Page 86 of Let's Be Forever

I gingerly lift the duvet off me then grab his wrist and go to move it, but his arm tightens around me.

“You’re not really trying to sneak out of here, are you?” I’d forgotten how much I missed the gruffness in his sleepy, accented voice. I’m a puddle.

I smile tiredly, letting him hold me in place. “I need to go before they wake up.”

“Just a few more minutes.” He kisses my shoulder, idly drifting the pads of his fingers on my stomach. “Please.”

I shiver and my eyes flutter shut. I want to stay—my body screams from exhaustion and the need to be next to him—but I know I can’t.

“I have to go. Rosie will be up soon; that is, if she isn’t already.” I sit up against the headboard, letting the duvet slip down.

He yawns and follows suit, sitting next to me. I can’t see him well due to how dark it is, and I wonder if it’s still too early. But then he grabs his phone, and despite my blurry vision, I catch the time on the screen.

My eyes bulge and I’m jumping out of bed. It’s nine in the morning. Rosie will be well and truly up. She’s usually awake around seven.

“We overslept. Fuck.” I’m patting my hands blindly for my clothes when Sylas presses a button and the shades lift. I look for my dress, thong, and heels, but they’re nowhere to be found. I don’t know when he cleaned up the mess, but there’s not a trace of last night’s activities, just me naked in his room. “Where’s my stuff?”

Sleepy green eyes rake over my figure. When he first saw me, I felt a tiny morsel of insecurity, but right now, I feel everything but that. He doesn’t just look at me with hunger, but with such tenderness it makes my heart race.

“Sylas.” I snap my fingers, forcing his attention to my face. “My stuff?”

“You can’t wear your dress. It’s in the trash. Hold on.” He’s up and enters his closet.

My jaw falls slack. “You’re kidding, right?”

He comes back out with a T-shirt in his hand. “No, it had cum all over it, and I ripped it, remember?”

“You had no right to do that. I spent a lot of money on that. I could have gotten it fixed.” I narrow my eyes, but it does nothing for my shit vision.

“I’ll give you the money.” He stands in front of me, handing me the shirt. “Wear this.”

“No, I?—”

“You’ll argue. I’ll counter it. We’ll go back and forth, and you’ll still have to wear my shirt because you have nothing else. Please put on my shirt.” Sylas doesn’t wait for my reply; he tugs it over my head and body. “You always did look better in my clothes.”

My face warms as I’m flooded with memories of the many times he’d say that to me.

Slipping my hands through the sleeves, I pull my hair out. It’s either I take it or walk out naked. I don’t want to argue. I’m done arguing.

“Thanks. I need to go get Rosie.” I walk backward, but he grabs my wrist and tugs me to his chest. “Sy?—”

“I’m not letting you go again.” He cups my jaw, and his thumb strokes my cheek. “I can’t lose you. Please tell me you don’t regret last night, that we’re going to talk about us.” Trepidation crosses his features, and I can almost feel the heaviness of his pulse in the pad of his finger.

“After everything I let you do to me, you really think I regret last night?” I smile at him. His eyes soften, and his stiff hand relaxes. “I promise we’ll talk, Sy.”

He lights up. I can’t remember the last time I saw him look so at peace. The green in his eyes is airy and translucent, and his dimples indent his cheeks.

Leaning down, he places a chaste kiss on my forehead. “It’s taking everything in me to let you go.”

“I need to get our daughter, remember?”

“Right, yeah.” He chuckles and glances down at his naked body. “I’ll put something on and be out there in a sec.”

He kisses my forehead again, holding on to me before I finally slip from his grasp and leave his room.

I quietly walk to the other side of the condo and into my bedroom, and as I’m changing and brushing my teeth, I realize something. My room is bigger than his. I’m still thinking about it as I knock on Maya’s door. But then I’m thinking about how quiet it is, and how the girls would have already been out in the living room.

“Maya? Rosie?” I call their names as I open the door, but it’s dead silent. I almost wonder if they’re hiding, but something tells me they’re not. I immediately call Maya’s phone and head out to the living room. “Hey, where are you?”