Page 83 of Power
“You aren’t going to leave me alone, are you?”
It just blinks solemnly and then vanishes.
Closing my eyes, I inhale and exhale slowly, feeling my body relax into the gorgeous softness of this bed, which feels like I’m floating on a cloud. I feel myself drift off, coming to when I hear Elsie tidying up around me, but I ignore her and go back to sleep.
When I wake up, it must be lunchtime because I hear Owen’s voice calling for me.
My body feels heavy like I can’t move, so I don’t. I just close my eyes again and let him come to find me. I feel him stroke my hair and kiss my forehead, leaving me again to sleep off my exhaustion to face the Court and whatever mysteries that entails.
Deep in my soul, the bud of excitement starts to bloom. I smile against the silk pillow. Queen. I’m the Queen. Archer’s Queen. Queen of Solitaire. I see the white rabbit in my mind’s eye, leaping off into the distance.
“Bye-bye,” I murmur. “Don’t miss that very important date.”
ChapterForty-Seven
Owen
“Hmm?”I turn back to Bailey, but she is fast asleep. She must’ve been mumbling to herself.
Watching her for a few moments, feeling my dreams come true, I pull up the chair closer to the bed so that I can stare at her in real life instead of on a screen. She is so beautiful. Perfection.
The need to ravage her is overwhelming, but I know she needs this rest. Elsie has reported that she’s been asleep since we left this morning.
“Are you staring at me sleeping?” she mumbles.
“Yep.”
“Creep.”
“If only you knew,” I murmur.
Her eyes open a crack. “Meaning? You are a creep?”
“Only with you. I like watching you.”
“What do you like watching me do apart from sleep?”
Resting my elbows on my knees, I lean forward, knowing she is teasing me. She has no clue I used to spy on her every move.
“Getting dressed, showering, eating, drinking your coffee, being fucked by my brother, slapping your father, you know, the usual stuff.”
She giggles and holds her hand to me. “You are an asshole.”
Taking it, I let her pull me onto the bed next to her. I lie down facing her, taking in her deep forest green eyes with a growing erection.
“How do you feel about Trish?” I ask, not pussyfooting about it.
“She was trying to kill me. I defended myself, and she tripped, hitting her head on the counter.”
“Didn’t ask for a rundown.”
She purses her lips. “I’m okay with what happened. I had some lingering feelings of guilt over not caring enough to help her, but they are gone now.”
“You sure?”
“It’s not going to come back and haunt me if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“As long as you come to me if it does, then we don’t have a problem.”
