Page 66 of Deadline for Love

“Oh, Bella, I didn’t know you had such filthy thoughts in the morning.”

His voice and sentence made me unable to get another word out of my mouth.

“I meant I wanted to take care of you. You know, breakfast in bed, a less handsy shower.”

I was still speechless and couldn’t utter a word.

“Are you being shy now? Babe, I’ve seen and tasted all of you. There’s literally nothing to hide. I can even count the beauty marks around your pussy.”

“Nathan!” I almost shouted, but I kept my voice in check.

“I love the way you say my name.”

“I’m going to hang up now,” I mumbled, but he spoke up again.

“Wait, wait! Sorry, I’ll stop teasing you. I was going to ask you how you were feeling? Are you okay?”

I took a deep breath; the warm morning breeze circled around me and brushed my hot cheeks. “I’m fine. I’m walking a little bow-legged, but I’ll survive.”

He hummed and then said,“And how are you feeling?”

“Tired. But…” I swallowed hard, my hands shaking slightly from all the feelings spreading through my body. “I feel terrific... because of you.”

I heard it rustle briefly on the line, and then his beautiful, deep voice was heard again.“I wish you were here. Don’t ever leave me like that. I want to wake up with you in my arms.”

We were both in our dream world, and I had the urge to return to him and cradle myself in his arms. But somehow, I felt too shy to see him now.

I also had some questions in my head. Was this real now? Were we still getting to know each other? And why was I so afraid to ask him to clarify this?

“Bella, can you cut out early today?”he whispered, making my heart skip a beat.“I want to spend more time with you.”

All my worries faded in one fell swoop.

“I’ll try,” I confirmed and ended the call.

I was in love. I was madly in love with Nathan and was afraid to admit it out loud. I was worried I would be disappointed again. I was scared... of losing him...

“Good morning, Bella. What are you doing out here?” Eric’s voice startled me as I stood outside the building, not paying attention to my surroundings.

“Wow, calm down. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He laughed and patted my shoulder. “Why are you standing here and not going in?”

“I was just on the phone,” I said when I finally found my voice again and calmed down.

“Oh, I see. Well then, come on.” He held the door to the building open for me, and I nodded as I stepped inside.

I quickly breathed in and out to regain my composure and return to work-mode. For now, I had to take care of my work, and later... yes, later, I could think about Nathan again.

As I returned to my desk, I was absorbed and started working on my articles. I had some feedback from people who had something to do with Natali and Anna, who wanted to do an interview with me via video chat. At some point, Nia came over to discuss the situation with me. She had new ideas and wanted to share. She suggested spending the night in my apartment to catch the suspect by surprise when he knocked.

I didn’t like the idea at all as we didn’t know what kind of weapons he had, and I didn’t want to put anyone in that kind of danger. Although she suggested letting Nathan do it, I was against it. Even if he was strong, the threat was too high.

Sulking, she gave in and abandoned the idea. Instead, I made an appointment with her to interview the friends of the victims, which lifted her spirits a little.

I finished work around three pm and drove briefly to Amara’s as she still hadn’t returned to work. She was home alone while Justin was at work, but she was feeling better, which calmed me down.

“Have you been to the doctor again?” I asked, sitting down on the sofa.

“Yes, I have to go for check-ups all the time; it’s actually really annoying,” she explained, touching her belly, which was slightly visible.

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