She had my rapt attention now; I was curious to see where she went with this. “Continue.”
“Alaric seeks out strong women and manipulates them, exerts control over them. And then he breaks them into a billion tiny pieces.”
“He didn’t seek me out,” I interjected. Rebecca continued to talk as if I hadn’t.
“He’ll make you need him and when you finally worship the ground he walks on, he’ll decided he’s done and leave you to crash and burn. No amount of begging will bring him back.”
I shifted my sight to the ocean, processing all the she was saying. “Again, why would you tell me all of this?”
“I told you, and because,” she replied flippantly. “Alaric’s decided he’s going to keep you.” She stood and smoothed down her already smooth skirt. “If he somehow finds out I was here, for both our sakes, lie.”
Without giving me the option to question anything she walked away.
I watched her vanish as if she’d never been here, the only signs that she had the lingering scent of her perfume and a headache brought on by her words.
The sun was setting, and Alaric still wasn’t back yet. There were no sightings of Demetri either.
I had no clue where he hid himself away at all day every day because I rarely seen him, but I needed a distraction.
I wasn’t sure how much of what Rebecca said was inadmissible, but after witnessing her genuine fear of Alaric I knew some of it had to come from a place of truth.
She’d taken a risk coming back to speak to me, but I wasn’t sure it was necessary. I didn’t fit the profile of the woman she described as his usual conquest.
I felt as if everyone was making a bigger deal about our ‘relationship’ than was necessary. Alaric had never expressed wanting to be anything official, not in a serious manner.
We had an intoxicating and carnal lust raging between us.
That shouldn’t have been triggering anyone’s concern. Fucking didn’t equate to commitment. And we’d yet to even go that far. At this point I’d take the insidious dream of him violating me over this torturous seduction. If that’s what this was. I had no fucking clue, but the nightmare was proving to be better than the reality.
Circling the piano, I considered sitting down to play out the mess in my head, but I really needed a shower first.
I went up to the guest room and turned the water on. While it warmed, I figured now was as good as time as any to take my medication so I wouldn’t forget later.
It was gone.
The bottle should’ve been in the front zipper compartment of my suitcase.
I emptied the entire bag, full of nothing but my undergarments now that I’d taken to using the dresser. I dropped down, sorting through them.
There was sign of the orange bottle anywhere. I returned to the bathroom and searched there as well, looking places that made no sense. I wouldn’t have stashed them beneath the sink.
Shutting my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose and inhaled deeply.
Something touched my shoulder, causing my heart to shoot into my throat. I yelped and moved away, turning once I’d gotten some distance from it.
“Woah, it’s just me.” Alaric held his hands up defensively. “I called your name, but you didn’t answer.”
“I—did you change your shirt?”
He glanced down at himself. “Not that I’m aware.”
I could’ve sworn he’d been in navy blue when he left. His shirt now was white. I was obviously losing my mind in every capacity.
“What’s wrong?” He sounded genuinely concerned, but was it genuine?
“I can’t find my pills.”
He frowned at me. “I wasn’t aware you took pills.”
He couldn’t be serious.
“I’m prone to blackouts and have days I want to watch people play hopscotch in traffic. Of course, I take pills Alaric,” I retorted frenetically, gesturing with my hands.
He continued to stare.
Unable to muster the mental strength to go rounds with him, I left him standing there and walked over to the shower.
Not caring how much he saw, I dropped my dress to my ankles and stepped out of it, chucking my bra across the room next.
As soon as the heated water hit my scalp I sighed in bliss. I remained just like that until a solid chest pressed against my back. I peeled open my eyes and glanced over my shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of responding with words, he grasped my hips and turned me around.
“Alaric--.”
“Shh,” he hushed me, planting a quick kiss on my lips. “Just go with it.”
I stopped talking, not because he’d told me to, but because he was completely naked and standing right in front of me. My eyes ran over every bump and ridge of his six-pack.
Now able to see the tattoo that traveled down his lower side was some kind of deathly angel. An angel of sin. It suited him. More noticeable was the cock jutting away from a mass of dark curls. The size didn’t disappoint.