THE CAGE (The Chosen Series #3)

CH28. ♘d1 ♞d3

The drive back to the Manor takes us just under three hours, the lakeside scenery changing to motorways and then to the remote coast.

Alexander kept his hand on my leg during the entire trip. Caressing and squeezing it as we traveled without talking.

Not being a person of many words, I appreciated the companionable silence and spent most of the time resting. Even though my body is well sated, I'd burned through most of its energy resources and needed this time to rebuild, slowly drawing from the energy Alexander naturally secreted.

However, even though my mouth was shut, my mind was still active, cataloging the roads we took, creating a digital map, and storing it within my memory banks.

It wasn't until when we turned onto a familiar motorway that I allowed my eyes to close, my senses slowly lulling themselves to Alexander's touch and the gentle purr of the Aston Martin's engine.

At some moment, I'd fallen asleep because the next thing I feel is Alexander's warm lips on my cheek, and the car had stopped.

"We're here, Mой маленький волк." I blink several times and squint at the fluorescent light flooding the underground garage.

Lifting my arms above my head, I stretch and let out a contented sigh. My body fully recharged. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you sleep?" I tilt my face to look at Alexander, who is watching me with hooded eyes.

"You've watched me sleep?"

Alexander lifts his hand and trails it down the side of my face. "Yes, Mой маленький волк," his words are low and intimate. I bite my bottom lip and see sparks flicking in his eyes. Leaning in, his face only inches from mine, he adds, "I have a secret to confess."

I force myself to swallow, my throat scratchy at the sudden dryness. Alexander closes the distance until his lips are resting against mine, "With the exception of when you left," I detect a small level of irritation before he softens, "I've watched you."

I try to process his words but my mind short circuits when he licks my lips, his tongue dragging along the seam, willing mine to part.

My entire body tingles, and I open for him. Alexander groans, and his tongue invades my mouth.

He's been watching me. I knew there were cameras at Ciara's loft and around the Manor. There was even that time I felt him in the room when I slept beside Ciara. But I always thought he was watching her.

"I couldn't stop myself," Alexander's deep baritone voice vibrates through his kisses, and I lose myself to the feeling of wholeness.

"I tried to stop, but seeing you, calmed me."

My chest warms at his admission, knowing that he feels the same pull, and I full-heartedly kiss him back. We stay locked together in his car until the windows fog. Alexander is the first to break our embrace, pulling back with slightly glazed eyes and swollen lips.

He smiles, "let's go. I have something to do; then, I want to take you somewhere."

I give him a quizzical look and follow as he gets out of the vehicle. Alexander only smiles wider and takes my hand in his. "Go to our rooms. I won't be long."

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The Manor is blissfully quiet, with only skeleton staff roaming the vast hallways, going about their daily chores. As I make my way to the Belle suite, I open my senses slightly and smile when I locate the energy signatures of Maria and Grigori.

From what I can detect, they are together and somewhere at the other end of the Manor.

Opening the doors to my rooms, I step inside and am filled with the essence of Annabelle again. Shrugging off her lingering energy, I remove the clothing I borrowed, which I assumed were hers based on their petite size.