Chapter 19 #2
“We set up this guest room for our family and friends that fly in from Wexstone. It’s far enough from our bedrooms that the girls shouldn’t wake you when they get up.
” We entered the spacious room, where an enormous wrought-iron bed adorned with a beautiful red comforter sat in the center of the far wall.
Our overnight bags were on a bench at the foot of the bed.
Carmen crossed the space, opened a second door, and turned the light on. “Here’s the bathroom. It should have everything you need. There are extra toiletries under the sink. Towels and washcloths are in the cabinet next to the tub. And if you need anything else, please just let me know.”
The room was gorgeous and very welcoming. But as I looked around, I realized that I had overlooked one very big problem: They expected Oliver and I to sleep in the same room.
Per our agreement, we had booked separate hotel rooms throughout our travels. It wasn’t anything the media had asked about or covered, so of course his friends didn’t know about it and assumed we would be fine sleeping in the same space.
There was no way I could ask them for a second bedroom. Perhaps one of us could sneak out and sleep on the sofa? No, that wouldn’t work; how would we explain it if someone woke up and noticed?
Damn it. Okay, suck it up, Adelaide. It’s just one night. We’re two grown adults and can share a bed without anything happening.
I’d just…build a pillow wall or something.
“Is everything okay?” Carmen asked, her eyebrows furrowing in concern.
“Oh, yeah. I’m exhausted.” I waved her off, trying to play it cool. “Thank you so much for everything. You’ve been such a kind host.”
“Of course. We love Ollie and we’re so excited that he’s finally found someone. Hopefully this is the first of many wonderful visits together.” She reached forward and squeezed my hand. “I’ll get out of your hair and let you get some rest.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.
Carmen’s comment about future visits hit like a punch to the gut. I had just met their family but already knew they would take the breakup hard. The guilt of lying to people who had been nothing but kind and welcoming to me made my skin feel itchy.
I hate this. This farce was exhausting and getting more difficult by the day.
I sighed and took three deep breaths, the tension releasing from my shoulders. I went to my bag and opened it, grabbing my pajamas, underwear, and toiletry bag. I was in need of some self-care and knew that a boiling-hot bath would help calm my mind and hopefully put the guilt to rest.
As Carmen had promised, I found a basket of toiletries under the sink, along with a selection of bath bombs, bubbles, and oils. After putting a little bath oil into the tub and running the water as hot as it would go, I undressed and settled in.
“Oh my God, yes,” I sighed as I sank into the water.
Every one of my friends had made fun of me for my “dragon baths,” as they so lovingly called them.
But I couldn’t help it; I adored them. The hot water relaxed me and melted away the cares of the day.
Bath time had always been grounding for me.
I could process all of my thoughts and worries, and then when I was done, I’d let them drain down the pipes with the bath water.
This tub was perfect: deep enough to cover my whole body and equipped with jets that hit all the right places and a little pillow to rest my head on.
I let the water lap over my chest as I thought about these past few months, especially the last week traveling with Oliver.
Things had seemed to be getting easier; we fell into a rhythm when we were with each other.
Funnily enough, he brought me peace when we were out doing our tours and meet and greets.
He was thoughtful and made sure I got a break when needed and that I had plenty of snacks and water throughout the day. He even requested that the team buy my favorite moisturizing hand sanitizer so that my skin wouldn’t crack or dry out while trying to stay healthy after shaking so many hands.
His unending thoughtfulness made it so much harder to keep my feelings tucked away in their little box.
After a while, the water began to grow cold, so I drained it, dried off, lotioned up, and climbed into the large bed.
Okay, well this is heaven. The mattress cushioned me like a cloud. The sheets were cool and felt serene against my skin. The plush comforter was lightweight enough that it didn’t feel suffocating. This bed was up there with my bed at the palace.
I grabbed my e-reader from the nightstand and turned it on. From the time I was young, reading before bed had helped shut my brain off so I could sleep. I usually intended to read a chapter or two, although often that turned into more like half a book.
I picked up where I had left off in my current romantasy read.
The vampire king’s heir had just tracked down the fae princess and had her pinned against a tree in the forbidden forest. I knew exactly where this plot line was going and was eating it up.
I could tell this was going to be an extra-spicy scene.
As the scene progressed, the vampire ran his hand up the princess’s thigh.
Unbidden memories of my first night with Oliver filled my mind as I read, reliving the way he had run his large hands up my own thighs as he started to tease me with his tongue, how he had eaten me out like I was his last meal.
I remembered how that first orgasm from him had been the best I’d ever had before or since.
It didn’t help that the vampire heir had been described as having blond hair and silver eyes just like Oliver’s. It was hard not to imagine him.
I closed my eyes and slid my hand down my stomach and under the waistband of my silk sleep shorts. I was already wet and it made it easy to slide my fingers through myself. I found my clit and rubbed slow, lazy circles over it like it was Oliver’s tongue.
God, that feels so good.
I took my finger and pushed it in, remembering the euphoric feeling I felt every time he pushed inside of me. A soft moan escaped my lips.
“Mmm…what are you doing over there?” a deep voice said.