Chapter 21

My eyes flutter open, adjusting gently to the stream or light that flickered into the room through the small gap in the blinds. I squint, a small groan escapes me.

But then I suddenly feel the presence of a strong pair of hands holding my body fm with possession.

I smell him before I see him, his musky clean scent enveloping me in a warm embrace. My heart stutters at the sight of arms wrapped tightly across my body. His hold strong and possessive.

How did I even get so deep in his embrace?

When did he even get home?

I was not a light sleeper by any means but I should have felt his presence on the bed. I was out cold. The last thing I remembered vividly before tilting to the sleep pulling me was my fathers number being unresponsive, along with every one of my siblings and parent.

I had no idea when he came into the room or when we entangled so much into each other. I only remember the ghost of a finger tracing my skin. Was it a dream or did was he the one?

The face remained blurred in my memory and so I couldn’t say for sure. But what I knew was that I liked the feeling of his hold. Like he was anchoring me to safety. Like I was going to escape if he left even the smallest gap.

Something resembling warmth and comfort flitted through me, my pulse jumping in my chest. I hope he didn’t hear of feel it.

I needed to use the bathroom but with his strong hold, I wasn’t sure how. I didn’t even know when we got so entangled.

I stirred slightly, the hard ridges of his chest restricting any movement. He doesn’t budge, but then I felt something. Something was pressed firmly on my ass. A bulge?

A sharp gasp escapes me as I try to make sense of the thing pressing against my ass. The thing seemed to be a living thing cause with every moment, it seemed to harden and wiggle.

My eyes widened when I connected the dots. His hard on was sticking firmly on me. How did he? He was sound asleep, why was his extension moving this way?

Ignoring his hold, I push hard against his grip, causing a low unwilling grunt to escape him, likely in protest. He rolls over, swinging an arm against his forehead to block the light shining through the blinds across his face.

I take the opportunity to release myself from his hold, moving further away from him and immediately missing the warmth in his embrace.

His eyes flickered open not long after. “Baby…” he grunts as his eyes find my frame standing awkwardly at the edge of the bed. “You’re up?”

I felt like a deer stuck at a headlight. My mouth suddenly turned dry as my eyes ran along in his naked frame. His abs were carved to the nines, contoured like a clay sculpture.

He looked devastating this morning. Maybe it was the sun shining through behind him causing a halo effect. Maybe it was the fact that he was now my husband and I saw him in a new light. But something definitely felt different.

“Yeah… I just woke up,” I muttered awkwardly.

“Come back to bed, princess. We don’t have anywhere else to be,” his deep and rich morning voice stated, the bass sending a ripple through me in an oddly unfamiliar way that made my chest tighten.

“Oh… I have to… uh,” I scramble through my mind for something, anything at all to say. Then I got it, “I have to call my father, and Emily.”

I watched Adrian’s face as the words left my mouth—Father and Emily—and something in his expression shifted. It was subtle, and if I wasn’t looking carefully, I wouldn’t have caught it.

It was in the way his jaw tightened, the way he pushed to sit up from the bed, his shoulders tense and the brief silence that laid before us after my remark.

My stomach twisted. I start to piece the details together. Yesterday, after I had told him about out how worried I was about how things had ended at the wedding, he’d listened. He assured me that everything was fine but after he left that night I knew it was anything but.

Something deep down crawled at me, hinting at the realization that he could very well be lying to me and he most likely had a lot to do with why no one was taking my calls.

Before I could even open my mouth to ask, he cut in smoothly.

“Come on, princessa, I’m sure they’re fine. You don’t have to worry about them.”

“I think I should be worried,” I said, my voice quiet as I made eye contact with him. “Your behavior makes me a tad bit worried, Adrian.”

His eyes wander away from mine, not meeting it in any way, like I could burn holes into his cornea. “I need to make sure they’re all right. Especially after one of your men practically dragged Emily away. Where is she, Adrian?”

My heart hammered against my ribs. “Please tell me you don’t know anything about why they’re not responding.”

He stood up from the bed with a low grunt. I instinctively took a small step backward as he moved closer. A flicker of hurt flashed through his eyes at the small flinch. I almost apologized.

I wanted to explain that I’d seen the way his expression changed, that I wasn’t imagining it, but right now all that mattered was the truth.

“Adrian… please,” I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. “Tell me that they’re all right.”

He stopped in front of me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body. His hands move up to my face, his eyes searching mine. They looked like they were passing a message I couldn’t decipher.

Then he smiled, that slow, disarming smile that always made my knees feel weak. He cupped both sides of my face with his large hands, gentle but undeniably controlling. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

I felt his fingers tilt my chin upward until our eyes met. His gaze was intense, almost hypnotic.

“Baby,” he murmured, voice low and reassuring, “I assure you, they are all fine.”

I almost felt relieved, almost. And then—

He paused, and the corner of his mouth curved just a little more. “At least… they will be.”

The words hung between us like a question mark.

I searched his eyes, looking for the truth I must she missed, maybe I heard it wrong.

My hands came up to rest lightly on his wrists, not pushing him away, but not fully trusting the warmth of his touch either.

“What does that mean?” I asked, barely above a whisper. “Adrian… what did you do?”