AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I did. It felt like a different persona. I craved to bring her forth—me… you know what I mean. It was like sliding over a mask over my usual shyness.”
Seeing her blush, I tug her to me, and she nestles into my side. As she melts into my comfort, I drop a quick kiss to her forehead. I’m just glad that whole journey brought her to me.
Only this seems to be a slippery slope. I keep sliding down further and the rabbit hole is in my sight. I’m losing myself and it’s only been a few days. Well… technically, it’s been a few days trapped in the same house, in the same bedroom with her. But she’s been haunting my dreams and crawling under my skin since the moment I laid eyes on her.
Being in this house, unable to even go out for a walk, completely glued to one another, is both incredible and terrifying.
Is this real? This weird warmth spreading like liquid fire between my ribs, pulsing with every beat of my heart whenever she simply smiles at me? Or the ache that makes my hands tingle whenever she’s out of reach?
I want her more than I’ve wanted anything in my whole goddamn life. Even when she’s right next to me, she’s not close enough. I ache with the need to crawl under her skin, feel her every moment of every day. Have her steel gaze on me, enjoy that wicked smile. I want my cock inside of her at all times, her tongue in my mouth, her soft hands caressing my skin. She redefines addiction and it fucking scares me.
Four days brought me to this point. God knows what will happen to me by the time this storm ends.
CHAPTER 9
ANNIKA
After a whole week trappedin the storm, the background noise of the seaside city of Queenscove is like a sweet lullaby. We arrived yesterday afternoon on the boat Hanna and I rented, which luckily survived the storm. Ronan’s speedboat didn’t. It was shattered, laying sad a bit too far from the shore.
The island seemed to be in fairly good condition, and we left a lot of our stuff there since, technically, our visit to the city is only temporary. I tell myself that I plan on staying just a bit longer than needed to refill our supplies, only to appease Ronan. I’m kidding myself. I know it’s not true. I want more time with him, but there’s this nagging voice in my head reminding me this is temporary—I’m leaving soon.
Although as I watch Ronan shift all the clothes in his walk-in wardrobe to make room for mine, then empty two drawers, I have a feeling he has something different in mind.
“I don’t need that much space, Ronan. I barely have any clothes with me. A drawer will be fine.”
But the man simply turns his head, gives me a smile that appeases my obvious delusion, and carries on with his task. He finishes and comes to me, sliding his hands over my hips until they settle on my ass and pulls me to him.
“Are you sure you’re okay with me being out all day? I feel bad. It’s your first proper day here, with me, and I get pulled away for business. I just… I need to catch up with the guys, and we have some meetings I can’t miss.”
“It’s okay, Ronan, I survived just fine without you, you know.”
In reality, I’m not so sure I’m okay with it. Not because I want him with me, but because staying with him in his lavish penthouse, sleeping in his bedroom while he goes to work, seems far too close to real life. Our island bubble burst; we’re no longer trapped in this fever dream. This is real life… and he’s welcomed me right into it.
I know I signed up for this thing with Ronan but, honestly, I didn’t think past the chase, past the adventure, past the thrill of it all. It never crossed my mind that this could be more than sex.
But here I am, standing in this ravishing man’s walk-in closet, my smell all over his sheets, the painting of myself that I left for him leaned against the wall of his bedroom, and my future doesn’t seem to be in my hands anymore.
“You’re doing that thing where you get lost in your thoughts,” he says, bringing me back to the now.
I scrunch my eyebrows.Thing?
“What thing?!”
“You look right through me, narrowing your eyes like you’re calculating the world’s most difficult physics formula.”
“Oh.”
He cocks his head, and I can tell he wants to ask more. Obviously, he’s noticed this expression on me before, and I wonder if I do it every time I think about the future. Is that what he wants to ask me?
“So you’ll be gone all day?”
He pulls his lower lip between his teeth, sighing almost silently before he finally answers.
“I’ll pick you up at seven. We have a reservation.”
“Oh, that sounds nice. Restaurant?”
“Yeah, nice one, up on the hill.”
