Page 146 of The Grand Duel

“I was just saying to Lissie that I’ve sent through some pain relief to reception for you to pick up, and the wound will need checking in three days.”

Charles looks back down at me, his eyes heavy and tired.

He still looks ridiculously handsome, no matter how much sleep he lost over the weekend.

“Thank you, Pippa,” he eventually says.

When she reaches forward to open the door, Luna circles Charles’s legs and then comes to me. I scoop her up, not knowing what to say to him.

He follows Pippa out, waiting for me at the door. As I pass him, he places his hand on the small of my back.

I stop at the first feel of his fingertips, peering up over my shoulder at him.

He drops his hand immediately.

The reception area is busier when we exit, and Luna instantly snuffs around in my hair. “It’s okay,” I say, rubbing her back as I hold her.

When I turn to look at where Charles is in the queue, I find him already watching me, his eyes boring into me, full of so much sorry, I can’t help but stare back.

“Can I have the keys?” I say, still glued to him.

He dips his hand into his pocket and pulls them out.

“I’ll take her out. It’s too much for her in here.”

He nods, and I can tell he wants to say something, but I don’t let him, turning to leave the clinic.

When he climbs into the car ten minutes later, he simply looks at Luna, who is snuggled into my neck sleeping, and sighs. “I’m sorry it took so long to get here. I couldn’t just leave court, and I presumed Edna was with her when Pippa called.”

“It’s fine,” I tell him, looking out of the window.

“I didn’t realise you’d be in the office today.”

I swallow. “I can’t just walk out and leave Edna in the lurch. I’ll stay until you have someone to replace me. But I’m not telling Edna. You can.”

There’s silence in the car, and I beg it to swallow me whole. The way I can feel his eyes on me, just as I had that first night, blindfolded and laid out naked beneath him. I could feel his eyes on me then like I can feel them on me now.

“Lissie.”

I can’t fully turn to look at him because Luna is restricting my head, but I do respond. “Hmm.”

“Thank you for bringing her. When I arrived and saw you were with her, I was relieved. I knew she was in the best hands.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I tell him.

He reaches out to smooth over Luna’s snout, making her squirm away and curl down into my chest. I subconsciously look over at the man in the seat next to me.

“You know what I mean,” he adds.

I rub my hands over Luna’s back protectively. “She’s just a baby. I didn’t want her to be scared.”

“I know. Have you eaten?” He starts the engine. “You look cold.”

“My cardigan was covered in blood, so I told them to bin it.”

He shakes his head as he reverses out of the space. “How did she even do it?”

I look towards him. “The gate. I don’t think she likes being shut in. She needs space, and yes, she’s walked a lot, but it’s still not enough. She doesn’t like to be restricted to one room.”