Page 65 of King of Obsession

I fell silent, eyes on her, back against the headboard, having run out of shit to say to ease the ratcheting tension.

She left the room, and I heard her change in her living area before she sidled back in, cute as fuck in her kangaroo-print pajamas.

Forget lace and silk lingerie; this number had my cock’s attention, making it harder than diamond and steel.

She kept her face averted, her gaze and eyes away from me.

The punch of her disquiet hit, and I sucked my teeth.

The bed sagged as Cleo lowered herself onto the mattress, her back rigid and unmoving.

‘Lights off?’ I double-checked.

She nodded.

I turned the lamp down.

I shifted beside her, the thick duvet and sheets pooled around my naked waist and thin shorts, which I longed to shuck because, most times, I preferred to sleep nude.

The silence between us was impenetrable and heavy, broken only by the occasional pop and crackle of the banked fireplace in the living area.

I shifted to where her dark hair was splayed across the pillow, cheekbones casting shadows in the dim light.

Her stormy jade eyes stared unblinking at the rough-hewnceiling beams above.

‘Cleo,’ I rasped, addressing the stompin’ massive elephant in the room. ‘About earlier with the aurora outside. I didn’t mean to -’

‘Don’t.’ Her voice was flat, emotionless. ‘Just don’t.’

I ran my tongue over my teeth.

Cleo was not the warmest person, but this coldness was new.

It cut.

It was icy and impenetrable.

Like an invisible wall had sprung between us, leaving me stranded on the other side.

I wanted to reach for her, to break through that frozen exterior and find the real Cleo underneath.

But I didn’t dare. Not when she was like this.

Not when one wrong move could shatter the fragile truce, if one remained at all.

So I lay motionless, my breathing faint, my body humming with tension. The frigid quiet stretched out unending.

In time, she shifted, rolling over so her back was to me. Her spine was a steel rod, muscles corded tight beneath her thin tank top.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the sting of rejection. Sleep would be a long time coming tonight.

If it came at all.

I cursed myself. My mind whirled with self-recrimination.

I’d spent hours chipping away at Cleo’s defenses, coaxing her to lower her guard. And in one careless moment, I’d undone it all.

The memory of her face flashed behind my eyelids - the raw joy in her eyes as she touched my hand.

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