Page 180 of Now and Forever

Chapter 60

“I’ve missed you so fucking much,” Drew said against my ear after he had taken me for the third time.

We were both naked on the rug while the heat of the fire warmed our bodies.

His words had affected me like they always did. I had missed him, too, but words were just words to him, and to me, they meant everything. So instead of telling him the same, I rolled onto my stomach and smiled down at the beautiful man before me.

“Your stamina leaves me in awe.”

His face softened before he cupped my face, gazing at me with that familiar look in his eyes. “I’ve missed you, Chloe.”

Why did he feel the need to repeat it? He knew I had avoided it the first time, so why did he have to put me in an odd position right after he had just blown my mind?

“I’m … uh … going to shower. I’ll be right back.” It might be selfish of me, but he had taught me never to trust him. His words and actions differed from one another. I knew better than falling for the same trap again.

I was in the shower, on the verge of tears, when he decided to join me. Without saying anything, he began soaping my body, scrubbing it thoroughly before he went on to shampooing my hair. He then carefully rinsed my hair, making sure there weren’t any suds reaching my eyes before he planted a kiss on my lips. Afterward, he washed himself quickly before we jumped out . Then he continued catering to me by toweling me dry and surprising me by dressing me with one of his shirts without anything underneath.

“Now this is what I call perfection.” He grinned as he pulled me closer, hugging me close then kissing the top of my forehead.

He never steered away from me the entire weekend. When I showered, he came with me, and we ate together. We basically did everything together.

Much of our time was spent right next to the fire as he told me how things had come about with his father and ultimately admitted what I had guessed—that he was still acclimating to this new life.

Whenever he could, he would kiss my forehead and tell me how much he missed me. It was the closest thing to perfection, but I just couldn’t shake being incredulous.

We made use of the pantry instead of going to the main house for meals. And Drew gave strict orders that no one was to bother us, not even his father.

The entire weekend was probably the most romantic thing he had ever done for me. Regardless, I didn’t comment on that, either, fearful of giving too much away.

We didn’t come out of the bungalow until around noon on Sunday. By then, the blizzard had pretty much cleared out.

Before we left his father’s estate, we joined Conrad and Caroline for lunch in the main house, only the four of us. At one point, I thought Caroline seemed to have warmed up to me, but when it was time for us to depart back to the city, she showed me her true colors.

“Thank you for having me even though it was last minute.” My intentions were well as I thanked her for their generosity.

Caroline gave a knowing, conniving, falsely sweet smile that she wore well. “Don’t get too comfortable. His father has huge plans for him that don’t include you. Cherish these moment, love, because they won’t last long,” she said in a hushed tone, low enough so the others wouldn’t hear.

It took me a great deal to recover from her barbed innuendos.

Staring straight into her wretched eyes without batting an eyelash, I said, “I don’t plan to.”

She huffed with bravado before raising her chin. “Good, that saves me time from dispensing of you.”

Wow, what the hell was wrong with her? Drew wasn’t hers, nor was he anyone’s property. Nevertheless, she had made it seem as though they controlled him. I doubted the man I knew would condone it. He was as stubborn as they came, and no familial ties would ever change that.

“You’re a raving bitch, but you already know that. You won’t ever have him. I can tell you that much. Keep wishing, though.” After sending her the same sweet, nauseating smile, I continued toward Conrad, giving him a genuine hug, knowing well enough that Caroline was watching and hating the thought of another man’s attention landing on anyone but her.

Since she already saw me as competition and a threat, I wanted to push the knife deeper by going over to Drew and holding his hand before giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Ready to leave, babe?”

Drew gave me a sheepish smile before squeezing my hand. “Whenever you are.”

Without a backward glance at the bitchy Caroline, Drew and I took our exit, heading to where Everson patiently waited for us next to the black SUV.

“To the Mandarin, sir?” he immediately asked when we were securely fastened and set to go.

“No,” I adamantly interjected before glancing over at Drew with a pleading look on my face. “Can you give him directions to the apartment? I have them in my phone, but it died.”

Something crossed his face before he gave me a shrewd look. “You want to go home?” He sounded perplexed. “I thought we could spend a few more days at my place. You won’t have to worry about groceries or any of that. It’d make more sense if you stayed with me.”

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