The Boss (Chateau #3) - Penelope Sky Page 0,64

us cowards with him.”

Magnus didn’t drop his gaze.

“Don’t make me remind you again. Don’t make me remind you that I’m all you have left in this world—and you shouldn’t take it for granted.”

I drove in the fading light, the lights from the city becoming visible over the horizon. I had driven in silence most of the way, choosing to turn over my own thoughts endlessly as entertainment.

I hit the call button on the screen in the center console.

It only rang once. “Sir, it’s great to hear from you. You’re on your way?”

“A couple hours out.”

“The house is ready for you—as always.”

I didn’t care about that. “Tell Melanie to be ready for me. She’ll know what that means.”

It’d been a long day.

But no amount of fatigue would make me want her less.

She’d been in my thoughts often, especially when I looked into the fireplace, remembering conversations in her cabin, remembering nights we lay together in my bed. I was obsessed with her the way I was obsessed with money. There was no amount that would ever be enough. All of her still felt like a shortfall.

The car was handed off to the valet, and my bag was retrieved by another staff member. The only person who spoke to me was Gilbert, because I didn’t want to exchange pleasantries and give orders to twelve different people every time I came into residence.

Gilbert stood next to the open door, arms behind his back, standing tall and proud. His eyes watched me, full of excitement that could hardly be suppressed. “Glad you’re back, sir. Wasn’t the same without you.”

I gave him a slight nod as I entered my home and wiped my dirty boots on the rug. My bomber jacket was dropped off my shoulders, and Gilbert was there to catch it.

He shut the main door as I headed up the stairs. “Shall I bring a tray, sir?”

I continued to the second and third landing. “Place it outside my door in an hour.” I’d had a big breakfast before I left the camp, but many hours had passed, and I skipped lunch. I was hungry, but that need was dwarfed by another.

I made it to my bedroom and found her there.

Ready for me.

She was in black lingerie and heels, sitting on the edge of the bed like she’d been waiting there since I called. Her hair was in soft curls with a beautiful shine under the chandelier. The fireplace cast a glow across her cheek, brightening her already beautiful skin. Her makeup was sultry and heavy, perfect with her lingerie.

I took a moment to look at her before I approached the bed, pulling my shirt off as I went.

She got to her feet, standing in high heels.

My clothes and boots fell, like breadcrumbs across the hardwood floor and the carpet.

Her eyes took me in, trailing over my nakedness, slightly biting her bottom lip like she missed my heavy body on top of hers, missed my warm flesh, missed my big hands on her little body.

My hands gripped her hips, and I pulled her into me for a kiss, wanting her taste on my mouth, wanting her breath in my lungs, wanting her smell all over me.

But she pulled away. Her hands planted against my chest, and she pushed me back slightly, our lips close together but not touching.

I looked at her lips and then her eyes, knowing she had something to say to me, and I wished she’d spit it out quickly so I could have her after a long ten days without her. Ten fucking days.

She whispered to me in her beautiful, flowery voice, speaking in perfect French like she was fluent. “Mon homme m’a manqué. Emmène-moi au lit…”

I sucked in a deep breath between my clenched teeth. Flames rose up my veins and spread through my entire body. My hands gripped her waist deeply, squeezing her so hard that I was certain it hurt. When I let out the breath, all my muscles tightened, my dick hardened even more, and I released the first thought that came to mind. “Chérie, je t’aime.”

Hours later, I grabbed the tray outside my bedroom, and we ate together at my dining table. She sat across from me, wearing a shirt she’d helped herself to from my dresser, and it fit her like a loose dress. Her lobes held solid diamonds, and whenever she tucked her hair behind her ear, they glimmered. The tears and screams had ruined her perfectly applied makeup, the mascara in dots underneath