She parted her lips.
“Please don’t, Eden.”
“I won’t.” Her voice was breathy. I couldn’t tell if she was hopeful or nervous, but either way, I needed to move forward and be there for her.
I haven’t been the good guy, but I could try to be.
She walked over to me. Her steps were graceful and light. “I won’t lie to you, Jean-Pierre. I’m embarrassed. I feel stupid and—”
“No, you have nothing to be embarrassed of.”
“You’ve watched me masturbate. You watched me drool all over myself.”
“No.”
“It was right in the video. There was drool dripping out of my mouth.”
“I didn’t see it.”
“It doesn’t matter. I still feel stupid. All of this is going on and I’m just walking along like an idiot—”
“No, your aunt and I are pros—”
“Still.”
I sighed. “I understand.”
What could I do? She had the right to feel anyway she wanted to with such shocking news thrown to her. I wouldn’t argue her feelings, but I would try to soothe them.
“What can I do?” I asked. “Do you want to go back home?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t. If that’s okay with you. It no longer feels like my place. I’ll have to tell my roommate Leo too.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I can set up a place here. Or if you want to—”
“No. I should figure out what I’m going to do, and then decide where I’m going to live from there.”
“Okay.” I struggled with not pushing her further.
In many ways, she’d been violated.
She would want control.
But I could give her the world.
She raised her eyebrows. “So, this was never a girlfriend experience?”
Embarrassment flushed my face. I hadn’t blushed in a decade. “No. I usually don’t need to pay a woman to be my girlfriend.”
“You needed a way to get me alone.”
“Yes, and to at least give you some time to learn about me, before I told you how much of a creepy person I was.”
She gave a smile at my bad attempt at a joke.
“However, Eden, the money is yours. The suite where your things are is paid up for two months.” I moved closer to her but didn’t touch her. “Your aunt had a right to protect her niece. But she never understood who I was. She didn’t believe that I would take care of you, better than I would take care of myself. Give me time to show you, Eden.”
“So, this extension will be about us getting to know each other?”
“Yes.”
A look of uncertainty passed over her face.
What have I done? Have I lost her already?
Silence filled the space.
Our food had gone cold. Neither one of us had touched it. I knew the staff was waiting off in the Louvre somewhere for us to leave. By now it was the middle of the night, they would want everything cleaned up to have the museum ready for the tourists in morning.
Finally, she spoke. “I want to go back to the suite and think about everything. And I should talk to my aunt. Regardless of anything that happens between us, she has to stop this.”
“Okay. I’ll give you time. Take as much as you need. Louis will stay in the suite next to you just in case you need anything.” I extended my hand, unsure if she would take it.
To my relief, she did and squeezed her fingers around mine. “Thank you for giving me time alone to think.”
“I will always give you anything that you want. Remember that, Eden.”
“I will.”
Together, we walked out of the museum’s wing.
And my heart dangled on a weak string, unsure if it would fall to its descent. Of course Eden needed time to think. I’d just told her that parts of her life was a lie. That at least twenty people watched private parts of her life daily and reported to others. That was a lot for anyone to swallow down.
And a good dose of sex would not help her forget that I’d tortured men to get to her. No matter how I tried to make the murders appear romantic, there would still be blood. And the stink of death.
We left the Louvre an hour later.
I dropped her off at her suite. Giorgio booked another room for me on a lower floor. While I had places all throughout Paris, I couldn’t be too far away from Eden anymore. The past days of our break had hurt me more than the gunshot wound.
Now I must give her time.
The first day went by. I didn’t sleep. I barely ate. Rafael hadn’t called. He was still racing around the planet and searching for Shalimar.
The second day, I walked up to her floor like a psycho and stood there for too long. Louis later came by and advised me that it looked a bit creepy. I finished the day in my room, sulking, and full of rage.
What if I lost her?