Page 41 of Margot

CHAPTER TWELVE

SUTTON

I sat up bolt right when I heard the front door open and close. I don’t know why it gave me such a start because Lennox was sure to close the door softly behind himself. I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock.

That couldn’t be right.

Two in the morning?

I swung my feet around and pushed off the bed with my hand forgetting about the broken finger. A sharp pain sliced through my wrist and bounced off of everything else in my body. It was like a domino effect.

Maybe sleeping all day and being depressed wasn’t good. My body seemed to be paying the price. I felt sore from my head to my toes. I fished out my painkillers from the side table and popped two then I headed out of the bedroom. I poked my head around the corner and saw Lennox staring down at a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” I asked him, walking all the way around the corner. His eyes jerked to mine and he creased the paper, stuffing it in his back pocket.

Red flags went up immediately.

“Nothing. So, what’s up? You feel better?” When he walked by me, I caught a whiff of soap on his skin.

“I guess. What were you doing all this time? I didn’t even know it was this late.” I studied his face while he smiled at me. It was such an easy going smile. A smile that said he didn’t have a care in the world.

“I went to the bar then hung out at the beach for a while. What did you do?” He looked at me and I saw something swimming in his penny-brown eyes that I couldn’t put my finger on.

“I slept off and on. I don’t really have anything interesting to report.”

“Yeah, me either. Minus the sleeping part.” He moved into the bedroom and I followed him. My heart began pounding in my chest, beating against my breastbone as if it had grown wings.

The moment I got close enough to him, he pulled me in for a hug. I tensed immediately and he sighed. “Sutton, I love you. You know that, right?” His thumb pulled my chin down so that our gazes locked.

“I know,” I said slowly. The painkillers started to kick in and my body went from sore to relaxed. I moved from Lennox’s grasp and he muttered something under his breath before running a hand over his face.

“Promise me we’ll keep working on us.” It was almost like he was pleading with me. For some reason, irritation ruffled my feathers and I folded my arms, tapping my foot on the floor.

“Is this about the assignments from Dr. Adler?” I asked him.

“It’s everything. I just…I only want you. You’re perfect. I want you to know that.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

“I’ll do the exercises, Lennox.”

“Good. Can I at least hold you while we sit outside? The moon is amazing tonight and…”

“We can sit outside,” I agreed with a nod. Something made my guard rise higher than I ever remembered before. Even though I could see the hurt look in Lennox’s eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to cuddle with him.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Lennox,” I blurted. He looked into my eyes and gave the most heartbreaking smile. I could see shards of him trying to be whole. I felt like I was breaking him and I hated myself.

“That’s a part of the reason we’re here, baby. We’ll figure it out when we get back home but right now, let’s at least have fun together.” He walked over to the backdoor and held his hand out for me. I locked on with my pinky. It was all I could do without feeling the need to pull away.

When had it become so bad?

We sat out on the back of the villa where there were outdoor couches and off to the side a pool sparkled under the moonlight. We had a perfect view of the beach and anyone else would have found the setting so romantic.

Bugs hummed and droned off in the distance and a soft breeze blew by carrying with it fragrant flowers and the smell of the beach. It was absolutely perfect but the locked door in my mind refused to let me move close to Lennox.

“Do you think Dr. Adler can help us?” I quizzed.

“I think so but I think we have to want it.”

“I want it.” That was the truth. The only man I’d ever wanted was Lennox. Nobody else stuck out the way he did. Nobody else cared the way he did.