Page 110 of The Billionaire's Bride

"Good." He releases the nape of my neck, steps up and around me. "Come." He jerks his head.

"Wh...where?"

"I'll show you to your room."

Right.I bend to pick up the clothes I had kicked aside earlier, then grab my bag from the counter and trail behind him. He leads me down the short corridor and pauses at the first room on the right. He pushes the door open, gestures for me to enter. I walk in, take in the double bed, the nightstand, the walk-in closet in the corner, the dresser pushed up against one wall, a writing table and chair on the other side. My feet sink into the thick carpet, and I wriggle my toes. "It's nice," I say.

"It'll do."

He retreats to the exit and I stop him, "Wait."

He turns to glance at me.

"Where...where are you sleeping?"

"My room is across the hallway."

"So...uh, we're not sleeping together?"

"When you're in my bed, you won't be doing much of that."

Oh, my god. He sure has a way with words. And that's not the only thing he knows his way around. My breasts feel too heavy, my scalp tingles, and moisture beads between my legs. His nostril's flare and his eyes gleam. Damn it, he knows exactly what his words do to me.

"So...we are going to have separate bedrooms?"

"Only until the wedding." He turns to leave and I take a step forward.

"But why?" I blurt out. "Why this distance?"

He pauses, then continues toward the door.

"Is it because you want to punish me for not coming to you sooner?"

He doesn’t say anything, but the set of his shoulders, the way he holds himself so erect that his spine is totally upright gives him away.

"Just so you know," I lower my hands to my sides, and my stuff falls to the floor, "I am not going anywhere."

He stares straight ahead.

"Also, it's really not fair that you judge me this harshly. You were there, Baron. You saw how conflicted I was between the two of you. It was difficult for me to untangle what I felt for each of you."

He holds up a hand, and I firm my lips. Damn him. Only Baron can have this effect on me. His one gesture, and I want to follow his lead. His one look, and I want to throw myself at his feet and ask him to take me. His one touch, and I am ready to debase myself to please him. This...this is what I missed. The surety of his demeanor. The way he can be hard toward me and yet gentle, at the same time.

There is a poetry to his actions... A certain push-pull at play that always keeps me on the edge. It makes me want to hit him, then kiss him again. The way he constantly challenges me, forces me to become a better version of myself. And the fact that he loved me enough to walk away from me...? It's what clarified everything for me.

Not that Edward wouldn't have made me happy. He'd have loved me and protected me. Hell, he took a bullet for me, for hell's sake... But Baron wanted my happiness enough to turn his back on me. He thought that I deserved to be with the man I had confessed to love. He still thinks that I don’t love him enough.

But he's wrong. He'd been there for me when I’d needed someone the most. Second to losing my mother, the time I had been away from him were the worst days of my life... Especially because I hadn't been able to put a name to the emptiness, the desperate sensations that had eaten away at me from the inside. It had taken me a while to figure out what it was. Luckily, Edward had loved me enough to point me in the right direction. As soon as I had sorted out everything in my head, I had come to him.

And I am not leaving. Not now. Not ever. This is it for me. But how do I convince him?

He takes another step toward the door and I call out again, "Wait, if I am moving in here, then what about my stuff?"

"We can go get it tomorrow."

"And my classes, my studio?"

He turns so I can see his face in profile, "None of that needs to change. I want you for my wife, not my captive."