We were in the car driving down the main road when she put the window down and sighed into the wind.
"That was. . .," she nodded slowly searching for the right words.
"A circus?" I offered and wished she would turn so I could see her face.
"My God," she said in exasperation. "Some of the things they were saying you would think they were God himself. I just. . . " she trailed off shaking her head and sitting back into her seat.
I wondered if I came across that way to her. "So you had a terrible time?"
"No I'm not saying that," she said and tapped my arm reassuringly. I like when she touched me. "Wealthy people are easy. They mostly talk about how money makes them happy and I can't fault them for that." She dug at her thumbnail and said, "They just treated me like some anomaly and it wasn't fun." She was biting on her bottom lip. "It was like they went out of their way to let me know I was different from them."
She was referring to the sideways glances they were ricocheting towards her all night and I opened my mouth to say something but decided against it.
"I wasn't bothered," she said and I looked at her. She gave me a small smile and I guess she gathered I was weary. She laughed to herself and said, "I mean you are King Nathaniel. I would be worried if people didn't react to me the way they did."
For a while I struggled with what to say. Should I tell her about Emma? Would she care? When I gathered up the nerve, I rubbed the back of my neck and asked, "What do you think about me?"
She said nothing.
"Really now, take your time why don't you," I joked when she still kept quiet. ". . . Nuri?"
Her head head fell slightly to the side and she was out cold. I reached over and stroked her chin with my knuckles.
I held her to my chest and kissed her cheek when the elevator doors opened to my loft. I had made it to my loft, parked the car, got her out and carried all this way and she hadn't moved an inch. I could carry her everywhere. Ms. Thorpe was in the kitchen and came through the archway to meet me.
"Mr. King, welcome home. You're - - ," She quieted when she saw me carrying Nuri in my arms.
"Hey Adelaide. This is a friend of mine, and she's sleeping over tonight. Can I set her up in the spare bedroom?"
"Of course, follow me." She was light on her feet and led me to the guest bedroom across from my bedroom. She quickly moved away the throws and spread so that I could settle her onto the queen sized bed. "Shall I prepare a bath for her, some tea maybe?"
I shook my head. "No we can manage. Maybe some clothes she can wear."
"Right away Mr. King," she nodded and was on her way.
I took Nuri's shoes off and set them down by the door. She snuggled into the pillows and mumbled something about soft sheets and lavender. I was glued to the spot.
Shrugging out of my coat and loosening my tie, I knelt down beside her watched her eyes flutter beneath her closed lids. I ran my pinkie along her curled eyelashes.
"I want to keep you Angel," I whispered before resting my head on the bed parallel to hers.
Adelaide cleared her throat and I rose my head to acknowledge her. She looked down at the rug awkwardly than moved in to set some folded clothes on the edge of the bed.
"Thank you." I said graciously set a finger on the back of Nuri's hand.
"You are welcome Mr. King. If there isn't much else for me to do for you, I'll be heading home."
"Be safe, and see you tomorrow," I said glancing her way.
She stepped back and smiled before closing the door behind her.
"Hey. . . Nathaniel," a sweet voice roused me from my sleep. I opened my eyes and found Nuri's dark pools boring into mine. God her eyes were big. Her hand was on on my arms which were crossed over my chest where I sat on the lounge chair beside her bed. Her bed.
I looked up at her bleary eyed and said, "Hi." I rubbed my face and sat up so I could get a better look at her.
"Is this your place?" she asked and ran her hands along the clothes Ms. Thorpe brought her.
"Yeah, this is the guest bedroom. You like it?"
A look flitted across her face and I couldn't place it. Irritation. Anger. Her eyebrows pinched together and she looked up at me. This look was fierce and she nearly pinned me to the wall. "What do you want from me?"
The question was frank, direct and to the point. And we were at this again.
"I thought I was clear about what I wanted."
"Uh no actually you weren't." She did that thing where she put distance between us. "What do you really want from me? Is it sex, a relationship? What exactly are we doing here?"
Pushing out a sigh I rose to my feet and rubbed at my chin as I took into her angry face. "I'm infatuated with you. Right now, I just want you to stop questioning my every advance towards you and just let me be in your life." It was as honest an answer I could give her. "Yeah, I want to fuck you again, I want to throw you down on this bed, and take my time exploring that body of yours. Again! You don't want that, I get it."
She was scraping her teeth over her bottom lip and shifting on her feet. Her eyes never left mine though.
"What do you want me to say? I'm lonely damn it." I realized that I had raised my voice, but it was too late to shut this down now. I had a river to let loose on this woman. "I like being around you, and if you just want to be friends than fine. If you want to just be co-workers than fine whatever. I just thought. . . ," I shook my head and stepped back. " I thought we could keep seeing each other."
She couldn't look me in the eye directly, and I saw that her own eyes were wet like she was on the verge of tears. NO fucking tears. Than she straightened and turned her back to me as she unzipped the back of her gown.
The material fell down around her and pooled at her feet. She wore black lace bra and panties and I thought I might collapse where I stood.
She threw me a curt glance over her shoulder than took the clothes that Mr. Thorpe set aside for her before slipping the lounge pants and tank on. I put my hands on my hips and watched not saying a word.
She bent down to gather her gown on the floor and carefully fold it neatly before setting it on the foot board to the bed. She slowly stalked towards me and weaved her hands through my arms and wound her hands together behind my back.
Her head came down to rest on my chest and I was sure she could feel my heart beating against my rib cage.
"Okay," was her single word reply and it was as though she set me free.
I wrapped my arms around her, effectively crushing her to me and rested my chin on the top of her head. She was mine. I got to keep her. This was not going to be easy.
After raiding the fridge for snacks, we played a card game and talked about nothing in particular. It was easy talking to her, she always had something interesting to say always filling the silence with her words. The more the she talked, the more I thought.
We must have fallen asleep - well - I must have fallen asleep sometime because I woke up on the living room floor wrapped in a blanket and alone.
"Nuri baby," I called out sitting up. "Sorry I feel asleep, It's been a long day."
Silence.
"Nuri?" That dread settled in again and I was on my feet moving through the house seeking her out.
She wasn't here. I looked at my watch. It was two in the morning.
The last place to check was my office. Fuck. My office. My steps slowed than picked up when I came to the horrific realization of what I had left there on the desk for all the world to see.
I tore the doors open and sure enough on my desk were the files and pictures Ambrose had sent me of my beautiful lonely girl. They were all over the place, and my curtains were wide open and showcased her studio clearly through the windows. Fuck!
I slammed my hands down on the desk, than proceeded to swipe a mad hand across its contents properly spilling them to the floor.
I raked a hand through my hair hard, and bit down the shout that seared it's way down in my gut. She saw the pictures. She saw everything, and I am the biggest asshole on the planet.
I screwed up . . . royally.
SybilleAlexandrine hopes you have enjoyed this program. . .