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“Maybe I should—”
“Under no circumstances will I allow you to sleep on the floor, Scar.” His use of her nickname added more chills to her already unstable body. “Just give me a few pillows and I’ll make do. I’ve had worse, I assure you.”
“If you’re sure…”
He nodded resolutely.
They stared at one another, neither one of them seemingly willing to discuss what had just happened. No mention of whether this meant they should start seeing each other—or if they should fight their innate desires. They were stuck working with each other and bound to cross one another’s paths.
Then there was the issue of Annabel.
Scarlett’s head pounded and she closed her eyes briefly.
“You should get to bed.” His gentle touch forced her eyes to open, finding him standing at her side. He took her elbow in his grasp and led her toward the bed. With a gentle push, he forced her into a seated position. Scarlett scooted all the way onto the bed, then slipped beneath the covers. It was a little early to get to sleep, but after the day she’d had, dreams would be a welcome distraction.
Unless Elijah took control of those, too.
17
Elijah
Elijah sat up in the darkness. The floor was harder than he’d expected, so he didn’t get nearly the sleep he should have. Scarlett’s heavy breathing drifted toward him, even, steady. She wasn’t snoring, but he could tell she wouldn’t easily be disturbed.
Groaning, he got to his feet and wandered through the pitch black toward the window covered with drapes that blocked out every bit of light that would have filtered in from the moon.
He glanced at the bed but couldn’t see her, guided only by her sound and the memory of where everything was in the room. His hands reached out and brushed against the drapes first, alerting him to where he needed to stop. With one swift movement, he pushed aside the drapes a few feet and stared out at their beautiful view.
The parking lot.
A full moon hung overhead, no longer shrouded by the rain clouds from earlier. Puddles littered the asphalt and droplets clung to every surface, including the vehicles. They’d be able to head out at first light as long as the roads hadn’t been washed away.
And when he got back, he’d have to have a very important conversation with Carlos. Scarlett wasn’t letting up. He believed that she believed she wasn’t going anywhere despite him knowing full well her past habits would prove otherwise.
Then again, his assumptions now teetered. Elijah could also see a possibility where Scarlett would stick around.
His stomach churned with a trepidation he wasn’t prepared for. Scarlett would be furious when she found out about the plan he’d made with her father. And could he blame her?
No.
Because if he were in a similar situation, he would be demanding that she take a hike.
Elijah shot a look in her direction, now able to see her in the light of the moon. Her face glowed with a pearl effervescence that made her even more beautiful. Hair fanned out around her face, giving her an angelic appearance.
The digital clock glowed red on the side table. Three in the morning and there was no chance he’d get tired enough to fall asleep again on the hard floor. Not even the stuffed chair in the corner of the room was alluring enough to get him to try it out. He might as well accept that he’d be surviving solely on the coffee he drank in order to get through the day.
For reasons he couldn’t entirely make sense of, Elijah moved across the room and stood beside the bed. Up close she was even more beautiful. It wasn’t any wonder why he couldn’t get her out of his mind. As far as looks were concerned, she was definitely his type. He had been attracted to her from the get-go and all because of her genes.
She moaned softly and rolled over. The phone on her bedside table lit up and he glanced toward it only to freeze. It was a message with images attached. Strangely enough, Scarlett didn’t seem to have her phone locked down—an issue he’d probably want to bring up with her. The temptation to pick up her phone and look at what had been sent was far worse than expected, and he gave in.
He shot a quick look toward Scarlett once more to make sure she wasn’t going to wake while he snooped, and then he picked up her phone and swiped through images of Scarlett spending time with children. The message at the top was from someone named Felix. It was short and to the point.
Felix:Missing you at the center. Pictures of your last visit.
As far ashe’d known, she didn’t work with kids. Her job was corporate—or at least that was what Annabel had said. And yet here she was, surrounded by children who looked to be kindergarten aged.
Elijah shot another glance at Scarlett, and the realization that she wasn’t what she appeared to be hit him over the head like a ton of bricks. These images were recent enough that they had to have been taken within the last few months. The children were happy and smiling, but so was Scarlett.
For someone who had always said she wasn’t interested in starting a family, seeing her like this caused a strange kind of sensation in his gut. Scarlett had mentioned she wanted to start a family and he’d thought she was just saying whatever she could to get on his good side.
