AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They lay there a long time,not speaking, only touching.
“Are you going to fall asleep on me?” she asked, tracing his ribcage with her fingers.
“No. I’m just afraid if I open my eyes, I’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream.”
“If I’m involved, there’s a decent chance it’s a nightmare. You might want to wake up.”
Daniel shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. “The only nightmares you’re in are the ones when I wake up and you’re still gone.”
Eleanor sighed heavily, and Daniel finally rolled off of her. Pulling back the sheets, she scrambled under the covers. He joined her in his bed. He could think of at least three body parts he’d happily sacrifice to be able to find her in his bed every night of his life.
Daniel lay on his back and Eleanor draped herself across his chest.
“You know I inherited a lot of money from Maggie, right?” Daniel asked. “She was loaded and left every penny to me.”
“I’ve seen your country house, remember? And this apartment is bigger than the house I grew up in.”
“We could leave, if you wanted. I’d take you anywhere. You’d never have to work a day in your life again. You could—”
“Leave him?” she asked and looked up at Daniel. “No, I can’t. Or I can, but I don’t want to.”
“You say that, but still, you’re here—”
“I’m here because we had a great week together, Daniel. And I missed you, and Kingsley said you were still hung up on me.” She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. “But it was one week. Just seven days.”
“You’re a Catholic, right?” He rolled onto his side and propped his head on his hand. “Don’t you think the entire universe was created in seven days?”
“If you haven’t noticed already,” she said, giving him a pointed look, “I’m a very bad Catholic.”
Daniel laughed and caressed her naked leg. “Do you really love him?”
“Of course I do. He’s my everything.”
“Everything?”
“Lover, owner, priest, best friend?”
“I find that last one hard to believe.”
“Because you don’t know him the way I do.”
Except Daniel did know him the way she did. They had been friends once. Yes, he could believe Søren was her best friend. He could believe it. He just didn’t want to admit it.
“But,” she continued, “don’t tell anybody I said that. Kingsley likes Blondie to keep his big bad priest rep intact. Admittedly, he is six-four and a sadist, so he is a little intimidating. If you’re not me.”
“You call Søren ‘Blondie’?”
Eleanor grinned. “Of course. Just not to his face. Well…not very often.”
Daniel laughed because only laughing would keep him from grabbing her, holding her down, and keeping her there until she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“It’s not fair, you know,” Daniel said. “I could give you so much more than he could—”
“Daniel, let me ask you something. Are you going to spend the rest of your life living in the past?”
Her question surprised him enough that he rolled up and leaned back against the headboard to face her. “I’m not. Not anymore. Look…if he died, what would you do?”
Eleanor pursed her lips and hummed. “In this scenario, has he died of natural causes, or did I finally break down and murder him in his sleep? Either is equally likely.”
