Chapter 6 Enraptured

• Romain
• By the time I wake up, my back feels a lot better.
• I've always healed pretty quickly, but I can't discard Trudy's efforts. She's always had magical hands, even though she was a little rough with me. I didn't like her tone when she asked me, "What was Emmalee doing here?"
• "She came to help me," I replied, hoping to keep the smile from my lips. I knew that Trudy was the last person we were supposed to tell about our thing. For now, it had to be kept a secret, from her and everyone.
• Emmalee had it in her head that they'd all be accepting of our relationship, but I knew better than that.
• Trudy's parting words to me were, "I hope you understand what the consequences of your actions lead to. Let this be a reminder."
• I didn't know what she was referring to, and even now, I'm confused. Did she mean the thing with Soren? Or perhaps did she suspect my relationship with Emmalee? I genuinely don't know. Trudy has always been a little...witchy. It's the only word I can find to describe her.
• She just knows things. It's scary sometimes and used to scare me a lot more when I was a kid. So, I wouldn't be surprised if she suspects something between Emmalee and me. But because she has no proof, she can't say anything.
• Honestly, I don't care. Right now, all I'm worried about is being by Emmalee's side and making the most of our newfound relationship. Perhaps that's naïve of me, particularly when I know how this ends, but is it that wrong to just...indulge sometimes? Can't I have a happy moment for myself without fucking overthinking?
• I love that girl. I've loved her my whole life.
• It became very clear to me growing up that she wasn't my real sister, even though everyone said she was. It's like I've always known that she was someone I could love and be with, and that hasn't changed over the years. Besides, I knew it was only a formality because I'd been working like a slave since I turned thirteen. I have to help the employees around the estate, and I never get any nice things, not like the rest of the Dravensworths do.
• Calling us siblings is all horseshit. I don't know what Alpha Roger intended by doing so. Did he hope to keep me away from Emmalee even back then? Or was it to keep me from rebelling and acting out?
• I don't know. Honestly? It doesn't matter anymore.
• I turn on my side and then lie on my back. I feel no pain at all, thank the goddess. The darkness in the room tells me that the sun has set. I only ever get a break when I'm seriously injured like this, so I don't find pain and injuries that unpleasant. They'll probably give me a day off tomorrow, too.
• I'd love to spend it with Emmalee if we get the chance.
• After a few minutes of being bored, I sit up. Where's Emmalee? I don't know why, but I thought that she'd be here right after Trudy left, but she hasn't come back. I immediately feel concerned. Is everything alright?
• I stand up, stretch my arms high above my head, feel a twinge of pain in my back at the process, and then find a clean shirt to wear. I have to find out where she is, even if I keep my distance.
• I just want to know that she's okay.
• I leave my room and cross the estate to make it to the big house. The lights are all on, and when I approach the windows of the dining room, I see both families seated around the table.
• No Emmalee in sight.
• I frown, wondering where the hell she is. She usually doesn't skip dinner. I know because I'm usually seated at that table every day, for all the meals. I guess this time around I'm not invited because of the Cimmerians. Either way, I wouldn't want to be there with them.
• I start to backtrack, wondering if I can go see her in her room later. It's unlikely that I'll be able to prowl around at night without being spotted, though, so I guess I'll have to wait for her to come to me, or wait until tomorrow.
• I head back to my room, disappointed as shit. And worried.
• However, when I open the door, I see her sitting on my bed, which reminds me of what happened earlier today. I close the door and make sure to lock it. "Emmalee?"
• I notice that she drew the curtains of my room, and the bedside lamps are dimmed. She stands up and walks toward me slowly.
• My brows furrow, and I ask her, "Is everything okay?"
• "Yeah," she says in a low voice. I'm not sure if I believe her, because she looks different. Her eyes are a little puffy, and her lips are swollen. She's been crying; I know this for a fact.
• "What happened?" is my next question.
• She pauses only a few inches away from me, and that's when I see it.
• The faint bruise on her cheek.
• "What happened?" I ask again, this time with more urgency. I grab her arms gently and pull her toward me while my eyes are trained on her face. "Who did this to you? Was it Soren?"
• "Don't mind it," she says. "It's nothing."
• Her response angers me, and my voice is an octave higher when I say, "This isn't nothing, Emmalee. Someone hurt you. Who was it?"
• "It doesn't matter," she replies firmly. Tears start trailing down her cheeks, and she places her warm hands on either side of my face. "What matters is that nobody is going to tear us apart. I won't let it happen, Romain. I don't care what the consequences are."
• Before I can say anything else, she presses her lips to mine, and all my thoughts just flee my mind. My heart begins thundering in my chest, and my hands move from her arms to the dips of her waist. The kiss is slow and superficial, but I can feel the part of me that's hungry and desperate for more surfacing. I press her flush against me, and her fingers move to my neck, where they interlace at the nape of my neck.
• I don't know how much time passes. With her, it's so easy to lose track of it. All I know is that I want her here with me, and I'm beyond grateful that my wish has been granted.
• Emmalee breaks the kiss to say, "Bed," against my lips, and words can't describe how that affects me.
• We move toward the bed, and then she falls upon it while her eyes are on me, glazed with lust. Dangerous. This is so damn dangerous, because I've imagined this moment for years, ever since I got my first erection at the sight of her in her bathing suit near the pond, and now she's here, on my bed.
• Wanting me. Kissing me back.
• I move so I'm hovering above her. We're lying across the bed, and her feet are stretched past the edge of the bed. I'm straining against my pants, and I've never wanted to take her more than I do now.
• Emmalee's hands are on my chest, and she asks me, "How's your back?"
• "Fine," I say dismissively.
• She kisses me gently, and then parts her legs and wraps them around my hips, pulling me flush against her. She groans, and the sound makes me even harder. My tongue slips past her lips, and she sucks on it gently. Shivers race down my spine and settle in my groin, and before I know it, we're moving together me and her, and this feels better than all the times I've come in my shower or even in the sink while thinking about her.
• I think I'm going to come again. Right in my pants.
• Small moans leave her lips. I swallow them all while my tongue dances in her mouth, gliding over hers again and again while she arches her back and moves along my cock. She quickens the pace, growing more and more frantic, and I'm holding on for dear life.
• Is this really happening? Is she really writhing beneath me, on the verge of making me come?
• "Romain," she pants. "Touch me."
• "Where?" I ask distractedly.
• She grabs my hand, which is right next to her head, and guides it to the space between our bodies. My mouth goes dry when she settles it right between her legs and over her cotton panties. "Here."
• She guides my fingers so they're moving up and down, up and down. Right over her crotch. She's so warm down there, and a part of her panties are soaked through. I don't know how much more I can take.
• "Faster," she begs. "Move your fingers faster."
• I obey her commands, and move my fingers faster, up and down, up and down. I watch her face, completely enraptured by how she's reacting to my touch. This is the part of my daydreams that I never imagined, not clearly. She wraps a hand around my wrist, her eyes still closed, and then her back arches off the bed and she moans loudly.
• I come in my pants.
• I never stood a damn chance.