Page 12 of Their Dark Rose

“Every crevice of my body,” I add, my voice husky.

A feral growl comes from the hallway.

A reaction.

My thighs clench in response. My whole body wounds tight.

I wait. Holding my breath for him to barge in. For at least a third of my fantasies to come to life.

“You’re off kitchen duties today.” Sadly, Falk steers the conversation back to safety.

His voice, on the other hand, calls me into his dark depths. His low timbre makes me hot all over.

I’m drawn out of my bathroom and to the door. I’m attracted to the mean edge in his tone.

To the man behind the door. His sharp jawline, high cheekbones, and perfect black hair he maintains short on the sides and longer on top. To the fire burning within him.

My fingers hook around the straps of my nightgown, dragging them off my shoulders. The thin fabric cascades down to the floor, pooling at my feet.

I couldn’t care less about kitchen duties. Or if they let me off the hook for today. I understand the importance of chores and having a routine. Have understood them a long while ago.

What I want is to prolong our conversation just for the chance to hear his voice again.

I’m stupid for him. And I hate it.

But I can’t stop this wave of lust once it starts.

“Why’s that?” I place a hand on the paneled wood door. Maybe Falk left his there after slamming it from the other side.

Maybe our fingers are parallel now.

Maybe he’ll sense me and stop being a jerk, barge inside, and be sinfully cruel.

Maybe.

“You and I have a lot of material to catch up on today.” He’s stern, and definitely a jerk. “We’ll be working until late, so, you get a pass today.”

Sigh. He comes off as impatient, and it doesn’t make me like him any less.

In my head, he’s more than an asshole. He’s my savior asshole. All three of them are.

The way they handled Mallie and her creepy stepson the one time she came here, demanding to adopt me…

I shiver.

And that was when I was a kid.

I close my eyes.

I wish…I don’t wish for a family for my eighteenth birthday. I wish for them. I wish they’d like me back, and I won’t have to move out. God, if you’re up there, please make it come true.

“Because of the lawyer appointment tomorrow?” Although I remain in the safe zone conversation-wise, I’m an ever-growing ball of need, want, and desire.

My breath catches when I press my breasts to the door. The grooves on the wood graze my nipples, and it feels…

It just feels. I feel everything these past few months. Twisted emotions. Ones I don’t act on. Ones they’ll never act on. Some wishes, some needs, are meant to forever stay in the dream realm.

I control my needs. I leave both my hands away from where I need them the most.

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