He led me swiftly through the library doors into the hall. My nipples immediately stiffened as the temperature out here varied significantly from the warmer cocoon of his office space. Again, I was glad that the lights had gone out so that Edward wouldn’t see the noticeable peaks through my bikini top. I’d be damned if he thought they were for him.
Funny how less than an hour ago, they had been for him.
His hand had crushed the flesh of my breast while he’d fucked me from behind, and I’d not only welcomed it all but urged him for more.
The memory brought a fresh wave of warmth between my legs. My stupid libido still responded to him. I didn’t know who I hated more for that—him or my body.
Besides the effect it had on my nipples, the cool air brought on another shiver, one that Edward wouldn’t miss with his hand on my elbow the way it was.
He stopped abruptly, surprising me. I tripped forward, only managing to stay upright because he was already holding me. His other hand, still holding his cell phone, moved to my other arm, as though automatically, steadying me. His touch was hot, and I despised how comforting it felt against my skin.
As soon as I’d found my balance, I jerked away.
He let me, dropping even his hand from my elbow. “Stay,” he ordered, and as I watched the light of his cell bounce down the hall in the opposite direction toward his bedroom, as I stayed in the place he’d left me, I wondered if that was how he’d speak to me from now on, with one word commands like I was a dog.
It wouldn’t be quite so disgusting if I wasn’t compelled to obey.
Curiosity. That was the only reason I was still there. And I needed a light. And even if I found my way to the kitchen on my own, I didn’t know where to find supplies and the search would be difficult without him.
Without his cell phone, I corrected mentally. Because like hell was I relying on him for anything.
He returned a short minute later, and, as soon as he did, I felt the warmth of a plush robe being wrapped around me. Despite myself, I thrust my arms through one hole then the other before allowing him to tie a knot securely at my waist. Impressive considering he was still holding his phone.
When he’d bundled me up, he lingered, and, with the light pointing at me, I had the impression he was studying me, as he had earlier, as he did so often. Not for the first time, I wondered what he saw. What brought him back to look time and time again?
And why did I hope he never stopped?
I pulled away first, tugging the collar of the robe up to my nose to sniff. It smelled ordinary, like laundry detergent. Not like him. Not unlike him.
“Is this yours?” I asked, unable to help myself, when what I really should have said was thank you.
“No.” His answer came quickly, and he stirred into action, once again taking me at my elbow and leading me with him.
My lips puckered into a pout that he couldn’t see. Not his robe. Whose robe, then? Why had it been in his room? Why did my chest burn at the thought that it was some other woman’s? A woman who he’d allowed into his bedroom, into his bed. Into his life.
A woman he didn’t want to murder.
It wasn’t jealousy. I refused to be jealous for the attention of someone who openly despised me. Just more curiosity.
I would tell myself that as long as I had to. Maybe, eventually, I’d mean it.
Once he’d pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen, he let me go and proceeded to the pantry, the light disappearing as he withdrew into the storeroom. There was one window in the room, but the blinds had been drawn leaving the space in near total darkness.
As though reacting to the location, my stomach growled, reminding me of its empty state. There’d be something to snack on in the refrigerator, which wouldn’t have had enough time to warm up at this early point in the power outage. It was on the other side of the room, and would be easiest to get to if I waited until Edward returned with the light.
But I was irritated at being abandoned and even more irritated at having to depend on anyone—that man in particular—so fuck waiting. Holding my hands out in front of me, I shuffled in the direction I thought made sense, only to stub my toe on the leg of the kitchen table.
“Goddammit.” Even whispered, the curse was audible in the quiet.
The pantry door swung swiftly open and the light found me bent over, rubbing the pain from my injury.
Edward chuckled. “I suppose that’s my fault for not telling you to stay.”
“Fuck you. I’m not your pet.” I let my foot fall with a thump.
“No, a pet would have more sense than to bumble around in the dark.” Instead of returning to the pantry, he crossed over to the sink, the light spraying against the stainless steel. There the sound of tin met the counter as he set something down and then opened a drawer. Seconds later, a match was lit and then another, brighter flame, filled the room, the scent of kerosene in the air.
He turned toward me, and now the hurricane lamp he’d found was in my view. “I have one in my bedroom. I can send this one with you when you go to bed. If you’d rather, I can find you a working flashlight. The batteries on the first couple I tried seem to have died. It’s been a while since we’ve needed to use them here. Usually the backup generator kicks in. I’ll have Louvens look at it in the morning.”
“The lamp is fine,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself. The lamp illuminated the room quite well, and having grown accustomed to the safety of the dark, I felt suddenly exposed.
“Fine. Then on to other business, which is...” He didn’t finish his sentence, crossing instead toward the refrigerator where he opened the door and pulled out a tray that he set on the counter by the lamp. He turned once more in my direction, gesturing to me with two fingers.
I took an involuntary step toward him before stopping myself. He already thought I was at his beck and call. I most certainly wouldn’t respond to a hand gesture.
He laughed again, a sound so quiet it was definitely for himself. “Come here, you obstinate creature,” he said, less of an order than anything else he’d said since the power had gone out. “I’m trying to feed you.”
Too hungry to resist, I shuffled toward him, nodding at the tray he’d set out. “What is it?”
“A charcuterie. Joette prepared it for our dinner.”
Leaning my hip into the counter next to him, I studied the plate of food, my arms still crossed. “I thought you already ate what Joette left.”
“I ate the sandwiches. I didn’t say that was all she’d left.” When I hesitated, he reached for a piece of roquefort. “It’s not poisonous. Shall I prove it?”
He brought it to his mouth, and I had to bite back a smile. It was meant to be a joke, but I didn’t want to find him humorous. Especially not with a joke about killing me. It was too real.
But I was starving. And the charcuterie looked amazing. And I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to kill me right now.
I picked up a bunch of grapes and popped four in my mouth, one after another. Edward reached next for a slice of capicola, using the bamboo spreader to dab mustard on it. After he’d eaten it, he moved over to a cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses. It was my turn to study him as he easily found a corkscrew and a bottle of something burgundy. He had the sleeves of his linen shirt pushed up to his biceps, showing off the muscular landscape of his arms. He was stunning, really, every part of him. The furrow of his brow as he worked open the wine. The determined set of his jaw as he poured. The smooth glide as he returned with the glasses, handing one out to me.