“You moved me in. You had people just get my stuff and cat from my condo without asking me.”
I frowned. “I don’t know why, but I get irritated when you say she’s your cat.”
She held her hands out. “That’s my cat.”
“I’m really starting to like her.” I lowered and fell into my urge of petting her. “And from now on, I will never have men come into your condo and pack your things. That was my mistake.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but couldn’t figure out the words.
I tried to read what she could be thinking and failed. Perhaps, it was the fact that I desperately wanted everything to be okay between us. I needed her happy and calm. I didn’t want Rose to run off. I couldn’t fuck up the cues. She was too damn important.
When I finished petting Barbara, I stood and gazed at Rose. “I’m going to make mistakes.”
She pursed her lips.
“And it’s not just because I have Asperger’s. It’s because I’m not used to having a woman around me for this long and I’m excited. Perhaps. . .to excited.” I dug my hand into my robe’s pocket and pulled out the extra note pad and small pencil in there.
Next, I made a small note.
Rose gets mad when I have my men pack her things without her permission.
I thought about the other things she said and jotted down something else.
She also thinks that Barbara Whiskers is only her cat.
I stared at the last sentence and then placed another note under it.
Why does she think that?
I closed the pad and returned my view to her.
She looked at the pad. “What did you write down?”
I handed it to her.
She appeared shocked as she grabbed and then opened it. My body tensed while she read. I wasn’t sure what she would make of my note taking.
Surprisingly, a grin replaced her frown. “What?”
“When I write down things, I can remember them easier. It stays trapped in my mind.”
“Okay, but. . .” She closed the pad and handed it back to me. “Barbara Whiskers is my cat.”
“That doesn’t make you her owner.” I extended my hand.
Frowning, she took it.
I led her toward the front. “I feed Barbara and check on her well-being.”
She kept my pace. “I do too.”
“Who was going to feed her this morning?”
“Okay. That’s fair.”
We passed my bathroom. Upon seeing it, the memories of our time last night made my cock jerk. I would never see my balcony or bathroom in the same way again.
Moving forward, I looked at her. “And your thoughts on the other note?”
“I agree with the part about you not having people in my place without my permission.”
“You don’t like that.”
“I don’t.”
“Then, it won’t happen again.” I placed the pad in my robe pocket. I kept my other thoughts secret—the ones that would need to be left unsaid. The sort that would probably scare her.
After the sex in the bathroom, I’d wrote the order to Edwin have my men pack her things. I had a set mission in my head in that moment and waking up this morning, I still felt the same way. I wanted Rose to stay. And not just for a few weeks. I needed her in my bed full time. I’d opened up to her fully, and she accepted. She didn’t freak out about the Asperger’s like I thought she would.
For the life of me, I still didn’t understand why I’d confessed it to her. I could have simply just fucked her and went to sleep. But this feeling of confession poured over me. I needed her to see the inside of me—the man behind the mask. And I yearned for her to see it all. . .and accept it.
“How long have you been writing down notes like that?”
“It started around my first week in boarding school. I would write down a list of people I was thinking of killing.”
“You were bullied a lot in the beginning?”
“Yes. There some rich elite assholes that found me odd and easy to pick on. They’d had their cliques already formed, and I had no one.”
“So, you starting make a list.”
“The naughty list. You must understand that with the way my mother left, I felt alone and abandoned.”
She frowned.
“Therefore, I took out my aggression on the bullies. I slowly beat the shit out of each person on the naughty list, taking my time, one by one. I would catch one by surprise and alone—the shower, their bed, studying in the library, and right on the toilet. It didn’t matter where they were or what they were doing.”
“Holy shit. Did they learn their lessons?”
“Respect was given. And I made many friends just from them being terrified that they would be next.”
Edwin met us at the balcony doors. “Good morning.”
I nodded.
“Mr. Romano arrived this morning to see you. I explained that you were asleep. He said he would wait for you to wake up.” Edwin held a disapproving expression. “We have placed him in your library and provided several snacks.”