Chapter 43
Elowen
I wake in a panic to his absence.
I’m in my bed. Rosie is curled beside me. But there’s no one else.
If not for the ache between my legs and the fact that I’m naked, I’d believe it was only a dream.
I stare at the ceiling. The gap in my chest widens. I close my eyes, and silent tears slip down my temples.
I can still smell him in the room. Feel him on my skin. But he’s gone.
I only had him for a few hours. Now I ache for him. This pain—this distance, this absence—it’s unbearable.
I clutch the quilt to my chest, sobbing beneath the weight of his absence.
A cool palm presses against my cheek.
My eyes fly open.
He wipes the tears from my temple, his thumb grazing my skin with impossible gentleness.
“You didn’t leave.” My voice is thick with tears.
He sits on the bed beside me and cups my face in both hands, thumbs brushing away the last of my tears.
“I have no intention of leaving anytime soon, Princess.”
I cover his hands with mine. “You’re serious?”
“Have I ever not been serious?”
I laugh softly and kiss his palm. He leans down and kisses my lips lightly, then my forehead, cheek, jaw, neck.
I slide my hands over his bare chest, tracing the hard planes. Feeling the tightness of his muscles beneath his skin.
He pulls back, eyes blazing. “Don’t tempt me into fucking you this early, Princess.”
I smile, but it vanishes when a knock comes at my door.
I sit up, pushing at Salvario’s chest. He rises with infuriating calm, hands me my clothes from the floor, and walks into the closet. I quickly dress, run a hand through my hair, and stumble out of bed.
Another knock comes just as I reach the door, but then I remember how Avi reacted when she saw me and my room.
I bolt to the bathroom and look at my face.
Holy shit.
My neck is blooming with purple marks. My lips are swollen, bruised. It won’t take more than one look for anyone to know I had sex.
I open the drawer and quickly mix the ingredients for my face mask, then tie my hair in a bun and slather the solution over my face and neck—covering every mark. I don’t wait for it to dry or even settle before rushing back to the bedroom and smoothing the sheets.
Finally, I open the door.
No one.
I walk downstairs. Ma’s voice drifts from the kitchen. I head there.
She looks at me. “We’re leaving. Take care of yourself. If you get lonely here, ask your dad to send you to San Diego or take you to DC.”
I nod, doing my best to hide the joy on my face. I almost forgot about their trip after... well, after having my mind blown. Now I wonder, did Salvario know about this, or is it just coincidence?
Whatever. Who cares?
For a week, Ma and Pa will be gone. I’ll live here alone.
I hug Ma tight, keeping my face angled away from her.
“I’ll miss you, but I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just hang out with Rosie and wander the house like a ghost.”
She chuckles.
I add, casually, “Also, since I’ll be alone, you should send the staff home. There won’t be much for them to do.”
She starts toward the kitchen door; I fall into step beside her, heading toward their room.
“Already done. Wendy will handle your meals, the robos will handle the cleaning. Everyone else is on leave.”
Pa comes out with two suitcases. I wrap my arms around him. “Take care, Pa.”
“You too, sweetheart.”
I see them off to their chopper and head back inside. I reach the kitchen, where Wendy is cooking my breakfast.
I clear my throat. “So, Miss Wendy, I have an offer for you.”
She raises her brows, already smiling. “And what’s that?”
“You tell your mother you’re staying here with me while Ma and Pa are away. And—” I grin “—you go spend a week-long honeymoon with that tall, dark, and very handsome Jacob of yours.”
Her mother is very controlling. Wendy has spent her whole life under that woman’s thumb, until her grandfather, my Pa’s chef, took her in. Now that he’s gone, her mother is back at controlling her life. Wendy is trapped in a toxic relationship with her that she can’t leave and can’t be happy in.
Avi and I have tried to convince her to walk away, but she carries so much baggage—guilt, pressure, responsibilities she believes are hers.
That’s why she was so reluctant to start a relationship with Jacob. But now she has, and I’m damn sure Jacob will lead her toward a life where she finally lives for herself.
She tilts her head, letting the offer settle. “And how do we explain this to your grandparents when they find out?”
I wave a hand. “Come on. Your man can make the cameras glitch, make it look like a security system error. No one will know except you, me, and him. And we’ll say you were with me the whole time.”
She grins. “I’d kiss you if you didn’t have that monstrosity all over your face.”
I laugh. “I’ll settle for a hug.”
She steps closer and wraps her arms around me.
“Thank you, Wen.”
“It’s nothing.”
“I’m still coming by to cook for you, though. I can’t trust you in the kitchen.”
I shake my head. “No need for that. I promise I’ll feed myself. I’ll send photo evidence of every meal.”
She laughs. “You’ll get me fired if you end up with food poisoning. Then I’ll kill you.”
I laugh, trying not to stretch my mouth too much.
“Don’t make me laugh—I’ll get wrinkles.”
She grins. “Let me ask Jacob.”
I chuckle. “He’ll be here to pick you up in five minutes.”
She rolls her eyes, but the blush still finds its way onto her pale cheeks.