Page 42 of It Destroys Me

I loved feeling wanted. And I loved the way he made me feel wanted. He took what he wanted without apology. Made demands like he was entitled to whatever he set his eyes on. The fact that I was what he wanted still felt like a dream come true.

I left my clothes behind and returned to his bedroom before I pulled back the sheets. There was a stain in the middle from the way I’d oozed for him.

He walked to his side of the bed, checked his phone before he set it down, and then got under the sheets.

“Do you have a shirt I can sleep in?”

One arm moved behind his head. “Help yourself, sweetheart.”

Every part of my body was reveling in his affection. The way he called me sweetheart, the way he invited me to open his dresser and take whatever I wanted, like whatever was his was mine.

I left the bed and picked out a black t-shirt, a blanket on my small body, and came back to bed.

He turned off the lamp on his bedside then immediately moved to me, spooning me from behind and putting me into the position he wanted, my back against his chest, his face pressed into my hair.

I was certain his mattress and mine were the same, but his was infinitely more comfortable. The sheets were softer. The room was quieter. The chaos of my life had been silenced when Bolton had taken my hand and elevated me from the stress and misery of a bad lot in life. But he never gave me peace, not the way Theo did.

It was different.

Chapter 7

Astrid

Girl, you wanna come over for pizza tonight?

I read Scarlett’s message with a smile. Fuck yeah, I do.

Cool. I’ll prep the dough, and we can make our own pizzas.

This sounds like a pizza party.

There’ll be booze, so it sounds like a party to me.

Great. I’ll see you tonight. I finished the rest of the day at the gallery then went home. When I’d woken up in Theo’s bed that morning, he was already gone, so I wasn’t sure what he was up to today. I knocked on his door, but there was no answer.

I went to my room and changed out of my stuffy pencil skirt and blouse. I ditched the heels for flats then texted Theo. Scarlett invited me over for pizza, so I’m headed over there. I’ll see you when I get home.

The three dots appeared so fast, it was as if he’d already been looking at his phone when I’d texted him. I’ll meet you there.

I think this is a girl thing…

The dots disappeared. I waited for him to explain, but he didn’t. The dots never returned. I grabbed a bottle of wine from the kitchen then drove over to their place. They lived in a villa behind a gate, similar to Theo, a luxurious property that was inaccessible to the public. She’d given me the code to get through the gate and onto their property.

When I parked in the garage, Theo’s black Range Rover was already there.

Even if he wasn’t supposed to be there, I felt a thrill at the prospect of seeing him. We’d fucked like rabbits in spring throughout the night and I was still full of the seed he’d given me, but I still got nervous, still got excited.

I took the elevator to the ground floor and stepped into the foyer.

The first thing I heard was a crying child upstairs. A beautiful vase of lilies was on the table in the foyer, and as I stepped farther into the villa, I heard male voices coming from the study. As I drew closer, I recognized Axel’s voice and assumed he was speaking to Theo.

The child continued to cry upstairs.

I approached the open doorway and saw the two men sitting in the armchairs, talking over a decanter of scotch. Axel noticed me first, and his eyes flicked to me. “My wife makes some good pizza, so you’re in for a treat.”

“I look forward to it.” I looked at Theo in the other armchair and gave him a slight smile.

He got to his feet when I didn’t expect him to. His eyes greeted me warmly as his arm circled around my waist, and he kissed me in front of Axel, the way Axel kissed Scarlett in front of everyone. “How was work, sweetheart?”