NOT ROYALE ENOUGH [18+]

38 💋💋

CHRIS

The drive back to her apartment was calm. Too calm, considering what had happened just five minutes ago.

After the kiss—thirty seconds, but it felt like a damn lifetime—she pulled away, breathless, and told me to get her out of that alley. I did. I would’ve carried her if she let me. But she walked, head held high, and I followed close, still running on adrenaline.

I was grateful I found her in time. Just thinking about what that bastard almost did made my grip tighten on the wheel. My knuckles burned, split open from breaking his face, and the urge to turn the car around and finish the job gnawed at me.

But I couldn’t let Sarah see how fucking livid I still was.

I glanced at her. She hadn’t said a word since getting into the car. She just stared out the window, fingers curled in her lap, too still.

I wanted to ask if she was okay. I wanted to pull over, make her look at me, tell me what was going on in that sharp mind of hers. But when I asked who he was back in the alley, she refused to answer.

That silence kept me shut.

So I did the only thing I could do for her right now—keep driving. And fight the urge to turn around and break more of his bones.

I spotted her apartment building just up ahead, and my chest tightened. Any second now, she might say she wanted to be alone. I would have to respect that. I knew she needed space, that she might not want to be around any man right now.

Maybe I could at least walk her to her door—

"Can we go somewhere else?"

Her voice cut through my thoughts, and I turned to her. Sarah was already looking at me, her expression unreadable.

"You want to stay somewhere else?" I asked, uncertain.

"Yes."

"Oh, um… okay." I suddenly felt nervous. "I could find a hotel nearby, so it’s easier for you to get back home if—"

"Which hotel are you staying at?"

I hesitated for a second, until she tilted her head slightly. She meant me.

Of course she meant you, idiot, my conscience mocked.

"I… rented an apartment nearby. Close to your building." I scratched the back of my head, bracing myself for her reaction. Any moment now, she might say it was weird or that I shouldn't be all over her. She had already made it clear—we weren’t in Gerlin anymore.

"Okay," she said simply. "Let's go."

I blinked. "You want to stay with me?"

Sarah's gaze didn’t waver. "You don't want me to?" There was a hint of vulnerability in her voice, something so uncharacteristic of my Sarah that it threw me off balance.