Page 46 of Enthrall Secrets
Chapter 14
France
MY HAND REACHED out for Danton but all I felt was a cold bedsheet.
Rain struck the windowpane and it made me feel so warm and snug in our large bed. I sat up and stretched, checking the bedside clock. It was just after midnight.
A flash of lightning scared the hell out of me and I leaped out and went to look for Danton.
Padding along the hardwood floors, hoping to quickly find him so I could persuade him to return to bed, I was thinking of all the luscious ways I was going to help him fall back to sleep.
A window was open somewhere, letting a draft in. I realized it was coming from Danton’s office.
When I nudged open the door, I saw him sitting in his corner armchair, bare-chested and dressed only in his pajama pants, which were pulled down off his hips. A needle was injected into his left thigh and his expression looked tense with concentration. A flicker of pain crossed his face.
My gaze caught an empty ampoule on his desk. I walked forward and reached for it. Danton’s eyes rose to meet mine and he watched me pick up the glass vial.
Morphine.
I dropped it onto the desk and flew out of there, running through the house, my heart pounding, my head full of confusion.
I couldn’t breathe.
“Scarlet,” he called after me.
I burst through the front door and bolted down the pathway, almost tripping on the rocks and grass and sticks that dug into my soles, not caring about the rain soaking my nightdress, having no thought of where I’d end up.
I sprinted onwards toward the crashing waves.
All this time Danton had feigned he was a man of the highest integrity, and he’d expected so very much from me - demanding the same, demanding honesty. I felt so damn stupid as I realized all the signs had been there: those moments when his drug intoxication had worn off and he’d gone pale and acted a little moody, only to disappear to be alone for a while again.
To give himself his fix.
On so many afternoons Danton had insisted we take a nap to recuperate, even on those lazy days we’d just spent basking in the sun.
Now it all made sense.
My feet carried me across the sand toward the water. Waves lapped at my feet as a stark chill soaked into my bones.
“Scarlet!” Danton’s voice rose above the crashing surf. “Scarlet, please.”
“Go away!”
“It’s not what you think,” he said, approaching me.
“Morphine?”
“Yes, but—”
“How long? How long have you been an addict?”
He leaned over and rested his hands on his knees. “I didn’t want you to find out like this.” He tried to smile. “Give me a second.”
“I hate you.” I spat out. “You act all high and mighty. Expecting so much of me—”
“Please let me explain.” Danton straightened to his full height. He faced the ocean and shook his head.
We were both soaked from the rain; him with his pants sticking to his legs and me with my nightdress clinging to my cold flesh.
