I bent down and hugged the boys tightly, telling them that this would be a wonderful Christmas.
“All right, boys,” Cassie said. “Who’s ready to go swimming?”
“Me, me, me!” the boys chanted.
“Go get your bathing suits on, then follow me,” she said. “I’ve got something fun to show you guys.”
I looked at Cassie and sent her my silent thanks before she nodded back to the table. Rose was still sitting there, her plate untouched as she stared off into the kitchen. I looked over at the chef, and he shot me a worried glance, his head shaking to confirm that she had, in fact, not been eating.
I walked over to her and bent down, taking her hand within mine and bringing it to my lips.
“You’re back,” she said.
“I’m back,” I said. “For good.”
She slowly panned her head over toward me, and my heart broke for the emptiness and sadness that settled into the soft, supple features of her face.
“I have to go check on one more thing for tomorrow, and then we can crawl into bed,” I said. “How does that sound?”
Rose nodded but said nothing.
I rose up onto my feet and pressed a kiss into the top of her head. I smelled her hair, taking in the slightly greasy feeling to it, and I sighed heavily. She hadn’t been taking care of herself at all. That much was for sure, and I was already formulating a plan for the day in my head.
I was determined to make her happy.
I ventured upstairs into my office to check the shipment that was due tomorrow. I called down to the staff quarters and informed them that people would need to be down at the dock with the Jeeps. I expected them to drive all of the stuff to me that I needed so I could ready Christmas for my family. Then, I sat my phone down and came out of my office.
And Rose was standing there, her arms crossed across her chest.
“How did the trip go?” she asked.
I swallowed deeply as I saw the anger rising behind her eyes. Rose wasn’t worried.
She was upset.
“You didn’t call,” she said.
“I couldn’t.”
“I was worried,” she said breathlessly, her tears trying to keep themselves at bay. “I called and called and called, and you didn’t even take the time to let me know you were still alive?”
The pain of the stitches at my side ripped me from my thoughts. I could see Rose slowly approaching me, her hand reaching out for my arm. I whipped my hand up and grabbed her wrist, catching her by surprise. Her eyes widened at my quick movement.
I needed to forget. I needed to forget all of it.
I started walking and pulled her behind me. I headed downstairs and into the pantry to the door of the hidden hallway. I threw her over my shoulder while she squealed, her legs kicking in the air as I walked toward the door of our playroom.
I brought my hand up and slapped her ass, causing her to cease her movements, and she whimpered lightly into my back.
“Camillo,” she said breathlessly.
I held my hand up, opened the door, and walked us into my hidden lair.
I slammed the playroom door behind me before I strode for the bed. I dropped her down onto it, and her body jumped, her tits bouncing freely for me as her legs spread. I slid my knee between her legs and pinned her wrists above her head, feeling her chest panting for air as I bent my face down into the crook of her neck.
I sniffed deeply, taking in her womanly musk, as well as the perfume she was using to cover up the fact that she wasn’t bathing.
“I need to forget,” I said huskily. “I need you to help me forget.”
I traced my nose along her neck, grazing the shell of her ear before I pressed a kiss to her cheek. I nuzzled my nose against hers, watching as her eyes fluttered closed while I held her helplessly to the bed.
I hooked my eyes onto hers as she opened them, and the moment she nodded, I encompassed my lips with hers.
I pressed my entire body into her. I felt my cock growing with each stroke of my tongue against her lips. I could feel her mouth swelling against mine as I pressed deeper and deeper, replacing the terrible memories with the taste and scent of her. She was intoxicating, like a glass of scotch on an empty stomach, and I felt her entire body relax as my tongue slowly raked across the roof of her mouth.
That was when I knew I had her. My beautiful little songbird, wrapped around the very fingers that pinned her wrists to the bed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE – ROSE
I knew he was hurting. I could see it in his eyes. From the moment he came around the corner, I could see the bruise he was trying to conceal underneath his eye. When he bent over to kiss Ana, I could see the ring of bruising around his neck he was trying to conceal with the suit.