Anathea closed her eyes.
“Are you asleep?” Gregory asked as he walked in.
+25 BONUS
Anathea didn’t answer, keeping her eyes shut and ignoring him. She thought he would leave, but he just stood by the bed, staring at her as though he couldn’t get enough.
His gaze was too intense, and Anathea a couldn’t help curling her fingers slightly.
The subtle movement didn’t escape Gregory’s
‘s eyes. He chuckled quietly and leaned down toward her. “Are you not asleep?”
Anathea said nothing, determined to keep pretending.
Gregory raised an eyebrow. As expected, there was no waking someone pretending to be asleep. So, he leaned in even closer. His warm breath brushed against her face, and his lips were about to meet hers.
Anathea finally opened her eyes, alert. “What are you
doing?”
Gregory stopped and smiled. “I can’t wake someone pretending to sleep, so I figured I might as well kiss her awake.”
With that, he lowered his head. Anathea froze for a moment. His face was reflected in her eyes, and her lashes trembled slightly.
A flash of memory surged up–those blood–tinged kisses from the other day were seared into her mind. She couldn’t forget that
moment.
But this time, he was far gentler than ever before. It wasn’t a forced, aggressive claim.
www
A mix of emotions flickered across Anathea’s face, and she closed her eyes… until his other hand slipped under the hem of her clothes, moving upward.
Anathea’s eyes flew open as she instinctively pressed a hand against his chest to push him back. “I’m tired. I want to rest.” Gregory paused, resting his forehead against hers. His breathing was unsteady, but he didn’t go further. He planted a lingering kiss on her nose and let go. “Sleep.”
He pulled the blanket over her, then walked around to the other side and got into bed, lying down beside her.
Anathea felt a broad, solid chest press against her back. She pursed her lips.
She shifted away slightly, but he hooked his arm around her and pulled her back, holding her tight.
“Can’t sleep? Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story? I found a few prenatal stories lately. I could read them to you and the baby.”
Anathea’s lashes fluttered, her eyes rimmed with red. But she still refused, “No need.”
She stopped moving and let him hold her. Strangely enough, even though she hadn’t felt sleepy earlier, drowsiness slowly crept
- in.
Just before she completely drifted off, she heard Gregory whisper something in her ear, but she didn’t respond.
Gregory looked at the sleeping woman in his night.
arms, tenderness filling his eyes. For once, he felt truly at peace. He slept well that
He’d wanted to hold Anathea like that until the sun was high in the sky. That would feel perfect. But the incessant ringing of his phone early in the morning shattered that hope.
Gregory quickly rejected the calls and glanced at the still–sleeping Anathea beside him. Then, he got up quietly and tucked the blanket around her before leaving the room.
The morning sun was pleasant.
Chapter 369
Pulling out his phone, he saw the caller ID and frowned slightly, dialing the person back.
“You finally picked up,” Louie said anxiously. “I’m on my way to your place. Is Anathea with you right now?”
“What’s going on?” Gregory suddenly had a bad feeling.
What Louie said next almost made him stagger.
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“I found some toxins in her blood. Judging by the levels, they’ve been building up for a while now. You’d better check on her-”
Before he could finish, Gregory had already rushed back into the room.
“Annie?” Gregory called out to her, but there was no response.
Gregory frowned and turned on the light, only to see her face deathly pale. There was a faint metallic scent of blood in the air.
Gregory froze, then yanked the blanket off.
A small pool of blood was forming beneath her.
“Annie!”
