Chapter 87

Chapter 87

I had erred in judgment, and now I was having trouble sleeping.

Derrick had brought me back to his room, and I had been so weary, but now my mind was racing, picturing all the things that could have happened if I hadn't left him in that bathtub by himself.

I could not take my eyes off the way he had held me; his hands spread across my back and his fingers sunk deep into my flesh to hold me where I belonged. What if we'd switched places and he'd instructed me to grip the tub's edges instead? How much mess would we have made, and how loud would we have been if he had slid inside of me?

I kicked my legs out from under the covers and moaned in disgust.

When there were more important things to think about, I was making myself all hot and bothered; instead, the ravenous yearning that pressed against my core was making me slow and foolish. His clinging remarks were replaying themselves in my head like a scratched record, encircling me and twisting and turning with the warning my mother had given me. All I could do was stare at my ceiling and try not to let the fear get the better of me as my wolf was tearing at me with her demanding want, moaning, and complaining for me to return to his room and remain with him.

My skin was shining with perspiration, my muscles ached, my bones burned with longing, and my thighs trembled with my wishes for him. It was oppressive.

The vision of my mother's blades and the blood that seeped from my hands, reminding me of the actual monster I was, would sabotage every time I closed my eyes, and all I would see was him, the softness and calm of his touch.

This was the last day I would have with him—the last day he would not look at me with the hatred I deserved but rather with such tenderness.

My gaze kept darting to the golden key in the door that opened and closed between our rooms. All night long, it had been teasing me and pleading with me to give in to the voices in my head. My wolf's rage was close to blowing out because of the mate bond, which was like a taut thread pulling us closer together. She was on my skin, alert as the drapes fluttered in the morning wind, seeing danger in every dark movement.

I hadn't seen the sun rising or that the night had ended, and Derrick was once again up and about since I had been so preoccupied with my inner conflict.

His footsteps were audible to me, and he proceeded to knock on the door connecting our rooms.

I jumped out of bed and struggled with the sheets that I had thrown aside hours before. I could feel his words blooming in my chest. As I waited for him, my breath stopped in my throat, and I dared not speak until I heard his heavy sigh.

He sounded worn out, as though his slumber had not provided him with any solace. While his wolf was restless due to my separation from him, his heart rate remained constant throughout the night, in contrast to mine.

I covered my lips with my hands after uttering a small moan, assuming he had not heard.

"Kylie?" I covered my face with a pillow in the hopes that it would stop me from wanting to break the door off its hinges and throw myself at his body because his voice lured every part of me.

When someone was so close to you, how could you possibly miss them?

When I didn't respond, he sighed once again. His alpha instincts must have picked up on every up and down in my heart; therefore, he must have understood that I was ignoring him. However, I had to stay away from him for a little while longer because I still hadn't decided what I was going to do today.

My mistake was causing my heart to race. I had pulled off my jeans in Derrick's bathroom yesterday and found the paper with the address my brother had provided me in the pocket.

He must have seen that my heart rate had increased since he spoke to me once again.

"I'll be training with my warriors for a couple of hours if you want to come and join me." His remarks were encouraging, but I had other plans now, one of which involved getting him to come out of his room long enough for me to get my jeans.

"If you don't want to, I'll make us some breakfast when I return." I turned myself into his movements, listening to his breathing. The growl of his breath was a sign of his wolf attempting to get closer, and it was surprising he hadn't torn down our door by now.

I had to get something out of the way before his wolf instincts took over.

Kylie, take a moment to reflect.

"I will make us some breakfast." Eventually, with a raspy voice, I said. I awoke in my bed once more, my heart racing as I anxiously awaited his reply.

His heart skipped a beat, and there was a pause.

"I'm looking forward to it, angel." His footsteps retreated, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I waited 10 more minutes before getting out of bed.

I was still wearing the bathrobe Derrick had given me the night before; the cloth ended just above my ankles, and the sleeves flopped over my hands. I didn't care that I looked stupid in it because I knew it was his.

I moved to where our doors met, my fingers grazing the key—my key. I heard a gentle click as I turned it in the lock, and then I stood there for a second, feeling like my heart was going to burst like a rocket inside my chest, before pushing the doors open.

His aroma filled the room in the early light, and it looked different. I took a deep breath, savoring its depth, and then my gaze drifted to the sun's rays filtering into his room through the branches of the apple tree outside his balcony.

I was unable to remain still for very long, though, as the sensation of being banned here began to creep up on me. I padded quickly across the room to his bathroom.

My clothes had been folded and placed neatly next to a laundry basket in the room's corner instead of being left on the floor. I hurriedly shuffled through it while stuffing my hands into my pants pockets, hoping that the paper would be unharmed and not destroyed by the water like it had been yesterday. I was relieved to find it, and I kissed it on my chest before tucking it into the pocket of my bathrobe.

I stepped out of his restroom and stopped, staring again for a long moment.

His enormous bed caught my attention right away; it was in much better shape than mine had been when I had left it, so I started to move in that direction. I felt as though gravity was drawing me towards it and indicating my needs. I allowed my fingertips to touch the silk sheets that had encircled his body than mine the previous evening, and my heart raced.