Court of Flowers (Sutherland Book 1)

XXX | A New Game

When West stirred awake, he instantly noticed one thing.

His arms were empty.

He opened his eyes.

It was still nighttime.

Slowly rising to his elbow, he called, "Sasha?"

The room was quiet, the curtains still.

With a frown, he gave the room another sweeping glance.

Slipping out of bed, he noticed that his robe was gone.

She may have awakened and was now searching for food in the kitchen, something she had done quite a few times before.

"Seven," he called, expecting the dog to come out of hiding from underneath the bed. He sighed. "Of course." Seven must be wherever Sasha was.

He lazily dressed in his trousers, ignoring his shirt, and walked out of the bedchamber to search for her. Did she even know where the kitchen was?

But she was not there. The kitchen was quiet.

So was the parlor.

It was when he found the garden also empty that he began to feel a sense of panic.

Could it be—

No, surely Willoghby would not dare trespass Everleigh. The bastard could not be that stupid.

Or was he?

His heart started to hammer faster, the rush of panic deafening. West ran back to his bedchamber, shouting Sasha's name.

Breathless, he burst into the room, his eyes wide. She was still not there.

He heard Seven barking down the corridor. He ran outside and the dog met him, jumping up and down. "What is it, Seven? Where is Sasha? Come, tell me," he asked.

The dog barked three more times then whirled around.

West followed, realizing the direction Seven was taking and outran the dog toward his study.

He came bursting in and skidded to a stop.

"What are you bloody doing here?" he demanded when he saw her sitting in the settee wearing nothing but his robe.

Her face was blank, bare of emotions, as she stared straight at him.

He looked her over to survey if she was hurt or not, a habit he developed when it came to Sasha.

It was then that he saw it.

The journal.

Cold washed over him, then disbelief.

No.

The denial came and left the soonest he realized that she did not simply stumble upon it. She would not have found it if she did not come searching for it.

The raw feeling of betrayal seeped in slowly and erupted so powerfully he nearly stumbled in his feet.

His jaw hardened, the fury rapidly building.

As he stared at her sitting there in his robe, looking so calm and composed, his hand closed into a fist.

She made love to him just hours ago and the very moment that he was rendered helpless in sleep, she set out to do what she had always intended to do.

"What do you want?" his cold, menacing voice echoed around the room.

It was there in her eyes, clear as his stupidity.