Page 177 of Love Among the Ruins
“He’s not going to do anything to her,” Miranda cried.
“Trust me.” These were his last words to the dynamic duo as he slowly manoeuvred Eleni. “Come on. Come with me. I’ve got you.” With an arm around her waist, and her arm around his shoulder, he lead her back to his hotel which was only a short distance away.
* * *
The light of the bedside lamp turned Eleni’s skin golden.
An hour had passed since Dominic had brought her here, but she’d fallen asleep as they got into the elevator. He carried her to his room and had slipped off her shoes, then put her into his bed.
Now he sat on the armchair, watching her sleep, waiting for her to awaken. He longed to touch her, to run his fingers gently along the contours of her face, but he held back, and instead turned the lamp off, needing to catch some sleep himself.
He awoke to the sound of birdsong and, judging by the slivers of light filtering through the blinds, he must have been out a good few hours. Eleni stirred, and then sat up in bed, wiping her face with her hands. She looked around the room, confused. “What am I doing in your bed?”
He kept his distance and remained in his chair. “You’d had too much to drink.”
She moaned. “That seems to be my default whenever you’re around.”
He got up and poured her a glass of water. “Take this. You’re dehydrated.”
She emptied the glass. He walked back to the side table and poured her another glass. By the time he returned, she’d turned the lamp on. “Here.”
She sat up and blinked a few times. “Why am I here?” she asked, then took a few gulps of water.
“Because we need to talk.”
“Talk away. I’m in your bed ... you have me where you want.”
He scowled not liking what she said. “If I remember correctly, the last time you were in bed when I was around, you were the one doing the begging.”
She drank the rest of the water and said nothing.
“You were drunk earlier. You were hugging me. You could barely walk. What was I supposed to do?” he asked.
“You could have left me where I was, with my friends. Having fun.”
“Were you though? You looked pretty miserable to me. You were holding your head in your hands when I came over.”
“How long were you watching me for?”
“Not long.”
“Why are you here,Dom?”
His mouth set in a hard line and he had to force himself to not react. She knew it pissed him off. He stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets. He was still in his same clothes from yesterday and it was … he raised his wrist to check but he didn’t have his Rolex anymore. Miranda did.
He glanced at the bedside clock. It was almost five in the morning. They had plenty of time. “I wanted you to stay at the villa.”
She rolled her eyes. “That, again.”
He wanted her to know that him being cold to her the other day wasn’t a true reflection of his feelings for her.
“I had to get back,” she said, her voice dull and flat, as if she was fed up with him.
“You didn’t.”
“I don’t own the company, Dominic. I had a job to return to.”
“But I wanted you to stay.” If only he could tell her how he really felt about her.
