Page 99 of Peasants and Kings
“Gah!” I reared back into my pillow, trying to put distance between Hadrian and me.
Sunlight filtered through the glass doors leading to the balcony, bathing the room in a fresh morning glow.
“How did I get here?” I asked in confusion. “I distinctly remember falling asleep on the theater-room couch.”
“You did. I carried you to the bed. You didn’t even notice.”
I lifted the sheet and saw that I was still in my pajamas from the previous evening and let out an exhale.
After leaving Hadrian on the rooftop terrace, I’d showered in an attempt to remove his touch from my skin, but it hadn’t worked. I still remembered the feel of him, the scent of him.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked, blinking the sleep from my eyes.
“A few minutes,” he replied.
“Why were you watching me sleep?”
“Curiosity.”
“About?”
“How you managed to fall asleep after our fight.”
“Brandy.”
“You drink brandy now?” he asked.
“I finished off the last of your scotch in the decanter while you were gone. I had to settle for the brandy.” I stared at him for a moment and stated, “You were up most of the night.”
I didn’t wait for confirmation because I didn’t need it. His sleepless night was in the shadows under his eyes.
He rolled over onto his back and lifted his arm to prop it behind his head. I made no move to scoot closer.
“I pride myself on being a man who can read a person within the first few seconds of meeting him. You are a constant surprise and that’s…unnerving. I don’t ever feel like I have a grasp on who you are.”
“It’s more than that, though. Isn’t it?”
“What you said in the pool, about the void—I didn’t like it. It struck a nerve because it was true.”
“So you left.”
“Aye.”
With a sigh, I admitted, “It did sting that you left without a word and didn’t contact me. But it reminded me of what we are. I’m a Rex girl and you’re the man who bought me for six months.”
He was silent for a moment as his gaze searched my face. “You won’t even concede that you were aloof?”
“What we did against the terrace wall…that was me aloof?” I asked with a roguish smile. When he didn’t grin at my teasing tone, I sobered. “While we’re attempting to hold each other accountable, will you concede that you fucked me against that wall as a form of punishment?”
“Punishment,” he said in surprise. “For what?”
“For me not sitting and pining for you while you were gone. For me not sending you text after text begging you to come back. For not acting like you expected me to.”
“Only if you concede that you were acting cool and flirtatious because you were trying to prove that you could play the true part of a Rex girl.”
“I concede,” I said easily. “What about you? Do you concede?”
He lifted his arm and I snuggled into him to rest my cheek against his chest. I waited for him to tell me he yielded, but I was waiting in vain.
