Page 105 of Captive Bride

It fits like a dream. He knows me too well.

I put on my favorite diamond necklace and then sit on the bed, not knowing what to do next.

I can’t think about meeting Tristan right now. I can’t think about leaving this room and walking through the penthouse and having the guards and all the people stare at me like, This is the girl that’s been grieving for so long.

Being the center of attention is not my thing. A part of me still just wants to disappear back into the blankets and never come out again.

Somebody knocks on the door, and I assume it’s Benny with another espresso.

But it’s Tristan. He peeks his head around the corner and looks at me. And yes, he’s carrying another cappuccino. Thank god, too, because I need it.

He walks in, seeing that I’m up and awake for once.

“Isobel, are you okay?”

I look at him and say, “What kind of question is that? Of course it’s not okay, Tristan. You ruined my life. You stole away the one person that I loved.”

He doesn’t hesitate to walk right in. He leaves the cappuccino on the bedside table and then comes to me. He sits next to me on the bed, and just the smell of him, his masculine scent, and his energy—they overwhelm me.

I’m in love.

But I try to hold back. I’m mad at him, after all.

I sit back and take the cappuccino and sip it. It slowly wakes my body and mind up out from the hazy fog I’ve been stuck underneath.

“Isobel, I know I can’t explain anything to you. You saw exactly what happened. But you have to forgive me and get over it. This is war, after all.”

I ignore him and sip the cappuccino. He watches me intently the entire time. I can’t make eye contact with him, or I know that’ll be it, I’ll melt and give in to him and give him whatever he wants.

He gets up and walks over to the windows to open the curtains. Just as he’s doing so, I say, “No. Please don’t. I’m not ready.”

He comes back to me and has a worried look on his face.

“Isobel, you have to start living again. Theo’s gone.”

I try not to look at him, but I can’t help it. Eventually, I raise my eyes up to his face, and we make eye contact.

Fire.

Ice.

Just like I said, this one moment of eye contact reconnects me with him, and I know that it’s real, and I’m his again forever.

I put the cappuccino down and get up and go to him. I hug him tightly and cry a little bit. I nuzzle into his strong body and feel for once like it’s gonna be okay.

He holds me for a while just like that, our bodies feeling each other again after what feels like an eternity.

And then he puts his strong arms underneath me and picks me up and brings me back to the bed. He lays me down gently and begins to kiss me like he’s never kissed me before.

All the days of being apart are flashing into memory, and all I can think about is him and all he can think about is me.

We need each other to survive.

He peels the red slip dress off of my body, and I feel grateful to be back in his embrace again.

At the same time, I know this is an inescapably deep kind of love—and I just want to fall into him forever.

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