The Boss (Chateau #3) - Penelope Sky Page 0,75

dropped her chin to regard her hands on her knee, her fingernails painted with French tips.

The fire continued to burn hot in the hearth because Gilbert had silently entered the office and continued to feed it without either one of us noticing, being the shadow on the wall that had no real presence. It was another day of rain, and it was audible even though we were on the ground floor. The raindrops splattered against the windows, leaving tears on the glass that streaked down like the ones on her cheeks last night.

I leaned forward with my forearms on my thighs, one hand encompassing the other. Whenever I was with her, my mind turned empty, devoid of objects, light, feelings. Normally, it was saturated with more shit than I could contain, but she brought me peace that was akin to nothingness. To not think, to not feel, it was like meditation.

She lifted her chin and looked at me. “When will my sister be here?” It was a question she’d probably wanted to ask since last night, but she could only restrain herself so long.

Peace was shattered. “When I return to the camp.”

“When will that be?”

“When I decide to return.” I never made plans further than a few days into the future. Life was uncontrollable, so I just went with it, not against it.

Disappointment filled her gaze. “Like in a few weeks?”

My eyes narrowed on her face.

She quickly dropped her look. “I’m sorry. I’m just…I’m afraid she’ll be dead by then.”

“Magnus saved her neck twice. No reason he wouldn’t do it a third time.”

She inhaled a deep breath and slowly released it, her eyes closing briefly. When she was ready, she looked at me again, showing me those brilliant blue eyes that were like sapphires to complement her diamonds. “I’ll feel a lot better when she’s here, but…I don’t think the nightmares will ever stop.”

“Nightmares are part of the human experience.” I had them often, the same premise happening in different ways. Sometimes I was a grown man who came into my family home and stopped my father from killing my family, beating him with my bare fists before making him eat his gun. Sometimes I was the helpless teenager that was just skin and bones, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do for my family—not even Magnus. Decades had passed, and it still haunted me like it was yesterday. I gave my father a death no one deserved, but that failed to bring me peace.

She was the only thing that did.

She looked down again, her little fingers moving together slightly. When she turned her head, it showed how slender her neck was, the little vein that rose to her jawline, the soft and delicious skin that tempted my tongue. “You have nightmares?” She looked up again to see my reaction.

“Yes.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t have nightmares…if I were next to you.”

My expression didn’t convey my annoyance. I remained as stoic as ever, but I knew exactly what her endgame was.

“Because if I were beside you…I don’t think I would.” She approached the situation differently, coming from an angle she hoped I wouldn’t see.

Chérie, I see everything.

She waited for my response, and the longer it didn’t come, the more her eyes sank. “You can trust me—”

“I don’t trust anybody.” Like razor blades, the words left my mouth and sliced through the air. “It has nothing to do with you. How many times do I have to say it?”

Her eyes winced, like I’d just cut her deeply. “You said the safest place in the world is with you. How am I supposed to feel safe if I’m down the hall in a freezing cold bed—”

“Then I’ll fuck you there. Problem solved.”

She winced again.

My anger was inconsolable at this point. When I gave her a little string, she wanted the entire rope. She tugged and tugged, having an entitlement she never earned. “You ask me for more when all I should be getting is your gratitude. You should be on your fucking knees thanking me for the sacrifice I made for you.” I couldn’t keep my voice down like usual. It was one of the rare times when I actually yelled right in her face, when my ferocity hit her shores like a goddamn hurricane. “You have no idea what it will cost me. I woke up today wishing I could take it all back, but I’m a man of my word, so I won’t break my promise to you.”

She breathed hard as