Page 21 of Caged in Desire
“Seriously, it was nothing, but you’re welcome.” I give him a little squeeze since my arms are still wrapped around his waist. When he returns it with one of his own, I realize he hasn’t let go of me either.He’s hugging me.Henry Sinclair ishuggingme.
I can’t stop myself from resting against him, the top of my head barely reaching his chest, where his heart beats nearly as fast as mine. The moment lasts both forever and for only a moment before he’s pulling away with a soft smile on his face.
From the corner of my eye, I see an empty ashtray and realize his missing scent is tobacco. I’m trying to think of the last time I smelled it on him, but I can’t quite recall. “Did you stop smoking?”
He shrugs. “You told me I should quit.”
Oh…I look up at him with wide eyes, speechless.
“Good night, Katarina,” he says, tucking a piece of hair that’s fallen from my braid behind my ear. “I’ll see you tomorrow for a walk? Maybe we can check out the property lines in question.”
“I’d love to.” I smile, gather my blanket, and make my way out of the study. “Good night, Henry.”
Chapter eleven
“Katarina!” Knocking louder on her bedroom door, I wait for her to appear. I know it’s slightly earlier than her normal wake-up time unless she gets up much earlier than necessary for her morning swim. And usually we don’t swim on Sundays, but…
The door flies open, and a terrifying creature resembling my wife stands before me.
“What. Is. Wrong with you? It’s four o’clock in the morning! On a Sunday!”
She’s as I’ve never seen her before. Her braid is puffy around her head and frizzy along its length, there are sleep marks on the right side of her face from a pillow, and her pajamas, if they can be referred to as such, are askew. Tiny shorts not quite high enough to meet her pajama tank as it rides up her abdomen, showing a delicious sliver of skin and hinting at…
“Henry!”
“Hmm, yes?” I reply, forgetting why I’m here in the first place.
“If you don’t tell me why you’re here right now, I’m going to attack, and I promise you, since I have the element of surprise, I will win.”
I can’t resist a smirk at the idea that she thinks she could bring me to the ground, with a foot and a half on her in height and weighing at least one hundred and fifty pounds more, too.
“As fun as that sounds, and as terrifying as you are right now looking like an angry kitten, I was seeing if you were ready for our walk.”
Long seconds pass as she blinks up at me.
“A walk. At four o’clock. In the cold morning air. On a Sunday. Sundays are meant for sleeping in!” she exclaims, already moving toward her closet to change. I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist a walk.
“Well, it’s ten past four now that we’ve been having this riveting discussion for so long, and I want to stop by the kitchen and make sure my pack is adequately stocked for the day before we leave. So it’ll likely be more of a four thirty in the morning walk, depending on how quickly you can get ready.”
Wandering through the open door clearly meant as an invitation, I avert my eyes slowly from where I can see her changing in the closet. A flash of a hot-pink sports bra and matching panties, cut high on her hips, is all I allow before reminding myself I am a gentleman, not some pervert ogling unsuspecting women. She is my wife, however…
“You can look, you know. I am your wife.”
I glance back up to see her crossing the room in just her bra and panties, rummaging around in her nightstand before walking back into the closet.
I look and immediately regret it. I promised myself after almost losing it at the pool the other day that I would keep my hands to myself until she’s ready. She’s my wife, but she’s still young, and she’s only recently had her entire life upended.And if I ever get my hands on her, well. If she knew the things I wanted to do to her, she would probably run.She doesn’t deserve me lusting after her while she tries to acclimate to hernew home, but I can’t help it. She’s all I can think about. And if she does decide one day that she wants to take our relationship to the next level, I’ll certainly be waiting with open fucking arms.
Before I can follow this line of thought any further, she’s back in front of me, fully dressed in walking gear that’s perfect for the weather and the distance I’m hoping to cover today. Even if I have to slow my stride for her to take two steps for every one of mine. At least.
“You look like you’ve been dropped directly into an English moor. Perfection,” I say, kissing her knuckles as she smiles.
“I wanted to be curled up in that bed for at least four more hours, so I hope whatever you have for me at the end of this walk is better than amoor,” she sasses, and I laugh with her as we make our way to the kitchen to grab a quick bite before heading out the door.
A few miles into our walk, the first tendrils of daylight start to peek above the horizon.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Katarina says softly. “I haven’t been out this early, but the sunrise is spectacular. Thank you for bringing me, even if I was a little grumpy about being woken up. I expected you to work again today and really did plan to sleep in a while. When we agreed to go on a walk, I thought it would be much later.”
“I wouldn't say you were grumpy,” I reply, enjoying the small smile she gifts me. “Iwouldsay you resembled a gremlin more than anything else, and I was very briefly afraid for my life, though.”
