schedule .
"What about our honeymoon?" I questioned, pouting when he raised his index finger at me to wait because he was reading something. He typed the reply quickly and put the laptop away, giving me his full attention.
"Pick a destination and make sure I'm free." He winked at me, smiling when a wide grin stretched across my face.
"So you agree with me staying in the company as your assistant?
" I desperately sought his confirmation because I couldn't imagine working anywhere else.
As his assistant, I could always be close to him and spend every free second with him.
That time would have been forever lost if I was on the other side of the city, working for somebody else.
This job had advantages that I wasn't willing to lose.
"I agree with you managing my schedule and accompanying me everywhere," he replied, and my brows shot up. I flashed him a confused look, trying to organize my thoughts because they had no order. He took me completely by surprise.
"You're my wife, Electra," he said when he noticed my uncertainty. "You won't work as a secretary ever again."
"But I know nothing about running a company. I only signed papers when you were in a coma," I objected, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. This was unexpected. I believed my time as the boss ended with his return.
"I'll teach you everything you need to know if the situation arises again." He said it so casually as if he were discussing the weather. But the memories of the accident flooded my mind, and I had to stop the car because I couldn’t see the road before us because of the tears.
"Princess." He put his hand on my shoulder, and I burst into tears, hiding my face behind my palms. "Hey, sweetheart, what is going on?"
Inhaling deeply, I wiped my cheeks, trying to pull myself together. Every time someone mentioned our accident, my stomach turned to knots, and I felt like I was about to puke.
Usually, I overcame that urge and plastered a mask on my face, pretending I was okay. Yet when he suggested it could happen again, my entire body cramped, my legs trembled, and my heart almost broke through my ribcage .
"I can't live through it again," I whispered, ignoring the trucks and vans that speeded next to us. "I would go nuts if something happened to you again."