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I hang up with Ariana, assuring her that I’m fine and don’t need to be rescued just as the front door swings open, banging into the wall with such force the sink window rattles.
A few silent beats pass, and I half expect Kal to come in, even though seeking me out doesn’t seem to be part of his afternoon routine.
If I’d known being married to him was going to be this lonely…
“You’d what, Elena?” I mutter to myself, tapping my fingernails on the counter. The diamond on my finger sparkles under the pendant lighting, fracturing the shadows reflecting off of it. “He didn’t give you a choice. No one ever does.”
When another five minutes tick by, it becomes obvious he isn’t looking for me.
I slide off the barstool, toss my plum seed in the garbage, and go find him instead.
Tiptoeing down the hall, I try my best not to step on any creaking floorboards as I reach his office, tucked in a corner at the very end. Light spills out from beneath the door, and I turn the knob gently, pushing it open with the tip of my index finger.
He’s wearing navy scrubs, leaning over a huge wooden desk, one palm flattened on the surface to support his weight, the other curled around a crystal tumbler. His black hair hangs in wet strands, dripping onto his desk and soaking the neck of his shirt, as if he’s just stepped out of the shower.
My throat tightens just at the sight of his backside, the way the muscles in his biceps groan against the confines of his skin as if begging to break free.
God, what this man must look like naked.
A flash of red catches my eye as he shifts; it’s dull, splattered across the front of his pant legs, but it’s there, taunting me.
Reminding me that I know very little about the man I share a life with, and that it should terrify me.
Or looking for a way to escape.
“Leave, Elena.” His voice is a low rumble I feel inside my chest, commanding and sharp as it slices right through me. “I’m not in the mood for company.”
I should probably listen and find something else to do. Anything other than indulge the desire pooling in my core.
“Your wife is hardly company,” I say, pinching my thigh with two fingers in order to keep my voice from wavering. “And I’m bored.”
He sets the tumbler down, raising his head without turning to look at me. “Bored?”
“Yeah,” I say, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “You dropped me in this strange place and then ignored me completely.”
Swallowing over the mix of desire and nerves solidifying in my throat, I take a step inside the office, toying with the fabric of my robe. It’s rose pink and satin, matching the pajama set I have on beneath, and as I move closer, the silky material glides against my skin, cooling me where his presence sets me aflame.
“I know the concept of entertainment might be foreign to you,” I say. “But I need something to keep my attention. And all the books upstairs are ones I can recite by heart.”
“Shouldn’t you be studying?”
“Well… I withdrew from my courses.”
His head snaps to the side, eyebrows knitting together. “Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know. It seemed… pointless. I’m not interested in teaching, and I can’t imagine trying to balance a career in education while being your prisoner.”
Turning slowly so he’s facing me, Kal stares down at me in silence, his dark gaze flickering back and forth between my eyes as if trying to figure me out.
Good luck.
“You’re not my prisoner,” he murmurs, something heavy settling in the air between us, making my bones seem dense and rendering me immobile. Electricity pulses in my blood, carrying it to the rest of my body as my heart falters, skipping a beat when he moves forward.
“Oh,” I breathe, my brain unable to form another word.
“But if you don’t turn around and leave right now, I’ll make you feel like one.”
