Page 21 of Eternal

“Carlo Sanchez. He was-”

“He was involved in the trafficking case. Fuck.” I run a hand over my face and through my hair. “Okay. I’ll be in shortly. I have some things I need to take care of first.”

I hang up on her before she can get another word in. Not how I imagined the rest of my night going, and I don’t think I can be back in time before Freya wakes up, especially since she’s up at random times. I pad back to the bedroom and stand in the doorway, watching her sleep. Her face is scrunched up, and her breathing is a little heavier. I wonder if she’s having a nightmare. I leave her be, despite my gut telling me to wake her. I don’t want her to question me about my business affairs. It’s not safe for her to know at the moment.

I bend over, grabbing my clothes, not even bothering to dress since my apartment is in the same building. I fumble around in the kitchen, looking for a piece of paper and a pen. I at least need to leave her a note explaining my absence. Perhaps I should leave my number. I grin at myself, the plan I have concocted is much better, so she doesn’t need it for now. I leave the note on her nightstand and kiss her forehead, my hand resting on the deep incline of her waist. Her figure is something men can only dream of. But I have to refrain from touching her anymore. I head towards the door and relock it with her spare key. I’ll find a way to put it back in her apartment once I can make a copy.

Entering my otherwise dead building, the security guard sits ramrod straight when he sees my figure.

“Sir, who-” He starts, but when I just glance at him, he shuts up. “Have a good night, Mr. Astor.”

“More like morning,” I mutter more to myself. Still pissed that I had to leave Freya alone. I was hoping to wake up next to her, but that won’t happen for a while.

Robin meets me at the elevator. Her tiny figure pushes a cart alongside me, not uttering a word. She knows the drill. We head toward the basement, and I start to prep. I pull my hair into a semi-ponytail, but some hair still falls out of it, framing my face instead. It's not quite long enough to tie it back completely.I wonder if Freya likes my long hair, or if she wants me to cut it.I shed my black raincoat, revealing my work clothes. A black long sleeve henley and dark pants. The cart she is pushing contains another set of clothing and a computer.

“Robin, I need you to find and purchase these things for me and have them sent to this address.” I slip her a piece of paper containing the apology gift for Freya and the address to her apartment in Seattle.

“Seattle? What’s in Seattle?” She asks, her face bunched up in confusion.

The elevator doors ding open, and I look over my shoulder at her. “My future wife.”

She freezes, jaw dropping, and I stalk my way to the room they are in. Somehow the bastard managed to get loose and used a scalpel to slit Carlo's throat. All of which streamed to our client via the cameras set up in the room. But our client isn’t upset knowing I was called in to finish the job. Robin follows behind me, and I turn to the computer to see where he’s hiding. My phone buzzes, but I just hand it off to Robin for her to deal with it. In the cameras, I see he’s hiding in the corner of the room, right beside the door. Probably waiting for someone to come in. He’s armed and ready to strike when necessary. I shut the computer's lid, and Robin slips a gun and knife to me.

I open the door and enter quickly. Of course, the idiot attacks me instantly and narrowly misses my face. We struggle for a moment as I try to take the scalpel out of his hand and wrestle him back into the chair. But I give up halfway through; it’s too early in the morning to put on a show for our client. Usually, I’d make a big scene, make it almost theatrical as I take the man’s life, but today I don’t want to. Catching this guy resulted in a bigger task than we thought it would be. Plus, he just killed one of my men. A good one at that too. I do manage to finally grab the scalpel from him and pull my knife out. I stab him several times in the chest, and blood spurts each time, ceasing his defensive moves. He gargles on the blood that’s invaded his lungs and falls to his knees. I pick him up by the back of his head and point him toward the camera.

“I’m charging you extra,” I say to the camera, intending it to be for the client, as I repeatedly drive the knife into his diaphragm.

The monster I keep locked up comes out, as memories of Luca watching Freya, kissing her knuckles, flirting with her, and simply being in her presence flood my vision. Primal, blinding rage fills my body as I take it out on him with each thrust of the knife into his torso. Blood covers my face as it takes force to pull it back out. The gargling from choking on his blood ceases, as do his other movements. I know he’s dead. He’s been dead. But I can’t stop.

I need more.

Will Freya ever be able to accept this side of me? This inherent instinct to protect her, and keep her safe. I know this, when we move away, we are going far away, living almost off the grid. I don’t want anyone to find her. She’s mine.

I release the body that crumples to the floor as my reason starts to inch back in. I blink away the burning blood in my eyes, and spit a few times on the body, trying to get the taste of blood out of my mouth.

I leave the room with my arms and face coated in blood. Robin is waiting on the other side of the door. I walk past her towards the showers. She pushes the cart near one of the stalls before stepping back out of the room. I strip down and stand under the water as it runs over me. The blood is washed from me, and I turn to the computer, pulling up the cameras to Freya’s place. She is awake but, from the looks of it, hasn't read my note. It sits in the same position as I left it. She’s lying on her side, facing the direction where I was laying. For a moment, I think she’s asleep, but the moment I see her hand slip into the waistband of her shorts. My mouth gapes at her. Is she actually going there? She rolls onto her back and takesallof her clothes off.

A part of me wants to walk away and not watch, I know I’m invading her personal space, but I can’t. My cock stirs to life as her legs spread wide open, and her fingers plunge into her pussy. I grip my cock, and run my hand along the shaft. One of her hands is half covering her face, and I can’t make out what she’s saying. Is she calling out my name as she brings herself to orgasm?God, I hope so.My eyes are glued to every one of her movements, and I memorize what her body looks like. I can tell she’s getting close, and the hand covering her face comes down to tweak one of her nipples.

My eyes widened. I guess I didn’t realize she would know how to bring herself to orgasm like this. Her eyebrows furrowed together, and her mouth widened more. I pump myself harder and faster. I want to come when she does. Her back arches off the bed and her muscles go taunt. Fuck she’s hot. There’s pressure building in my balls, and my hand jerks faster. Her face turns red, and her mouth drops open as she spasms. At the same time, the pressure releases as I groan, my hand getting covered in cum. I like to imagine it's covering her hand or her face. My eyes close for a moment as I steady my breathing. When my eyes open, they immediately go back to the screen, watching her. She looks relaxed now. Sedated even. I glance at the clock and realize it’s four in the morning. She’s probably going to sleep for a while longer now. I take several steps back into the shower and keep my eyes glued to the screen, committing her body to memory.

Chapter nine

Freya

WhenIwakethefollowing day, Soren is still missing, and a pang of sadness takes hold in my chest, wishing he had at least said goodbye. I roll over to grab my phone on the nightstand when I find a handwritten note.

I’m sorry I had to leave earlier than I wanted. An emergency came up with work. I had a wonderful night last night. I’ll see you soon, my darling.

x Soren

I reread the note. I’ll see you soon.How? I’m scheduled to go back to Seattle tonight. He didn’t leave me a phone number either. How am I supposed to reach him? I guess I won’t be in contact with him until after the wedding.

The front door opens to Abe and Serena walking in. They tiptoe as though they’re trying to quietly enter, to not disturb Soren and me from whatever activities they imagined were transpiring. I meet them in the living room, sipping on my coffee.

“Oh! Freya, I wasn’t expecting you to be awake yet.” Serena pauses to study my face to see if Soren hurt me, “Where is Soren?”

“He had a work-related emergency and left. I just don’t know when. I got up around four am, and he was already gone.” I barely recognize myself as my voice comes out monotone and with a touch of disappointment.

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