Page 83 of Down the Aisle
Soon, James would cease to exist, and I'd just feed the story of him getting sentenced to Eliza. If need be, then I'd forge up some fake articles and records for her to shift through if she wanted.
"We'll keep you updated about him, don't worry." A sharp pang to my heart made me wince a little.
Lying to Eliza has slowly become rather painful. Hailee liked to call it growing a conscience and shit, and that probably was the case. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about it. Alright,well, I could do something about it; tell the fucking truth. Too bad that wasn't the best option given what the lies covered up. So, a lifetime of heartache it was.
It wasn't as if I lied to her often or much. I only omitted my mafia life and, I guess, this whole James situation. But it'd all blow over eventually, right? At the very least, James would be dropped sooner rather than later. The whole mafia secret was a whole different story that I needed to sort out. For my sake, I needed to figure that shit out much sooner and never later. Hell, I was pretty sure if I held out long enough, then one of my parents would tattle on me.
"Tell me what's on your mind, little rose." Maybe hearing her dump everything on me would ease this guilt and pain. I mean, her voice was always so soothing to me, so it had to do the trick.
Her soft fingertips danced across my cheeks while her smile crossed my eyes, and we both admired each other for a long minute before more words came out of her luscious lips. "It's finally over, or at least very close to being all over." Her whole body relaxed with her words. Those little fingers of hers slowly flattened against my cheek until her whole hand rested against it. "As long as nothing happens, then James ends up behind bars, and that's the end of that. Well, I guess it'll be officially over once I file for divorce since I uhh am technically still married to him legally."
"Oooh, my darling, is so scandalous," I teased playfully with a chuckle, earning a smack to the chest from her. "Scandalous." Kiss. "And dangerous." Kiss. "And so fucking sexy." The third kiss was dragged out until Eliza fought against me for some air.
Holding her firm against me, I looked down at her with a rather wild grin. "Seeing you with a gun is probably one of the hottest things in my life." Discount the shock and all those iffy emotions on her face, of course. "Maybe I should take you downto the shooting range sometimes or just shoot in the back with you."
Also, I was low-key jealous of the fact Eliza had such a fond memory with James. It peeved me a little how she recounted that moment with such nostalgia in her eyes, and my irritation didn't simmer out when James seemed to have a moment with her because of that recounting. In a way, it was almost as if reality was reminding me of the possibility of losing Eliza, and I hated it.
Eliza is mine, and only mine!
We weren't temporary. We were forever for eternity.
A surge of possessive anger clouded my mind, spurring me to grab Eliza's face and kiss her hungrily. "If you didn't need rest right now, then I'd screw you stupid until you're nothing but a moaning mess dripping my cum out of every hole on your body," I growled deeply against her lips, letting my chest rumble against her trembling body.
Her soft eyes fluttered shut for a moment as she let out a breathy moan. Then, her whole body slumped a little with a weight to her shoulders. "Alarm." I immediately backed off at the sound of that word—figuratively backed off, that is. "Not right now. I want to, but I can't. I'm not up for it, nor am I in the right headspace for anything intense or intimate. I just need you to hold me, so I know you are real and here for me."
Cradling the back of her head, I pressed her into my chest. My other hand soothed her back with slow rubs while my lips spilled every sweet compliment and kiss to her head.
It was unusual for Eliza to use her safe word. Aside from when we tested her limits, I could count on one hand the number of times she uttered that single word. Usually, it was during moments when she was frazzled and overwhelmed beyond what she could comprehend.
Naturally and rightfully, like any decent partner and Dom, I immediately dropped everything at the single word. There was a time and place for everything, and when Eliza drew that line, that was that. No funny business, just sappy sweetness, support, and love.
"Do you want me to get you anything? Small snack? Drink?" She didn't really eat much during the party, but I chalked that up to her being so busy running around and mingling with everyone. Of course, before I could force her to sit and properly eat, she'd stepped out, and the rest was history.
Humming softly, Eliza shook her head lightly in response. "I'll be fine with my water. Besides, I'm getting really sleepy and just want to snooze." Her voice trailed in and out with her slow blinks.
With a curt hum, I kissed her forehead. "Alright, my darling. I'll stay until you sleep, then I'll head back to the party until it's wrapped up. I'll get Asher to bed and everything as well." I whispered lowly against her head before pressing another kiss to it.
"Good night, bub. I love you," Eliza mumbled against my chest with a smile, closing her eyes and getting comfortable against me.
"Good night, little rose. I love you too."
Chapter 31
Eliza
"I'm gonna miss you."
Adam paused midair with folding his shirt to look at me with a crestfallen smile. "I'm going to miss you more," my cheeky asshole replied oh so cooly. "It's only a week, and you'll have Hailee and my parents here."
Sighing heavily, I crossed my arms and pouted while trudging up to him. Stopping inches from him, I jutted my chest out and huffed my chin up. "I still don't like it," I grumbled, making my displeasure about his last-minute business trip known.
It also felt strange to not have him around for that long. Sure, we've been apart before ever since we made things official,but nothing beyond two days at most. So, a whole week without Adam made my chest tighten as if someone had punched a hole through my chest and squeezed my heart in a vice grip.
Additionally, I didn't have a good feeling about this trip of his. Dread filled my endless cup whenever I thought about him being out at sea for seven days, but it wasn't the typical bad feeling as I'd never see him again or anything like that. No, it wasn't paranoia or anxiety about some unseen doom. I didn't know how to properly label my turbulent emotions, let alone figure out how to voice them to Adam without sounding like some accusing bitch.
On that note, why did it come out that way? Why did I feel like I'd be accusing him of something? What was there to accuse?
'Maybe it's because you might not know him as well as you thought…'
