Page 61 of Take Me Under

Jealousy hit instantly, and much harder than it should have.

Since when do I get jealous?

I felt my body tense, and I slid out of bed before she could notice. I needed a moment to process the foreign emotion, realizing that it wasn’t the first time I’d felt it when it came to Serena. Crossing to the minibar near the window, I poured myself a whiskey.

“Drink?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder.

She shook her head. “No, thanks.”

“You were saying?” I said, keeping my tone casual. As much as I didn’t want to hear about her ex-lover, she was talking and I needed answers.

“He hated how much time I spent helping my mother with my father. He said I was neglecting him, that I cared more about my parents than I did about him. He always made me feel like I was in the wrong. And for a time, I believed I was. He was the master at manipulation, somehow painting a different reality that made me question everything.”

Gaslighting.

The word echoed in my mind, though I didn’t say it aloud.

“Did you love him?”

“I thought I did. But then I learned that love wasn’t supposed to be toxic.”

“Sounds like a real gem,” I said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “Is that why you split up? Because he was toxic?”

She gave a humorless laugh, the sound almost startling in the quiet room. “He slept with my best friend. That was the end for me.”

Her tone was matter-of-fact, but her eyes betrayed her. There was anger there, a deep-seated betrayal that would leave scars no matter how long it had been.

“He didn’t deserve you,” I said.

She tilted her head, a faint smile playing at her lips. “I know that now.”

I paced the room, pausing only to take another sip of whiskey. I used the burn to ground me as I mulled over her story. What she revealed tonight was nothing out of the ordinary, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something.

I drained the rest of my drink, setting the glass on the nightstand before sliding back into bed.

“What time is your flight tomorrow?” I asked, changing the subject.

“One fifteen,” she said. “I’ll need to be at the airport a couple of hours before that though.”

“Zeke will drive you,” I said, earning a skeptical look.

“I can catch a cab.”

“I know you can, but I’d prefer it if Zeke drove you.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

“I’ll be in Italy within the week,” I continued. “It will be easier for us to be more ourselves there, in a country where I’m less recognizable. That’s when our thirty days start.”

She raised a brow, her lips curving into a playful smile. “Once again, your arrogance astounds me. We still haven’t agreed to any terms.”

I slid a hand along her waist, running my fingertips over the smooth skin at her stomach before moving up to cup one of her breasts.

“Tell me your terms, Serena.”

Her breath hitched as I skimmed my index finger over a nipple, circling the hard peak.

“Oh, I um…I was thinking—” She hissed through her teeth when I pinched the ridged point. “I was thinking we should take it day by day. Or maybe week to week. A month is long.”

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