Page 49 of Betrayed in the Dark
Hold her in my arms and tell her everything will be okay.
To tell her…
“I’m sorry,” she whispers right before turning around and stepping farther into her room, closing the door behind her.
I stand there, wondering what she could possibly be apologizing for. Doesn’t she know that she could stomp on my heart a thousand times, rip it clean down the middle, and shatter it into a million pieces, and I would never need an apology?
Not from her.
Chapter eleven
Madeleine
“Miss Alarie, welcome to Taste This.” Elena, the CEO of this luxury bakery, extends her hand for me to shake. Her long, dark hair falls in waves, meeting the pastel pink apron tied around her slender waist.
“Thank you for fitting me into your busy schedule.” I remove my coat, offering it over to her assistant’s outstretched hands.
Elena smiles. “I must say, I was quite surprised to receive a request for a cake tasting so close to your big day. However, it would be an absolute honor to have one of my cakes at your wedding.” Her warm, brown eyes trail behind me. “And you must be Alastor.”
Chills dance up my spine as Eli’s dominating presence approaches from behind.
Delicious memories from a few nights ago flash in my mind.
I tighten my thighs together, trying but failing to ease the pulse blooming in my core.
I haven’t spoken to him since then and didn’t have the nerve to say more than four words to him this morning—I have an appointment—before I walked out the door and threw myself in the back of my waiting car.
What we did shouldn’t have happened.
Purely because it left my body desperately searching for another orgasm that it would never find.
But now that I’ve had a taste of it, a delicious reminder of what we used to be like together, I can’t help but crave more.
“This is my bodyguard, Eli,” I answer before he can correct her.
He extends a hand around my waist, and I suck in a breath, his closeness sending me over the edge of any sanity I might have left.
“Lovely to meet you,” he says, his hand enveloping hers.
“Do I detect a hint of an English accent?” Elena asks, her cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink.
I internally scoff.Oh, please.
“Yes.” Eli grins. “I’m from Surrey.”
“Ah! I thought it sounded familiar—”
“I’m here!” Alina rushes inside, brushing snow off her shoulders. She quickly unwraps her scarf and takes off her gloves before sliding her coat down her arms. “Sorry. I couldn’t find any parking nearby.” The same assistant from earlier takes her things, glancing down at the wet mess around her boots with dismay.
I quickly embrace her. “I told you we could have picked you up.”
She waves a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry. I’m out of the way anyway.” She smiles and greets Eli before looking around at everyone. “So, what did I miss?”
“Nothing yet,” I reply, taking a step back and accidentally bumping into Eli. He steadies me by gripping both of my arms.“Sorry,” I say, jumping out of his touch as I smooth a hand down my white blouse.
He looks at me with one eyebrow raised. “Someone’s a little on edge.”
I lift a shoulder. “I haven’t really been sleeping well.”
