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Hendryk shakes his head. ”Not that. Think of something else.”
”That’s so bossy of you to say.”
”I can’t stop you,” he sulks. ”I’m not some evil overlord, but if you don’t want to shorten my life expectancy you won’t work for the opposite sex.”
”It would bother you that much?” I ask and a muscle ticks in his jaw.
”You have no idea.”
I pinch my lip. ”I’ve only ever worked as someone’s assistant before, I don’t know what else…”
”Maybe it’s time to try your wings,” Hendryk interrupts, shrugging.
”What if they break…?”
”I’ll kidnap a chicken and give you new ones.”
”Aw, you would do that for me?” I say, sniggering and batting my lashes. ”Just FYI, chickens are pretty difficult to catch. But I guess a blue-blood wouldn’t know that.”
”You doubt my ability as a provider, farm girl?” He growls and starts tickling me. We roll around and wrestle in bed until I’m out of breath.
”Can I ask you one thing?” I pant once we’ve calmed and I feel like I need to be careful now. ”How did your twin…?”
”Die?” he clips, his mood now grim as if someone flipped a switch.
I gulp when his features harden and he rolls on his back. The fun just left him and I regret saying anything. I’m about to apologize when he starts talking.
”We were fifteen, hanging out at the back of our mansion. My twin was in the pool, while I was passed out on a sun bed.”
Hendryk’s chest heaves then tightens, and I don’t dare ask why he was passed out.
”We had the whole mansion to ourselves and I’d decided to raid my father’s wine cellar. It was the first time I ever drank and I had too much.” His Adam’s apple bobs. ”I didn’t see her splashing in the water.”
”What happened?” I whisper and he pinches his brow ridge.
”The pool drain wasn’t properly secured. We think it got a hold of her hair and held her underwater.” He squeezes his eyes and the air in the room feels so heavy that I hold down a whimper. ”She drowned,” Hendryk adds in a low tone, his voice full of pain.
”Is that why you don’t drink?” I ask and he nods. It makes me want to weep. That time on the ice, he was reluctant to kiss me, seemed panicky almost but he did it anyway. He did it even though just the smell of liquor repulses him. That kiss must’ve broken him, but he went through with my request anyway.
For my sake.
”I never talk about her to anyone.” He slowly exhales. ”But you remind me a little bit of her. Same smile, same eyes.”
Rolling over, he grabs his wallet from the back pocket of his slacks and takes out a small photo. I stare at the girl and at first I didn’t believe him, but she really does look a little bit like me.
”She’s beautiful,” I whisper, and Hendryk nods, his eyes locked on me. ”Like you.” I put my hand on his chest and I don’t think his heart beats for anybody else in this moment. And maybe never will.
”Like you,” Hendryk rasps, skimming my cheek with his knuckles, ”whenever I look at you, I feel like I have a little piece of her back.”
Bursting into tears, I bury my face in the hollow of his thick throat and he swallows, his arms wrapping around me like a vice. They tremble and I break for him. He rocks me and then I rock him. We unfold and unravel in each other, and I feel like he’s mine for life.
9.
Hendryk-Two days later
Water runs over my shoulders, ice-cold of course and I’ve kept the door open so that I can look at Ella-Ashley. She’s strung out in bed, legs spread, arms over her head. I keep my stare between her legs, watching her clit swell as the steam seeps into the bedroom.
My fingers slide down the shower stall, as I let out a needy groan. I draw the contours of her on the misty glass then step out without putting a towel around my hips. Ella-Ashley’s eyes flare open when she hears me coming and she rises, still half-asleep.
