Page 9 of Carnal Desire

Ariel

It was not even ten o’clock, but I’d had a long and exhausting trip. Sadie meanwhile looked like she was about to pass out right in her pizza, which would be a terrible waste of Aurelio’s. We wrapped up the rest of the food, putting it in the refrigerator, then I filled up both of our water glasses and led Sadie back to her room.

“There’s some sweats and tee shirts in the dresser,” I told her outside the guest room, eyeing her little backpack.

She couldn’t possibly have more than a couple of essentials in there. I made a mental note to text Theo and ask him to send over some clothes in her size.

“I try to keep an assortment of clothes in different sizes in case I have unexpected overnight guests. Anything you might needis in the bathroom. Help yourself to the toiletries or a new toothbrush, and feel free to take a bath or a shower. Just make yourself at home, okay?”

Sadie nodded, looking dazed. I didn’t think it was about me though. She’d been struggling for so long, now that she knew she didn’t have to worry about where to sleep or what to do, she was probably having an adrenaline dump. I’d bet anything she slept right through the night.

“Good night Sadie,” I said, rubbing her shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I grabbed my e-reader and settled in bed, leaning back against the padded headboard and looking out at the lights of the city while I thought about Sadie. Knowing that she’d been here in my bed gave me immense pleasure. I picked up the pillow she’d been sleeping on and pressed it against my face, smelling the fabric like a weirdo. There was no way I was changing these sheets.

I’d plugged my phone into the charger when I took my shower and I saw that I’d missed a few messages, mostly from Maeve and Grace. I’d made the mistake of confiding in them about my crush on Sadie one night when I’d had enough alcohol to loosen my inhibitions. I thought they’d forgotten about it, but clearly they hadn’t.

Pressing ignore, I settled into read until I fell asleep.

Twelve hours later Sadie was still sleeping. The poor girl was clearly exhausted. She’d left her bedroom door cracked open and I glanced in just to make sure she was breathing. She was sleeping on her back, spread out like a star fish, occasionally emitting the cutest little sound. It was somewhere between a snore and a snort.

I stared at her for way longer than I should have.

Sadie finally got up just before ten. I heard her moving around, closely followed by the sound of the shower starting. Ten minutes later she came into the living area, her hair wet, dressed in another rumpled pair of shorts and an ancient tee shirt.

I was glad that I’d asked Theo to have some clothes sent over. I couldn’t have my girl dressed like she’d just dug her clothes out of a dumpster. I texted him to let him know that Sadie was awake and he could bring the clothes now. I didn’t want him wandering around talking loudly while she was sleeping. Theo did not know how to speak softly. Although given how hard Sadie had been sleeping, it probably wouldn’t have mattered.

“Good morning, Goldilocks.”

She smirked at the nickname.

“I’m so sorry I slept so late,” Sadie said. “I usually wake up early. I can’t remember the last time I slept for more than a couple of hours.”

I shrugged, but it made me happy knowing that she felt safe enough to relax here.

“You obviously needed the sleep. Besides, it’s Saturday, there’s no rush.”

I pointed towards the kitchen.

“There’s coffee in the kitchen.”

Her eyes brightened. “Oh, great.”

She returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee, settling across the dining room table from me. I closed my laptop and gave her a smile.

“One Saturday a month I get together with a bunch of friends for what we call our Found Family Dinner,” I said. “It’s tonight. I was hoping that you’d come with me.”

She opened her mouth to argue but before she could get a word out I said, “I insist.”

“I don’t really have anything to wear for going out.”

“Don’t worry about it. My assistant is going to drop off some clothes for you to try on.”

Before she could stress about it I said, “It’s stuff that was going to go to charity anyway. Theo was organizing a clothing drive at the office. I asked him to bring by some items in your size.”

Maybe it was wrong to lie to her, but I wanted her to keep her pride. That’s why I’d asked Theo to be sure to remove all the tags.

“Have a seat, I’ll bring your breakfast.”

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