Chapter 29 Again
RORY POV
His question stunned me. He asked about my day. I genuinely didn't know how to feel about that, and I tried my best not to let myself believe he actually cared.
"It was okay," I said, the words feeling small in the vast, dark room. When he didn't say anything, I felt a strange urge to fill the silence.
"Liam took me to the pool. We swam for over two hours because he wouldn't let me leave.
His drawing is getting better, too. He drew a rose today. It was... it was beautiful."
He hummed, a low vibration that seemed to echo in the mattress. "What else?"
He was actually talking to me. Not commanding, not threatening. Just talking.
"I took a cooking class. Rosemary taught me how to make lasagna. I tried my best... she rated me a six out of ten."
I bit my lip, wondering if I was talking too much.
"You're a good kid, Aurora. I knew you'd learn."
Kid. I bristled at the term. There wasn't a single bone in my body that liked being called that by him, not when I was currently wearing a silk slip that left nothing to the imagination.
"The wedding is in two days," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Or should I say the 'get-together'? We are already legally bound." He paused, and I could feel his gaze on the back of my neck. "You don't have to worry, there won't be any kissing. I can practically hear your heart hammering against your ribs from here. I won't touch you... but just so you know, Aurora, I am not a patient man."
Was that thoughtfulness? Or a warning? It was hard to tell with him.
"Can I... can I invite my friends? Or my family?" I asked, hopeful for just a second.
The hearing aids picked up his chuckle. A real, dark chuckle. "You can't. It's not that type of wedding." His voice turned serious before tipping back into that mocking, amusing lilt.
"And last I checked, you have no friends."
"I do!" I snapped, my defensive walls going up.
"Do you? What's her name? Katherine? The one who took your man? Is that the one you want sitting in the front row?"
I fought the urge to turn over and smack his smug face.
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Miller."
A small, traitorous smile pulled at the corner of my lips. He had actually made me smile.
"What is it you want to ask me?"
I furrowed my brows. "What?"
"I know there's a swarm of questions in that head of yours. Ask one. I'll give you an answer."
He wasn’t wrong. I had so many questions. I wanted to ask why he chose me. Why he decided my life was the best one to turn upside down. I wanted to ask if all of this was temporary, if someday he would let me go. I wanted to ask if he would ever let me see my parents again. I wanted to ask what he did for a living. I wanted to ask why there were so many armed men surrounding a house with a five year old in it.
But the one that clawed its way out was:
"What happened to your wife?"
The silence that followed was heavy. I thought I'd crossed the line. I thought he'd shun me or kick me out of the room.
"She was killed."
The bluntness of it knocked the air out of my lungs. I expected her to have been sick, or perhaps an accident. I didn't expect that.
I turned to face him. His eyes were already on me - watching my back, my profile, everything. Our gazes locked. He held mine in a way that made it impossible to look away.
Like he could see straight through me.
His face never ceased to amaze me. Sharp jaw, high cheekbones, eyes that looked carved from ice. He was like a Greek god but darker. More dangerous. My hands itched to touch his face. Just to see if I would get burned if I did. Looking at him like this I could feel my insides heating up.
“She was killed by my enemies,” he said. “People I pissed off. I couldn’t protect her.”
I couldn’t help but notice the sadness that edged his voice. He loved her.
The realization was a dull thud in my heart.
“I’m sorry.” My voice came out more strained than I expected.
I genuinely wanted to know more about her. Even her name. But I stopped myself. I didn’t think I could handle everything tonight.
Slowly, I looked away. Turned back toward the wall. A deep, uneasy feeling settled in my chest, like l'd regret asking. Like l'd regret everything.
My thoughts scattered when Alexander’s hand reached out and pulled me toward him like I weighed absolutely nothing.
I gasped at the contact. It was completely effortless. I never knew I could be moved like that. For that one moment I almost thought I weighed nothing at all.
My back hit his chest. His heat seeped through my nightwear. My ass pressed against his hips. I felt the hard length of him against me… unmistakable.
I gasped.
A dirty part of me was genuinely excited that this man could toss me around like that. That one small movement confirmed it.
"Breathe, Aurora."
I realized then that l'd been holding my breath for nearly a minute. I let out a long, shaky exhale and closed my eyes, letting my body go limp against his. Surprisingly, the tension drained out of me. And slowly sleep started pulling me under.
The most surprising part about being in this bed was the fact that I hadn’t stuttered once throughout our entire conversation.
Right before sleep pulled me under, he spoke again, so quiet I almost missed it. A promise that sounded more like a threat.
"I'm not going to lose you again. I'll protect you this time. Even if I have to kill myself."
I was too far gone into the darkness of sleep to process the words, or the fact that he said again.