Page 97 of Castle

Had I forgotten that Devin had literally called my husband a murderer? And now I was just going to pretend like I hadn’t heard that detail.

It wasn’t like I was scared of Castle, it just meant I trusted him.

I started reading a book in bed, waiting to hear his footsteps, stirring from the slightest noise coming from outside, but he never came. I pulled on my robe and went out of the room to check on him.

I found him in his study. His unruly dark sable hair was out of place, but it worked for him. He was wearing a t-shirt that encased his biceps deliciously, and he was sporting a five o’clock shadow that I would have loved to feel scrapping between my thighs.

Stop it, Millie!

I tried to push away the lustful cloud. He was hunched over a set of files, going through the papers, when he looked up at me. “Darling.”

I don’t know if I was ever going to stop blushing like a teen girl whenever he called me that.

“I just came here to check on you,” I said.

“There’s a shit ton of work for me to look at. Why don’t you go to sleep? This is going to take me a while.”

“Okay,” I was about to leave, but stopped mid-way and turned to face him again.

He regarded me with amusement dancing in his eyes and, to my surprise; he shut the file that he was looking at, giving me his full attention. “I believe you have some questions for me.”

I closed the door of the study.

“Did you kill your parents?”

“Parent. Singular. Lorna, who was also known as Lorna Montgomery, wasn’t my mother, but yes, I killed both my father and his wife. Devin wasn’t lying to you about that.” He said casually.

“There has to be a good reason for what you did. I know you wouldn’t kill someone just for the heck of it.”

“It was revenge for what they did to my mother. It was a chain of events. I killed them, and in return, Devin tried to killme. He has his reasons, and I wouldn’t fault him for trying.” He chuckled, “Failed to get me killed twice. Pulling aHoudiniis a specialty of mine.”

“So where is your mother, Aster?”

“She is where no one can harm her anymore.” He said it with a sad undertone.

“I’m sorry.” I said, “They hurt her, didn’t they?”

There was a distant look in Castle’s eyes. His expressions were dark and unreadable. “I apologize, Millicent. I don’t think I’m ready to talk about my mother yet or the things she suffered.”

I closed the distance between us and took his hand in mine. “I understand completely, and please know that I’m here if you want to talk. Not just as your wife, but as your friend, too.”

He gave me a warm smile. “That means a lot.”

“Also…” I started saying without thinking twice, “If our sleeping arrangement bothers you, you can let me know and I’ll move out of your bedroom. I understand that you probably wouldn’t be very comfortable sharing a bed?—

“Come here, Millicent.”

A few seconds passed, and I stood there awkwardly, staring at him before I went near him.

“Lose that robe.”

I disrobed, but I was wearing the thin camisole nightgown. His hand snaked around my waist as he pulled me towards him. I went to sit directly in his lap sideways, my lips were in direct contact with his cheek. I didn’t know what to do with my hands, so I let them remain at my sides.

“Have I given you the impression that I wasn’t interested in sharing a bed with you?”

My entire body tingled with awareness as his large hand on my waist pressed me to him.

“Not really.”

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