Someone is touching me, stroking my face. I peel my eyes open, my brain freezes as my gaze connects with El. Her fingers don’t stop tracing a line along my cheek, she smiles at my confused face and I blink twice. Am I dead? Is this what heaven feels like? I push those thoughts aside, I can’t even make heaven.
The arms around my waist keep me from standing, I smile and pry Bren’s hand off me. She moans but remains asleep, I nudge Wyn whose legs are tangled in the sheet. I forgot she sleeps like a martial artist, twisting her body like a gymnast.
“Hey.” I curse. El giggles. Fuck. She’s real and she’s smiling at me. The girls are asleep, she doesn’t have to pretend to be happy to see me but here she is at the edge of my bed, smiling. I must be hallucinating.
I stretch my hand for the pills, she helps me with it and I pop two into my mouth while she stares with a frown. “What are you doing here?” I whisper back, stiffening when Bren whimpers and rolls onto her stomach. I love having Elna here but our last encounter was shit. She might not have come if I called.
She shrugs. My heart skids to a stop when her lower lip trembles, I get off the bed as quietly as I can and draw her into an embrace. She doesn’t fight me, proving to me that something is wrong. I pull back to inquire, hooking a finger under her jaw until her brown eyes latch onto mine. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Dark thoughts cloud my mind at her silence, her eyes water. I catch the lone tear that leaks to her cheek, drawing her back into my embrace. I don’t like seeing any of my girls hurt and her silence is not helping.
Tracing circles on the small of her back, my jaw rests on her head. “Elna, talk to me. Please.”
Giggles escape her, a melodic sound that fills my ears. I miss being the source of her happiness. Wiping her cheek dry, she says, “It’s nothing. Sophia tricked me.” My hands lower to my sides, she creates a gap between us and sighs. Her scent infiltrates my nose, a harsh reminder of our proximity seconds ago. Mirth dances in her beautiful brown eyes that pull me in a trance. I want to hold her again but I don’t. I can’t. The moment is over but I am still disoriented. “She said you were dying and I kinda panicked.” Her reply heightens my confusion, I frown. Chewing her lips, she shrugs. “You do look okay. Are you okay?”
Her teeth remain lodged in her two-toned mouth, my gaze centres on it. “I am okay. A bit stressed,” I answer without looking away from her sensual lips. Will I be able to tell her last meal by kissing her? She clears her throat, I offer her a tight smile. “I need to eat and take my vitamins. I’ll be fine. I’m not dying.”
I love every inch of El’s body but her lips capture my attention more. I can’t look away. Will she mind a kiss? My eyes fleet to hers, they darken with lust but none of us makes a move. I remember vividly how she moaned when T put his lips on hers and I wonder if she’s remembering the video I sent her. I snap to the present. If she doesn’t make a move, I won’t. I have enough regrets already. Sadly, El does nothing but take another step back. I run a hand through my beard, walking to the window to part the curtains.
Light filters in through the cracks between the curtains, creating a shadow on the tiles. I lean on the wall for moral and physical support as El shakes the girls awake, clenching my eyes shut to stop from echoing my thoughts. I promised she would get the girls today but that’s not really what I want, not now I have been confined to bedrest. My heart forgets how to function, I slide down the wall to the cold floor.
Wyn wakes first. Rubbing the back of her hand against her eyes, she yawns and rouses her twin. Their excitement is muffled by the sleep clouding their eyes but they hug their mother so tight my heart skips. I want a hug too. They touch their mother’s face like they did mine minutes before I fell asleep, turning it this way and that way to inspect for damages. El indulges them for an extra second before grabbing their wrists, she makes kissy faces to them and they giggle, pecking her loudly on her cheek. I love them.
“Where’s Daddy?” Their eyes roam the room for me, I shrink into myself, trying to blend with the wall. In a way, I enjoy watching their interaction with their mother, it’s too pure. “Aunt Sophia said we should not let him out of our sight. Bren, where’s our daddy?” She releases herself from El’s grasp. “Mummy?”
El whispers something to them, their heads turn in my direction and a bright smile takes over their lips. I pout, they run to me, placing kisses on my puckered lips. I don’t let them go, I cling to them. El coughs, my neck twists upwards to get a good look at her. Her head snaps down, she smoothes her trousers.
“Can we stay with Daddy?” Bren asks, gaze darting between her parents. Yes. But the decision is up to El. She stands, I mimic her and the girls slide their hands into mine. El bridges the gap without a word to us, I squeeze my girls hands to reassure myself. They are not leaving me forever, we are only resuming our former arrangement. “Please, I want to stay here.” Bren’s voice cuts through me, she pouts. “Say yes.”
“Mummy, say yes,” Wyn quips.
El gulps. “Okay. Yes.” Without meeting my gaze, she says, “You should be in bed.” I nod, already shuffling towards the bed. My madam has spoken. She ruffles the kids’ hair, they beam. “Let Daddy rest, okay?”
The girls heads bob, they wave at me and bounce out of the room with smiles bright enough to light a room. El stares at her feet, her heels are missing. Her hands vanish into her pockets, I grunt. If the girls are staying, what about her? The question weighs heavily on me, I tense when she starts for the door.
“Are you leaving?” I ask, she rolls her eyes.
At my expense, I chuckle and she walks out without another glance. She is not leaving. She won’t leave, she’s soft. I close my eyes to rest them for a bit, it feels like they have been open for too long. Someone nudges me awake, brown eyes peer worriedly at me. I manage to smile at El, she helps me into a sitting position. Her coy smile returns, we have seen each other at our worst yet she still gets shy around me.
“What are you looking for?” she asks after I turn another pillow upside down.
“My phone.” I shove my hand into the space behind the bed and the wall, well aware it can’t be there. I need to call Dina to talk about the meeting I set up with Jei and cancel other appointments for today. My search comes up empty, a sigh escapes me. She folds her hands on her legs, I frown. “I can’t find it.”
“Because I have it,” she replies, “you need to rest. And that includes staying away from your phone.” My gaze centres on her moving lips, I tune her out. I know I need to rest but I also have work to do. That’s one of the disadvantages of being CEO. She taps me, a jolt of electricity shoots up my spine. “Brandon.”
“Yeah?” My voice sounds distant, hoarse. I push the covers off me and drag my woman to my laps. Logic takes a backseat, I nuzzle my nose against her neck, lick a wet path to her jaw. “Baby, I miss you.”
Wrinkles mar her forehead, she pries my hands off her and frowns. “Your food will get cold.”
An aroma tickles my nose, I bet it is something nice and tasty but I want to taste her instead. “Let it.”
“Brandon, I’m not playing.” I huff and throw my hands up in frustration. Fine, whatever she wants. But what about my needs? I want a kiss. The frown remains on her lips like an identity as she places a metal tray between us, I fold my arms on my chest and glare at her. “Open up.” She scoops a spoonful of funny looking liquid into my mouth, my frown fades as flavours explode on my tongue. I don’t wait for her next instruction, my jaw drops and she scoops more soup into my mouth. “Ma used to make it for me when I got sick,” she says, dabbing a corner of my lips with a paper towel. I smile. “It works wonders.”
Tastes delicious too, I can live on it for days. The rest of the soup disappears into my mouth, she sets the tray on the floor and offers me a bottle of lukewarm water. Her gaze remains on me as I gulp the water greedily, she rewards me with a smile when I am done. Throwing caution to the wind, I lace our fingers.
“Do you miss us?” I ask.
A pang shoots through me when she retracts her hands to smoothen her blouse. “Sometimes.”
“I miss us all the time. We can get back together.” She shoots out of the bed. “El, listen to me. For the kids sake.” An annoyed sound leaves her lips, I shrug. She leaves me no choice, I will use them if I have to.
Her hands rest on her hips, she forces a smile to her lips. “I asked Dina to clear your schedule for the rest of this week. And maybe next,” she says with a frown. “It all depends on how you feel by then.”
“I will feel much better if you say yes to me.” She shakes her head and the end of her ponytail bounces to the front. I get out of the bed, she steps back but I don’t chase her. “Okay. A kiss. What about a kiss?”
“Brandon, get back in bed,” she orders. My legs obey, within a blink, I am under the covers. “You don’t have an assistant anymore.” She dims the light, pulls the sheet over my feet peeking out. I shrug, I don’t want to talk about a fucking assistant, I want to talk about us. I can manage a kiss. “What happened?”
Annoyance zips through me, I sigh and she rolls her eyes. “I fired him. Can I get my kiss now? One kiss.”