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The moment was broken by the sounds of tires crunching against the gravel driveway. Birgitta’s heart felt like it was going to explode as the rush of adrenaline pumped through her body. Without thinking, she shoved Malik’s hands away from her, causing his fingers to withdraw from between her legs. She instantly lowered herself off the counter and adjusted her gown, tugging it down to cover her body before wrapping the robe tightly around herself, covering every inch of her body from the neck to her calves.
“What’s your problem?” Malik asked, the frustration clear in his angry voice.
“He can’t see us,” Birgitta snapped. “He can’t know.”
She only had a couple of seconds to get to the fridge and open it. She bustled past Malik, her shoulder brushing against his arm as she went. It was the only thing she could think of doing. What else would she be doing in the kitchen if she wasn’t making food?
Kent opened the front door just as Birgitta yanked the door open. She shoved her head inside the fridge, feeling the cool air on her flushed skin. At least she could hide her guilty face from her husband. Then he wouldn’t see the guilt written all over her expression. The cool air helped reduce the redness in her cheeks, the embarrassment, but she knew it wasn’t enough.
“Oh,” Kent said as he moved into the kitchen.
Birgitta listened as he set the keys down on the counter and took off his shoes. She knew all the sounds, they were so familiar. Kent had come home for lunch.
Stupid,she thought.Why did I not expect him to be home for lunch?
Kent often came home during his break. For whatever reason—madness or lust—it had completely slipped her mind. Kent’s footsteps went through the kitchen as he stretched and sighed. Birgitta closed her eyes and scrunched up her face, wanting to slap herself for being so stupid.
She couldn’t keep her face in the fridge forever. She’d either have to bring out some food or pretend not to find anything. The latter seemed less likely since each shelf was fully stocked. Birgitta settled on making a light sandwich for herself, grabbing some lettuce, tomatoes, ham, and butter.
By the time she poked her head out of the fridge, clutching the items in her arms, she saw that Kent was sat down at the table, reading the front page of the newspapers splayed there. She tried to act as normal as possible.
She turned on her heels and headed for the counter she had just been sitting on top of, Malik’s fingers deep inside of her. She was dismayed to see him standing there awkwardly, unsure what to do with himself.
Birgitta clenched her teeth, widened her eyes, and looked pointedly to the other side of the room, asking him to move. Malik understood her, but he looked dazed and confused, like a lost little boy. Birgitta knew he was wondering what just happened between them, but there was no way she was discussing it now.
Later,she thought.We’ll finish what we started later.
Chapter eleven
I will have you
Thebedsheetswerewarmand soft against Birgitta’s skin. The pillow beneath her head was plush and comfortable, rustling with every small movement she made. Even though she was awake, and had been for a while, she wasn’t going to move any time soon.
The day hadn’t started for her yet. She still had a couple of hours until she had to get ready for work. Nothing was going to rip her out of the warm, comfortable bed. Not a damn thing.
On the other side of the room, at the foot of the bed, Kent was getting dressed. Today he’d opted for a bright blue shirt, sans tie. He was buttoning it, slowly moving down his stomach. His blue eyes stared at himself in the mirror as he dressed.
Birgitta kept her head propped up on the pillows behind her and watched him in silence. They still shared a bed, a house, a life . . . but they were so far apart. There was nothing between them anymore, nothing keeping them together aside from circumstance. Birgitta felt a pang of sadness as she looked at him.
She couldn’t pinpoint where they’d gone wrong but, obviously, somewhere down the line, they had. Even though she knew there was no point obsessing over it, she couldn’t help but wonder if it could have been avoided. She supposed that people could work on their problems if they wanted to . . . but they had never bothered. Instead, they drifted apart.
Kent smoothed down his shirt with the palms of his hand as he stared at his reflection. After a moment, he moved to the bed and leaned over. Birgitta felt his lips connect with her forehead. They were wet and soft and warm against her skin.
Birgitta knew that she still had a while before she had to leave for work herself. Kent always left earlier than she did, allowing her to roam around the house alone. Only, she wasn’t alone anymore. Kent closed the bedroom door behind him. The sound of it made Birgitta’s eyes open widely. Malik was here, staying with them. She wasn’t alone.
A cold shiver ran down her spine as she thought about it. So far, she hadn’t heard a single sound from across the hall. Birgitta hoped he was sound asleep and would stay that way until she’d left for work.
By the time Kent had left the house, started his car, and began his long drive into the city, Birgitta had decided to have a shower. It was the only way she was going to relieve the tension in her shoulders and relax for the trying day ahead. Not only did she need to help everyone who came to her, but she also had to find a way to look at Malik’s file. She’d promised she would help him and she needed to find a way to do it as soon as possible before their relationship went too far.
Birgitta readied herself, collecting all of her clothes before she left the bedroom. She wanted to make sure that she spent as little time as possible out of safety. With her hand on the door handle and her other arm filled with her clothes, she stopped for a moment and steadied her breath.
I can’t live like this,Birgitta thought.It’s madness. It has to stop.
Birgitta didn’t waste any more time thinking. She opened her bedroom door and rushed into the hallway, her bare feet whispering against the wood. It took her fifteen seconds to get into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
Panting heavily, she allowed her clothes to drop to the ground as she leaned her back against the door. The stress was too much for her, she just couldn’t handle it anymore.
Trying not to think about it too much, Birgitta went to the left corner of the room and slid open the frosted glass doors. Behind the doors, the wall behind the shower was covered in bright white tiles, glistening in the deep yellow light above. She leaned through the cubicle and turned the shower on. Freezing cold water splashed onto her arm, making her recoil from the stream.
