Page 44 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

I crawled into bed. I hadn’t bothered to turn the lights on so there was nothing left for me to do but sleep.

I stared at the empty side of the bed where he’d normally be. I felt so fucking alone. My heart felt tight. My body ached with need. The need to be comforted. The need to feel him against me.

I was crazy over that goddamn man. I couldn’t live without Aiden, but right now, I couldn’t live with him either. Maybe it would be better if I went back to my own home. Perhaps we needed space from each other.

The thought of going back to my empty flat filled me with dread. I wasn’t safe there. I was only safe here, with him. Where he could protect me if anyone tried to come after me.

Now I’d gone back out into the real world, that was a very real possibility. What if my uncle decided he wanted me gone? I was a problem for him. I always had been and especially now I’d threatened him to keep him in line.

I waited, but Aiden didn’t come to bed. I hadn’t heard a peep from anywhere else in the flat. Had he even moved away from the window? Why did I even care when he was being such a dick?

Because you love him.

Thanks brain. Loving him was sometimes incredibly frustrating. He was so bloody stubborn and unyielding.

I rolled over and crawled out of bed. Not caring that I was only wearing skimpy knickers, I wrenched open the bedroom door and prowled the flat in search of him.

My assumption about him not having moved was correct. He stood staring out the living room window. For fuck’s sake, I really had no fucking willpower when it came to him.

I walked around the sofa and pressed myself against his back, wrapping my arms around his waist, my hands splayed out across his stomach.

“Aiden,” I whispered. “Please don’t shut me out. I love you so much.”

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