Page 35 of Hidden Desire

Taylor shook her head. “No. Have a seat and relax. It will be the last time you do until nap time.”

They both grinned.

Grace kept up with Hannah, but it was tough because she was exhausted. That night at dinner, there were still just two plates.

She walked into the kitchen. “He’s not going to be home?”

Taylor nodded. “I know it’s tough, Honey, but he’s got an important job, and sometimes he’ll barely make it home each night.”

“I didn’t know that,” Grace said. She realized she had no idea what her husband did for a living. The man didn’t talk to her. In fact, she realized he had conversed with her more before they were married.

She thought back to the last months she’d lived there, and Robert hadn’t missed a dinner. Now, he was gone every night. She tried to keep her mind on Hannah and keep her happy charade up.

Grace was exhausted when she got ready for bed that night. She was unsure where she should sleep. She decided on Robert’s room, but once there, she couldn’t make herself get into the large bed. It would just make her feel lonelier.

She’d gone from her father’s house to Robert’s, and she had thought everything would be nice, but she had ended up being more isolated than she’d been at her father’s. Here, she had Hannah and Taylor to talk to, and it helped but when she was alone, she didn’t know what to do about it.

She pulled the throw from the end of the bed and walked to one of the large chairs in the room. She made herself ascomfortable as she could and promptly fell asleep.

Chapter Sixteen

Channing slapped Robert on the shoulder. “Why don’t you head home? We can deal with the rest.”

“I don’t want to leave until I know I’ve done everything I can to help.”

“You’ve been here eighteen hours a day,” Kingston, another member of the Good Knight Society, said.

“Man, you’ve got a new bride, don’t you?” Rafe asked.

“Yes.” Robert nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’ll understand that I’m busy. Right now, it’s important to find these women.”

“We’ve got it handled. We have a team headed to where we were told the women are being kept,” Channing said.

He was tired, and every time he thought about Grace, his gut cramped with the desire to make her his in all ways. He didn’t think he’d really feel married until they consummated their marriage.

Robert nodded. “Call me if anything changes.”

“We will,” Rafe said.

Robert drove himself home, anxious to be with Grace but aware that he wouldn’t have her the way his body demanded until he knew it was the right time. He checked his office to make sure she wasn’t there like the previous night before heading up to his room.

His stomach dropped when the first thing he saw was the empty bed. He turned to go back down to find her when he noticed her in one of the chairs. He felt a wave of relief at the same time, concerned that she wouldn’t sleep in the bed.

It was a question he was going to ask as soon as he showered and got ready for bed.

When he was done, he pulled the comforter and blanket back before going to his wife. He picked her up.She automatically wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured his name, but he was almost sure she was still sleeping. He arranged her with her head on his chest and his arm around her waist, holding her tightly against him.

“Mmmm, Robert?”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Yes, Sweetheart.”

She seemed to start to fall back to sleep.

“Why don’t you sleep in the bed?” he asked. He felt her stiffen.

“Oh, I’m not sure.”

He tilted her head up to be able to see her eyes as they talked. “Tell me.”