Pain And Pleasure 18+✓

Thirty-nine

A gush of cold air makes me shift and turn in my sleep. My skin feels the void of Adrian's warmth that kept me safer the moment I closed my eyes. Slowly I sit up and look around me. The bed is empty and the room is as dark as the night outside, with only the moonlight breathing in through the white curtains.

"Adrian," I call lazily but I can't see any sign of him.

I pull myself out, and grab the bathing robe from the couch, before peeking at the bathroom while calling his name again. But he's not here. It's only midnight and we were supposed to be sleeping together so what went wrong?

Is he downstairs? I sigh and move.

Bluish LED ceiling light oozes from the living room as I take the stairs down. I think he's here, and indeed I find him standing near the vast window, his side against it, facing the glistening lake that reflects the luminous moon above. Relief washes over me as our eyes meet.

"Hey." He gives me a warm yet disapproving smile.

"Hey." I smile back.

He stands straight, holding a glass of golden liquid that can be whiskey.

I saunter closer. As if I missed him to death, my arms wrap around his chest, and my cheek rests against the linen material of the shirt covering his wide back. His muscles flex and he turns around to give me freedom over him.

"You should be in bed." He rubs my hand as he relaxes, as though my touch is somehow as effective as an endorphin.

I hug him tighter.

"Not in an empty one. It's already a challenge sleeping in a new place, and now without the only person I'm sharing this enormous house with," I reply truthfully.

Adrian laughs gently. "Are you scared, Arabella?"

"Not of demons and monsters. But more of a cold since I'm suddenly accustomed to your sexy inferno, Sir," I amuse him.

He laughs again, louder this time, and I'd pluck those stars in the sky just to hear this sound for the rest of my days. He makes me feel at home.

Safe.

"You have a way of chasing my demons away, Arabella. And that with just your words alone," he says while turning around, impelling me to draw back and let his beautiful eyes into my sight. "I'm glad you're here. Really I am." His thumb runs over my cheek as he stares at me deeply in the eyes.

His olive skin glows with the moon and he's damn gorgeous. The color of luminous brown and green in his eyes makes my breath hitch stupidly. They are not bare of emotions, but rather vague in letting his true feelings show which leaves me in a maze for most of our deep interactions.

"I am too, Adrian. But you're awake in the middle of the night, drinking this thing." I take the rectangular glass from him, which feels chilly from the ice cubes floating inside it. "Mind telling me why?" I gaze up at him curiously.

As I wait for him to respond, I take a sip of his drink and my throat burns like hell, even though I knew what to expect. How do people enjoy bare spirits?

"Fuck!" I cough and Adrian laughs almost loudly. "Funny, huh?" I lament.

"Not your thing, why drink it?" he asks.

"To see what exactly I'm missing?" I reply and try again, but the searing sensation resembles chill and fire so I clear my throat and chuckle.

Goddamn, it!

Not bad, though.

"Curious little thing," Adrian mumbles while clutching my chin to make my eyes meet his. "You're incredibly stubborn, Arabella. So fucking stubborn." His lips take mine and that burn disappears into the sweetness of his tongue.