Page 35 of Dare To Live

“Fuck’s sake.”

No, you haven’t. You’ve been aggressive, cruel, antagonistic.

In my defense, so has she.

Eli!

Fine. I’ll apologize. But not until I no longer stink of bourbon. She won’t believe I mean it if I’m not sober.

***

The crash of thunder jolts me out of sleep. Lightning flashes, lighting up the room.

Great.

Not only are we snowed in by a blizzard, but the universe has also decided to add thundersnow to the mix.

Thunder rumbles again, followed by another flash of lightning. I roll off the bed and move to the window to peer outside. Everywhere is dark, brightened only by the lightning for a couple of seconds, showing me deep snow and dark sky.

Fuck.

I spin toward the door, then stop.

Nah, Arabella won’t still be scared of storms. It’s been ten years … She’ll be fine …won’t she?

The next crash of thunder sounds and is immediately followed by lightning. The storm must be directly overhead.

I should check on her.

My gaze shifts to the door again.

She’s a grown woman. She probably fucked away her fear of storms years ago.

I’m out of the bedroom and knocking on her door before the thought has finished forming.

“Arabella?”

There’s no answer.

“I’m coming in.” I wait for a beat and then twist the handle and push the door open. A flash of lightning lights up the room as I walk inside, displaying an empty room. “Arabella?” I turn in a slow circle and come to a stop facing the bed. The duvet is missing.

I frown.

The room doesn’t have any walk-in closets so she can’t be hiding in one of those.

So where is she?

I step out of the room and check the living room and kitchen. She’s not in either. Would she have gone into one of the other guest rooms? I dismiss that idea straight away. It wouldn’t make sense. That leaves … My gaze shifts to the bathroom door.

I spot her the second I open it. She’s hard to miss.

Well, that’s not strictly true. The duvet covering her body is hard to miss. I stride across the tiled floor and scoop her, duvet and all, out of the tub. Her arms wrap around my neck and her face buries itself against my throat.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

Chapter 21

Arabella

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