Redeemed (Dirty Air 4)

“Oh, sure.” Her smile drops. “I’ll keep quiet and explore the palace. I mean place.” She laughs to herself.

Another pain shoots through my leg. Fuck. I grip onto the knob and rip the door open. Without looking back, I enter the room, sealing myself off from Chloe’s help.

I refuse to let her see me weak anymore. How can she ever want me if I’m still some struggling cripple who can’t function like a normal man? The last thing I want is for her to see me as anything lesser than.

Dark thoughts eat away at my restraint, making me question if this weekend was a good idea. But like everything in my life, my quick decisions lead to drastic consequences.

I work through the phantom pain on my own. Without my mirror, it takes twenty minutes longer than usual for the exercises and mind games to work. And in Chloe’s absence, I struggle to breathe easier as the pain fades away. I already miss her coaxing me out of my mental cloud of self-contempt like she did this morning.

A realization hits me. I’m becoming reliant on a woman who has every opportunity to walk away. And damn, I want her to stay, even if it’s for a little while longer.

Chloe stares at me, her mouth gaping like a fish. It’s cute. Endearing really.

Yeah, you’re fucked. You think everything she does is appealing.

“You’re telling me that we have to share one bed?” Her eyes bounce between the king-size mattress and my face.

“Yes.”

“And one room?”

“That’s usually how the one-bed situation works. Yes.” I smirk.

“Would it be too much to ask for a second room? You are rich and all.”

I shake with silent laugher. She says the word rich with such distaste, I end up respecting her more for it. “Because that wouldn’t be obvious to my family at all.”

She remains silent, but her eyes remain wide as she checks out the room.

“We’ve already done this once. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Yeah, well, we had a sick child to take care of.” Her eyes darken as they roam across my body.

I grin like an idiot. “And now?”

Her throat bobs as she swallows. “Nothing.”

“Oh, come on. Are you nervous to share a bed?”

“No.”

“Excited?”

She scoffs. “Definitely not.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“You look like someone who takes up the majority of the bed.”

“The horror.” I gasp and press a palm against my chest.

She groans under her breath and grabs her clothes from her luggage. “I’m going to shower.”

“Do you need any help?”

She throws a bundle of socks right at my face.

My laughter is met with the soft click of the bathroom door closing behind Chloe. Warmth spreads through me at the idea of sleeping by her side.