Page 68 of Serenity

Ridiculous.

“I am so sorry,” I emphasized. Embarrassment slithered up my bones.

“It’s fine,” the woman blurted.

The pitch and tone of her voice caused our eyes to connect.

“Julie! Oh, hi!”

“I thought I recognized you, Serenity. What are you doing here?—Well, obviously, that’s none of my business. I was just on my way out. I live here.”

“I live here.” That air of haughtiness seasoned her voice. New money. Flamboyant, her label-whoring was. New money always told on themselves. Tactless. Classless. But she was still one of my students. Annoying and needy but still one of my somatic release students.

“Oh, okay. Nice. Gray has some really impressive accommodations. I’m actually just visiting my boyfriend. He’s a resident here as well.”

“Lovely,” Julie chippered. “Well, don’t let me hold you from being with your man. I’ll see you in class next week?”

“I have a bit on my plate at the moment, so I’m having one of the other instructors teach the class.”

“Aw, boo! Well, I’ll be glad to see you back when the opportunity presents itself again. I miss your somatic release techniques.”

Reaching out, she gripped my arm for emphasis. Without turning my head, my eyes darted to the place touched, and she quickly freed me. “It was good seeing you as well.”

“Same to you,” I tossed over my shoulder, entering the lift and tapping the keycard to take me up to the top floor.

Silence and darkness cloaked the interior when I entered the penthouse. I toed out of my shoes, letting them remain near the door. Save for the bedroom light spilling into the length hall, it was exceptionally dark inside. Beyond the windows in the living room was a view of downtown Paramour. The city’s lights dotted the windows with drawn-back curtains.

An entire two weeks of not seeing Duke felt wholly unacceptable. Lengthy nails tapped the sealed bedroom door as my palm collided, offering a push for entry. Soundlessly, the door to his master bedroom crept open. My honey-hued man was bare-chested, save for his boxers, as I entered. He was a sight for my ravenous eyes. His back was propped against the headboard, flipping through the television. Cinnamon brown eyes bloomed like flowers in spring as they fell upon me.

“Hey.”

“Busy bee,” helplessly, he grinned at my presence. “Couldn’t sleep, huh?”

“Such a necessary task has been nearly impossible in the last few weeks,” I confessed with a big ass smile. Shedding my sweats, I crawled into bed beside him.

“You just gotta get back accustomed to my absence.”

“I don’t like the sound of that or the prospect of it.”

Clutching Duke tighter, I drove my point home. He shifted and pulled me closer with a groan.

“Mmh. Me either, Bumble Bee.”

As my lids grew heavier, sugary thoughts time-traveled to the month prior when we were together. A vacation and a home, he composed it all and lacked nothing.

“This is me checking in, Bee.”

Since our return to Paramour, we made a point to check in with one another. To share our feelings regardless of what they were —good or bad— we’d be transparent with one another. It was something he’d started the night after my explosion in Portofino.

“I’m okay. Just tired. The art show is in a few weeks.”

“Keeping you manic?”

“Yeah. A little,” I yawned. Paired with the plans I recently had drafted for the new spa’s location, I was juggling the next big event at Vivid. My schedule had done a number on me. The lack of sleep hadn’t helped.

“What did I tell you about delegating, baby?”

“I know. I know.”