“Yes,” I breathlessly agree, even though it hadn’t been a question. “I’m yours.”
I’m not foolish enough to believe he means it, but in the moment, it makes me wish there could be more between us. It makes me wish for a chance to see where this could go.
He turns my head, and his lips take mine. He brings me to the edge with shallow, powerful thrusts, and when his teeth sink into my bottom lip, I explode. I come so hard I can’t hold my body up. His arms go around me, his arms strong, keeping my from crumpling to the ground. He works himself inside me until he follows me over the edge a minute later. He growls against my mouth as he comes deep inside me.
“Fuck, Astra,” he breathes out in almost a whisper as we both go nearly boneless. He holds me upright, but just barely. Honestly, the counter is doing most of the work. “Yeah.”
I don’t know what he means by that last part. It’s almost as if he’s answering some question the universe asked him, but I wasn’t able to hear. My head is too spaced out to form words, so I can’t even ask him what he means by it.
My shoulders ache from the awkward position, and I’ve been on my toes for a while, but I’m not ready to break apart. I’m not ready to take a shower and wash the scent of him off me. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I’ve decided I don’t care.
As if he can read my mind, he doesn’t pull away.
We stay there as our breaths calm. The sweat begins to cool on my skin, but his touch is keeping me warm.
TWENTY-ONE
Astra
I wake up alone… again.
This time, I feel more secure about it, even as I reach across the bed and find the sheets are ice cold.
Donovan’s been up for a while.
Remembering his urge to leave me a note—which is what led him to find the poison that I wasn’t intentionally hiding from him—I look around. There’s nothing. The pillow next to me is empty. So is the nightstand.
I try not to think too much about it.
I don’t have that strange feeling in my gut, so I’m really not worried.
My whole body feels shaky as I get out of bed. There’s an ache between my thighs that makes me smile, even if he did leave me to wake up alone. I swear I can still feel his hand wrapped around my throat, and I can’t resist touching the spot as if I can make the sensation more real.
There’s a smile on my face as I dash across the walkway to my room.
I lock eyes with Fabien down below and let out a little laugh. His face says it all. I’ve been caught leaving Donovan’s room, and I don’t even care.
Fabien can’t be clueless enough to miss how thick the sexual tension is between Donovan and me.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” I call out before I duck into my room.
I’m in desperate need of a shower and caffeine. Since Fabien is waiting on me, I don’t spend as much time as I usually would under the warm spray.
I practically dance down the stairs, my good mood shining through. Even though this morning feels a lot different than yesterday morning, I still can’t help my eyes as they roam over the house as I walk through it. I’d like to say I’m pulling off nonchalant as I look for Donovan, but I’m probably not. I can’t help but wonder what pulled him out of bed and why he didn’t leave me a note.
I have to say, I don’t like whatever this is that’s going on with me. I never would have thought I’m one ofthosepeople. While romance is something I wouldn’t shy away from, I’m not all Miss Damsel in Distress over here fanning herself with a white handkerchief about to faint. I might have been a virgin and not had a lot of experiences out in the real world, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have a grasp on how things work outside of the bubble I was forced to live in. I had a TV. I had books. I had access to the internet. Oh, and I wasn’t shy about using it. Which is a good thing, I think, because otherwise, my deflowering—ew, I know—night would have gone a lot differently. I would have had zero idea of what was to come and likely been a mess the next morning.
I don’t like the way I’m searching for Donovan, hoping to see him at any second. It’s frustrating how he’s become my only focus.
This curse thing is messing with my head. I just need to focus on getting out of this mess so I can go on with my life.
Lucille meets me at the door with a smile. I’m thankful for the distraction from my thoughts. She follows me outside with some breakfast options and clean dishware. I flop into thechair across from Fabien, snatch up the plain white mugs the second Lucille gracefully puts it in front of me, and instantly pour myself a cup of coffee from the half-full French press sitting on the table. Fabien looks like he’s already gotten into it, and I wonder how many cups he’s had as he drinks the last little bit in his mug. I pour him a refill once he sets it back down and shake my head at all the sugar he instantly dumps in.
“Thank you, Lucille,” I say as she deliberately places a bowl of fresh fruit in front of me. The kind of smile she sends me is one that says I should eat the fruit before I even think of touching the pastries.
It warms my heart a little, and to show her I see how she cares, I pop a blueberry into my mouth.
“Sorry, I couldn’t come yesterday,” Fabien tells me. The skin around his eyes is tight. I sit up, worry swirling in my gut. “Someone broke into my office, and it was a mess.”
