“Goddammit, I’m going to spank you so fucking hard whenI get my hands on you. What’s the pointof having a phone if you’re not going topick it up?”
“Where are you, baby? I’m hereand I can’t find you and…No one sawyou come out. I can barely breathe right now.”
And the last one, which made my toes curl and my eyes sting.
“I just…I just want to takeyou on a date when this is over. Will youlet me? Please, please, just let me.”
In such a short amount of time, Zeno had given me more affection than I’d ever known in my entire life. He defended me, protected me, bestowed me with gifts, and now even came to my rescue like a dark knight in shining armour.
“What time is it?” I mumbled against his mouth.
“Quarter to midnight,” he replied. “You weren’t in your room or at the chess table, so I came to find you. How long have you been asleep?”
“Less than twenty minutes.”
“I didn’t see you at dinner.”
“I had François bring me a plate of lasagna while I did some writing. It was delicious.”
“I made it,” he whispered, kissing my nose. “You need to learn how to cook,bella. It worries me that you’ve made it to twenty-seven and don’t know how to fend for yourself in the kitchen.”
“I made pasta the other day!” I pinched his side and he chuckled.
“From the box and using a sauce that Laurent already prepared. That doesn’t count.”
I loved bantering with him. “Fine. You can teach me how to cook starting tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow it is.” Zeno lifted me onto his lap. “I brought you dessert.”
“Is it you?” I kissed his jaw.
He tightened his arms around my waist. “Some fruit and chocolate cake. But you can have me too.”
Zeno reached towards the small table beside us and plucked a bowl filled with pomegranate seeds. Giving me a mischievous smirk, he fed me a seed, letting his index finger linger longer than necessary on my tongue. He fed me another two and this time I sucked on his finger, the way I usually did after he fed me his cum.
“I wrote a scene today.”
He trickled his wet finger down my neck, over my collarbone, and dragged down the strap of my pink dress. “Hmm. About what?”
“About a man who’s a bit complicated and morally grey, but is so tender with his family. I wrote about his best and worst qualities, but mostly that he has the best laugh ever, even if he doesn’t let his close ones hear it often.”
Zeno turned into my muse.
His essence bled on every page I wrote.
“Darla.” My husband crushed me to him. He held me like he didn’t want the world to spin without me. It dawned upon me that this feeling right here was responsible for all the poems and songs scattered across the world—this feeling that made you feel so cherished and so safe and so…loved.
“Will you move back into our room?”
His deep voice tickled the skin of my neck. “If you want me to, yes.”
“And I…” I mumbled. “I’ve altered my rule a little bit.”
“What rule would that be?”
He knew exactly what rule I was talking about.
“Je veux coucher avec toi.” My fingers curved over his shoulders. “I want you to fuck me every night until our time is up. Please, Zeno.”