Page 114 of Bitten & Burned
I still hadn’t opened my eyes, but I figured I probably should if I wanted to figure out where I was.
Blinking slowly, I took in the room.
The fire wasn’t roaring, just crackling—low and steady, casting the whole room in a soft glow. There wasn’t muchsunlight, but that was probably due to a lack of windows rather than the hour.
I felt Fig stretch on my feet. I glanced down to see my cat curled into a ball at the bottom of the bed.
So I wasn’t entirely alone.
The bed was large. Opulent. A four-poster frame. Velvet tapestries dressed the walls. Wine-colored bedding. Everything screamed Anton.
His apartment, then. This must be it. The one in Serpentine Bay.
I swallowed, my throat dry and sore. My whole body ached—deep, slow, unrelenting.
The pain in my thigh flared with each movement, a cruel reminder I wasn’t free of it yet.
I swung my feet over the edge of the bed, expecting him to be in another room. Perhaps in the kitchen.
But when I stepped out into the hallway, I froze.
A grand staircase curved downward like a spiral. That’s when it hit me, sharp and cold. I remembered.
Anton and Quil weren’t here.
Just Cassian.
They’d taken the yacht back up the coast. The long way. They would be gone for three days.
My shoulders slumped.
I’d hoped, foolishly, that they would’ve at least said goodbye before leaving.
I hovered at the top of the stairs, torn between going down or retreating to the cocoon of wine-colored bedding, willing the day to cease existing.
I must’ve stood there too long, because footsteps echoed on the marble and Cassian appeared at the base of the stairs.
The bond hummed faintly at the sight of him—steady, grounding—but it only made the hollow left by the others ache more.
He looked up at me, warm eyes meeting mine.
“Are you coming down, little dove?”
I shook my head, shifting on my feet. “I think I’ll just stay up in bed…”
His voice softened. “Would you like something to eat?”
I hesitated. “No… not really.”
“That’s alright,” he said, turning slightly. “I’ll just make some tea anyway. You don’t have to drink it, but I’ll feel better, knowing that it’s there.”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, though I wasn’t sure what for. For worrying him, for being difficult, for always being too much and not enough.“Tea could be nice,” I added.
He nodded once and disappeared through a door to what I could only assume was the apartment’s kitchen. I hadn’t explored this place. Without Anton, it almost felt wrong to do so. So I turned and went back to the bedroom. I crawled back into the safety of the bed that still carried his scent. Fuck, I missed him.
My heart ached in my chest at the thought. I wanted him here. Quil too.
I didn’t want them sailing a stupid boat up the coast. I wanted them here. With me. In bed. Preferably naked, or close to it. Gods, I just wanted things to slow down. Just for a moment. I wanted them to have stayed.
