She hadn’t lied about being tired, but her exhaustion had been more mental than physical. After hours of thinking and rethinking what had happened with Emmett, her brain had felt foggy.
He was a charming bastard, charismatic, with a commanding personality and a powerful body. If she cared to be truthful with herself, the guy’s darkness resonated with hers.
Eleanor wasn’t a good person, and neither was Emmett.
She was devious and underhanded, and her loyalty to the clan was self-serving rather than innate. Emmett was a traitor to his people who compelled humans to serve his needs, and he'd thought nothing of kidnapping Peter to use as a bargaining chip to get into the good graces of his ruler.
Not that the two of them had clicked on any level other than physical. Emmett hadn’t even bothered to seduce her, and it hadn’t been real attraction on either side. The lust she’d felt had been chemically induced. His bite had forced multiple orgasms on her, but it hadn’t been meant as foreplay.
Emmett had used her as an energy drink.
Still, even though all of that was true, it didn’t make facing Greggory any easier. Except, there was no avoiding it, and postponing the inevitable would just make it worse.
The problem was that lying to an immortal was difficult to do. Even if she managed to hide her guilty conscience, Greggory would probably smell it.
Somehow, she had to manage to make it sound like she hadn’t felt a thing because admitting to having been attracted to another male would be the kiss of death to their relationship. Everyone knew that fated mates lost interest in anyone other than their one and only, and the fact that she’d felt lust toward Emmett was proof that Greggory wasn’t her fated mate.
The attraction had probably been chemically induced, but if she was bonded to another male, Emmett’s venom and his super pheromones shouldn’t have affected her.
Perhaps her and Greggory’s bond just hadn’t had a chance to solidify yet?
Yeah, that was probably the reason. Eleanor refused to accept that Greggory wasn’t the one.
She had no feelings for Emmett, and she didn’t want to be with him.
She wanted to be with Greggory. He was uncomplicated, straightforward, and with him, she would never have to fear duplicity.
Emmett was the opposite. He was complicated, dangerous, deceitful, and sexy as sin.
One was a keeper, the other one was only good for sex, and that wasn’t good enough.
She had to make it work with Greggory.
Eleanor picked up the phone and texted him back. I’ll be there when you get home.
Thankfully, no one was in the living room to ask her questions as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself coffee. Vivian and Magnus had gone shopping, Parker was hanging out with David’s sister, and Scarlett couldn’t ask her anything.
Wagging her tail and whining softly, the dog trotted over and pushed her head under Eleanor’s hand.
“Did you miss me?” She crouched down and gave Scarlett a vigorous scratching behind her ears. “Were you a good girl while I was gone?”
Scarlett tilted her head as if to say, you are asking me?
“Yeah, you’re right. I was a bad girl, not you.”
At least she could admit that to the dog. Her family was another story.
She’d confided in Magnus, who’d been surprisingly understanding and supportive, but she wasn’t sure his wife would react the same way.
Last night, Magnus had kindly shielded her from Vivian’s questions, telling her that Eleanor had been through a lot and needed some time alone to process what had happened to her. Was it naive of her to hope that he wouldn’t share what she’d told him with Vivian?
Yeah, fat chance.
Unlike her and Greggory, those two were truelove mates, and they kept no secrets from each other.
What a mess.
Eleanor shook her head. She was freaking out over nothing. She hadn’t had sex with Emmett, for God’s sake, and what she had done had been forced upon her. She could claim to have suffered from Stockholm syndrome.
Taking a deep breath, she rinsed out her mug, put it in the dishwasher, and headed out the door.
The walk to Greggory’s place helped clear her head, and when he opened the door, his smile thawed the frost that had settled around her heart.
“Eleanor.” He rushed down the steps and scooped her into his arms. “I missed you.”
He took her lips in a bruising kiss that should have made her all hot and bothered, but this time she felt only bothered.
Damn. Guilt was a nasty bitch.
Nevertheless, she kissed him back and wrapped her legs around his waist. “I missed you too.”
That wasn’t a lie.
He carried her inside and kicked the door closed. “I’m taking you straight to bed.”
Eleanor didn’t argue.
Perhaps sex was the cure, and Greggory’s bite would erase the memory of Emmett’s.
8
Bowen
“Thank you for the dress.” Margaret smiled as Bowen pushed a wheelchair into her room. “It’s so warm and comfortable.”
“I’m glad you like it.” His eyes roamed over her.
The nurse had helped Margaret shower and change, and even though she’d had surgery just the day before, she already looked like a different woman.
Her hair cascaded down her shoulders in soft waves, and the dark purple color of the dress brought out its natural highlights. She had no makeup on, and there were dark circles under her eyes, but she was beautiful nonetheless.
A fragile porcelain doll who was his to protect.
“Let me help you into the wheelchair.” The nurse started toward Margaret.
“I’ve got you.” Bowen’s long legs overtook the short distance to the bed in two steps. “Lean on me. I’m going to lift you.” He wrapped his arms around her slim form.
“Careful,” the nurse warned.
“I am.” Holding Margaret against his chest for a little longer than necessary, he was aware that he enjoyed the feel of her way too much. It wasn’t sexual. He reminded himself that he liked his women with a little more meat on their bones. But the tenderness that had washed over him went deeper than sexual attraction, and he refused to ponder what it was and why the feeling was so strong.
It was probably nothing. Margaret was hurting, and he wanted to ease her pain. That’s all.
As he gently lowered her into the chair, she groaned, her pale face getting even paler.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” She watched him with rounded eyes as he knelt at her feet and put one pink fluffy boot on her good leg. “It doesn’t even hurt that much. It’s the fear of making a wrong move and causing damage.”
The nurse shook her head. “As long as you don’t step on the foot, you should be fine.” She handed Bowen the crutches. “The wheelchair needs to stay in the hospital. You need to return it to the entrance.”
“I know.” He gave the crutches to Margaret to hold over her lap. “Thank you for the good care you’ve taken of my friend.”
The discharge documents had already been signed by the doctor, and there was nothing else that needed to be done. They were ready to leave.
“That’s what we are here for. Do you have Margaret’s meds?”