Heart of Stone

Wine

Eloise stood under the scalding hot water, allowing it to wash away the tension and aches from the day's events. Her mind felt like a nightmare of thoughts, but she envisioned them getting washed away down the drain with the water like dirt stains. She tried to focus on what was happening in the present moment, not what had brought her here. It was done, there was nothing she could do about it now.

Meanwhile Alexander ordered room service. He was uncertain what her favorite foods might be, so he ordered a variety. He also ordered some dessert, thinking she might be in the mood for something comforting.

After he placed the order, he sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh. He couldn't escape the feeling of fear he'd experienced when he'd approached the open door, already alarmed, and heard LouLou's scream. It had struck him like a bolt of lightning and set his feet running before he even knew what he was doing. The look of terror on her face had made something ugly in him rear to the surface, a fierce need to protect her taking over his instincts. It's what had driven the well-placed kick to the man's face.

Now all he wanted to do was make her feel safe and cared for. There was no way he could have left her in that apartment or let her go anywhere else for that matter. He needed to see her in front of him, whole and healthy. As for what that meant, he was uncertain. At first, he had found his attraction to her a problem, something he had never meant to allow himself to indulge in. But he had been unable to help himself. There was just something about her that called to him like a bee to honey and was no longer able to deny it.

He was married, and technically this was wrong, but he and his wife had never even met, and he was fairly certain she had a lack of interest in him as well. If she hadn't, wouldn't she have made meeting with him a priority? LouLou also knew he was married, and she didn't seem to mind. What did that say about her? Although it was common knowledge at this point that he and his wife had never had anything to do with one another. It had certainly come in handy when he'd needed to avoid other women, however. For all he knew, Eloise Winter could have someone else as well.

Before he could debate it any further, there was a knock at the door. Alexander strode across the room and opened the door, taking the food from the delivery person. He tipped them generously and closed the door, bringing the food over to the sitting area. He spread the array out on the coffee table and once he was done, the bathroom door opened.

She stepped out of the bathroom slowly, wearing a white and pink striped silk pajama set. Her hair was wet and fell down her back smoothly. Her skin had a bit more color to it again, but her eyes were haunted by shadows.

"Come eat." He said, gesturing to the food.

Her bare feet were silent on the marble floor as she made her way over to him and sat down. She smelled of peach and hibiscus and he couldn't stop himself from thinking that she smelled so good he wanted to devour her. Instead, he began opening up the food containers.

"Do you feel any better after your shower?" He asked.

"I do, actually. I'm just tired." She answered.

He nodded in understanding and watched as she decided to go for the creamy alfredo dish. For himself he decided to eat the grilled chicken. They ate together in comfortable silence, a sense of normalcy settling over them despite never having done this together. It felt natural to the both of them, as if they'd done it plenty of times before.

"You know what always pairs really well with Italian food?" She asked about halfway through her meal.

"Red wine?" He asked.

She smiled, and he took that as his sign to get up and walk over to the mini bar. He found a bottle of wine and opened it with a short pop. He grabbed two stemmed glasses and brought them back over to the table. He set them down and then poured them both a glass of wine.