Page 49 of The Butcher

Chapter 12

Bastien

It was the first time she slept over and we didn’t fuck.

She got into bed without taking off her makeup and snuggled into me, her leg hiked over my hip, her arm around my neck, using me as a body pillow. Sadness still throbbed in her eyes, and that was probably why she was able to drift off to sleep so easily.

My sleep schedule was all over the place and I wasn’t tired, so I watched her for a while, the lights from the Eiffel Tower appearing in the crack between the curtains. At some point in her sleep, she turned the other way, facing her nightstand where her phone sat.

I left the bed and stepped into the sitting room, shutting the door behind me until it was just open a crack. I went to my desk and opened my laptop, going through emails and the mail that Gerard had left on the desk.

My phone lit up with a text message from Luca.Heading to Crazy Horse.

Again?It was a cabaret show similar to Moulin Rouge, more of a tourist spot than a local place.

I’m fucking one of the girls.

Then why do you want me to come?

Because there’s a bar—and other girls.

I’ll pass.

What’s your deal, asshole?

I’ve already got a girl here.

So? She probably won’t even notice you’re gone.

I chuckled out loud.Fuck you, Luca.

Just get back before sunrise.

Take one of the other guys.

You know you’re my boy.

Have fun, Luca.

His messages stopped.

I checked my emails then went through the mail on my desk. There was an invitation for the annual gala at Luxembourg Palace, another obligation to see one another as if we didn’t see one another enough as it was. A black-tie event, one that I attended solo every year. I set it aside then went through the rest.

Luca texted me again.You still seeing that same girl? The married one?

Yes.

He had no follow-up question to that.

I worked for a couple of hours, and when I finally felt tired enough, I returned to bed. She’d made her way to the center of the bed, curled up in the blankets like a fish caught in a net. I slid in beside her and did my best not to shift the mattress too much.

But it was enough, because her eyes opened, tired and dazed, and she looked at me for a long second, like this was a dream. Then her eyes filled with soft affection, like the sight of me brought inexplicable joy, and she moved into me like a child reunited with her favorite stuffed teddy bear.

I circled my arms around her and held her close, watching her use my shoulder as a pillow.

Her arm draped over my waist, and she tucked her leg between my knees before she released a sigh and fell right back into deep sleep.

I hadn’t been tired a moment ago, but the sight of her at peace made my eyes grow heavy—and I fell asleep.

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