Chapter 20

LORETTA

I woke up feeling rested.

Which was, at the very least, surprising.

There was no sleep paralysis, no nightmare. No frantic jolt awake with my heart trying to burst its way out of my chest.

I actually felt good waking up, There was a strange sense of calm that enveloped me as I sat up slowly and stretched my arms over my head

A yawn slipped out of me alongside a small smile

My curtains were still closed, but a warm ray of sunlight found its way into my room, making the atmosphere warmer. I glanced around, trying to pinpoint what had changed

Me or the room?

Everything looked exactly the same... but there was something foreign, the faint scent of musk and man clung to my nightie and my skin

The heady scent lingered in the air.

“Elion,” I gasped, nearly jumping out of the bed in fright.

My pulse thumped hard against my skin as memories of last night came rushing back one at a time. The nightmare I was drowning in...the fire alarm that woke me up, .running into Elion in the hallway, and then...

Nothing.

I can't seem to remember anything after that.

I pressed my fingers against my throat “What happened?"

My gaze trailed down to the rumpled sheets beneath me ana my thoughts spun

How did I get back here? Did I stumble to my room on my own, or had Elion brought me here?

A shiver of cold and heat raced down my spine at the thought of that Devil touching me...or worse carrying me and tainting my room with his presence

“Agrrr" I groaned out like a child, squeezing my eyes shut and forcing myself to remember what happened after we met in the hallway.

After several frustrating minutes, I gave up, seems like my brain wasn't on my side today.

But anyway, whatever had happened while I passed out, the most important thing was that Elion didn't kill me in my sleep, and I'm fully clothed, and in my own bed.

That was enough for now, besides I have bigger things to worry about.

My gaze wandered to the drawer where I kept my secret burner phone, a vice wrapped around my throat. Time was ticking, Elion wasn't going to hand me the secrets to his ‘Grand plan' on a silver platter

And if I wanted my freedom back as soon as possible, I have no time to waste wondering what happened when I was passed out

≈≈

By the time I stepped out of my room, dressed in a fitted blue dress and a navy blazer, Elion was already there.

And by there, I mean standing directly outside my bedroom door.

He was dressed entirely in black.

Black suit, black waistcoat, black inner shirt, black eyes.

“Spooky” I teased, enjoying the way his frown deepened.

His arms were crossed over his broad chest, one shoulder resting against the wall, and one shiny shoe tapped impatiently against the marble floor.

My stomach did that crazy thing like I swallowed ten dozen live butterflies, but I forced myself to focus on his sharp glare instead, the look that told me I was nothing more than an inconvenience to him

His dark eyes swept over me once, quick and assessing, before narrowing into sharp slits.

“You’re late,” he bit out, his mouth flattening back into his line of disapproval.

Jeez.

Elion has always been cold, so cold I doubted if his heart hadn't frozen over, but this morning he looked particularly murderous.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of his bed,” I said sweetly, because any opportunity to irritate Elion Fitzpatrick felt like winning the lottery.

He let out a low hiss and without another word pushed off the wall and strode down the hallway. His steps were long and powerful, forcing me to hurry so that I could keep up.

A flicker of guilt stirred in my chest

“Wait,” I called when he reached the elevator, Elion didn't slow down. “We’ll have brunch on the way,” he gritted out, not looking at me.

I blinked at his behavior. What had happened to put him in such a mood?

“Elion" I called softly, rushing into the elevator just before the mechanical doors slid shut. He didn't look at me, in fact, I dare say he was making an effort not to look at me

Elion stood still as a statue as we descended, I glanced up to see the vein in his neck throbbing, his shoulders were drawn taut and his jaw ticked like a time bomb about to explode

My brows dipped slightly “What happened last night?”

Something was obviously off with him this morning, and I bet it had everything to do with last night

“We have somewhere important to be.” His words were low enough to sound ominous in the elevator. “I have no time to entertain your silly questions"

A huff worked its way past my lips. Yup, he's definitely pissed off at something

“Did you—”

“Enough” he snapped, making me flinch instinctively

The darkness in his eyes shifted into remorse, Elion lifted his hand to...touch me, but halfway through it, he caught himself and stopped

“The place we are going to is more important than whatever questions you have” he said more softly this time

I stared at him, knowing better than to push it. The elevator landed and the doors slid open, he walked out before me.

“Where is that?" I asked from behind, there was no way I could keep on walking side by side with Elion, not in my heels and definitely not with his long strides

Elion paused in his steps, his fingers balled into a fist by his side before releasing them

“Wedding planners"

The word landed like a brick on my head

“What?!” I got to him and stood in front, my ears ringing so loudly it hurt. “Did you just say wedding planners?”

Elion's eyes narrowed to a murderous slit. “You heard me, Loretta. Yes we have an appointment with the wedding planners today” He stepped closer, so close that his body warmth was enough to set my skin ablaze

The lowest parts of my stomach fluttered widely when he leaned down, hot, delicious breath fanning against my face

“I don't like this any better than you Rea," Elion admitted, his eyes dark and cruel “But it is what it is, so the sooner you get into the car, the quicker we can finish up for today and I can be free of your infuriating presence"