AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time I’ve dried off and changed into a set of clothes I had tucked away, I’ve got a solid plan in mind. Luckily, the rooms on the first floor had all gotten cleaned before the staff had fled to avoid the storm, so I pick the suite on the end with the biggest windows and turn down the bed.
Returning to the kitchen, I give René my best smile as I request a picnic-style dinner for me and our lone guest and am surprised when he agrees without much fuss, telling me to come back in thirty minutes.
“Maybe include some more of that melon you had at lunch,” I suggest on my way out, remembering how she’d picked through the fruit to eat those pieces first.
“Now you have requests?” René waves at me in disgust. “Leave it to me.”
“Alright, alright,” I say, chuckling as I go to grab the radio from the front desk to check in with the rest of the crew. Zara is still upset about missing her kid’s play, but she and Phoenix have apparently been keeping themselves entertained with card games. The handful of other staff members are hanging in there too, used to getting stuck every once in a while and hunkering down in their rooms.
When I get back to René, he’s packed up a basket of food and shoves it at me. “If we had electricity, my food would woo her for you with three bites.”
I bite my lip, not sure if I should be insulted at the implication I can’t win her over myself or grateful he’d want to do something like that for me. “Thank you?”
He grumbles some more about the lack of power to make his creations, but I slip away, already familiar with these kinds of complaints from him. Anything that gets in the way of his creative process is asking for a tongue-lashing—that includes a massive storm.
I quickly head to the suite and set out the food, ignoring the worried feeling in my stomach that I’m going through the effort and Eden will decline my invitation. Wiping my sweaty palms on my thighs, I give the place one last look, then take a deep, steadying breath and head up to the third floor.
I don’t let myself stop and get flustered again, knocking on her door as soon as I reach it. It only takes a second for her to answer, a welcoming smile breaking out on her face as soon as she sees me.
“Hey, you,” she says softly, closing the book in her hands and tossing it behind her onto the rumpled bed.
“Hi.” I get tongue-tied for a second. Not because of my brain—because ofher. She’s still wearing my sweats and T-shirt, which look enormous on her much smaller body, and yet the sight hits me in the gut with want and possessiveness.
I want to see her wearing my clothes every day for the rest of our lives.
I remind myself—again—that I don’t get to have her past this weekend and do my best to shake off the disappointment and sadness that keeps growing in my chest whenever I think about her leaving.
“Maddox?”
I clear my throat and give her a reassuring smile. “Will you come with me?”
“Where?” she asks, but she’s already stepping out the door and into the hall next to me. She closes her door and makes a face at the fact that it doesn’t lock but then shrugs and turns to me with a curious look.
“Your stuff is safe,” I assure her.
“Oh, I know. It’s just force of habit to double-check.” Her face seems open and honest, and her trust in me and my people feels… huge. “Where are we going?”
A grin tugs up the edges of my mouth, and I snag one of her hands, lacing our fingers together. “You’ll see.”
* * *
When I open the door to the suite, I’m not sure what to do next. Part of me wants to throw her on the bed and spread her out until she’s shaking and begging for me. Another part of me wants to wrap her tightly in a warm blanket and feed her before falling asleep in each other’s arms.
In the end, Eden makes the choice for me. She turns toward me after I shut the door, then puts one hand to my face and kisses me. It soothes any doubt I was feeling that maybe she didn’t want this as much as I do, but she doesn’t take it further.
Instead, she links our fingers together once more and walks toward the massive bed with the little feast René prepared. “Is this the VIP treatment?”
I tug her backward, wrapping one arm around her waist, and I press my mouth to the crook of her neck. “Not exactly.”
She snorts. “So, no special sheets?”
I nibble on her, making her laugh, then kiss the spot that’s turning faintly pink. “I’d do it for you. I just don’t have fancy sheets. I’m a simple man, and this is a simple place.”
She sighs and leans into me. “I love that. I know a lot of annoyingly rich people who think this is slumming it probably say the same shit, but I really mean it.”
She’s right about those people, but I actually believe her, and not just because I want to trust that she’d never lie to me. Reaching up, I stroke my thumb along the other side of her neck, then gently turn her as I cup her cheek and give her a deeper, messier kiss than before.
She groans, pushing into it, and I slowly walk her to the other side of the bed to avoid our little picnic. The dishes barely move as she lies down, and I hover over her with one knee between her thighs.
