Chapter 85 Rosalie, Please Come Back To Me **Rosalieâs POV This had to be a dream.
That was what I told myself as I looked into his eyes, which shone with a depth of emotion I had never before seen.
There was no way in the world that I was awake and this was real. He couldnât really be standing here,
in the shadows in the garden outside of my cottage near Sorenâs house. There were simply too many g uards for even someone of his skill to have managed to have gotten in here.
And what had he said?
âIâm not here to hurt you.â
It could not be Ethan, I told myself. I needed to shut off my crazy emotions and wake up.
âIâm sorry, but youâve got the wrong person.â Please, just go away, I prayed.
I couldnât allow myself to be hurt by him, even if it was just a dream.
âI know itâs you, Rosalie. Come with me!â His voice was trembling.
When had I ever heard him speak like this?
I remained silent. but I knew I wanted to go to him.
âRosalieâ¦â he murmured, and I could almost hear pleading in his tone.
I shook my head. Pleading was the last thing I could ever imagine Ethan doing. So this had to be a dream.
âRosalieâ¦please, come back to me.â he said again, and it was like someone had cast a spell on meâ
I couldnât help but move toward him, especially now that I had accepted that I mustâve gone to sleep af ter dinner.
âIs that really you, Ethan?â I asked, moving closer to the person in my dream. Maybe, just this once, I w ould let myself imagine that he wasnât cold and cruel.
âItâs me, Rosalieâ¦â
He said my name again, and the way that it rolled off of his tongue sounded so real, I couldnât help but bury my head in his neck as he pulled me tight.
He even smelled real. The scent of pine and the forest filled my lungs with each breath as I ran my han ds along his muscular back.
His hands grazed my shoulders, stroking my hair, and I felt tears in my eyes. I longed for him to hold me. What wa s the harm when this was only a dream?
âRosalie, Iâve missed you so much,â Ethan said into my ear. âWe have so much to talk about.â
That doesnât sound like something a person would say if this was simply a romantic dream.
While he continued to caress me, I reached around him and pinched myself on the arm.
It hurt.
This wasnât a dream! I was awake!
I snapped my eyes open.
Ethan! He was here.
I felt fear rushing through me.
What in the world did he want from me?
Immediately, I pushed him away and, leaped back away from him, my arms wrapping around my baby.
âEthan!â I said, my tone accusatory. âWhy are you here?â
âShhhâ¦â He pulled me into his arms again, and caressed my hair. He looked around to see if anyone h ad heard me.
But he was making me angry.
Heâd been back in my life all of two minutes, and he was already ordering me around.
âWhy did you come?â I asked him. âAre you here to take my baby?â
âNo!â he said, and I could see by the hurt in his eyes that he meant it. âRosalie, no⦠I would neverâ¦â
He stopped talking, which didnât surprise me. He was never one for expressing himself. Still, I had to ask himâ¦
âAre you here to kill me, then?â
I knew how he treated people who went against him.
Ethanâs eyes nearly bulged from his head. He took a step back, and it looked as if I had physically injured him.
Shaking his head, he said, âNo, Rosalie. I came all of this way to see you. I knew there was no way that you would ever harm our baby. I had to find you. I had toââ
Before he could finish, I heard footsteps coming in our direction. Ethan clearly did, too.
Regardless of why he was here, my instinct told me that no one should see him. Even though a part of
me wanted to sell him out, to alert Sorenâs guards that a strange man was standing in my garden, I coul dnât do that. Not until I had gotten the opportunity to hear him out anyway.
âYou have to go!â I urged him, not even knowing why I was doing it.
It was clear that he understood that, but his feet werenât moving.
âI have to see you again, Rosalie,â he said. It was the closest thing to a request that Iâd ever heard come out of his mouth, The footsteps were growing closer, and I distinctly heard the sound of Soren laughing. Ethanâs face wri nkled into a grimace. It made me wonder if he knew Soren, if they had some bad blood, but now wasnât the time for me to find out âGo!â I said again âRosalie,â he insisted. âI have to see you again,â
âFine!â I said, my eyes wide.
âAnd you wonât tell him anything?â
âNo. Now, go!â
I could plainly see the pure joy in his eyes.
âAre you still awake, Ro?â
I spun around to see Soren coming around the side of the cottage. I rushed over to meet him, hoping I
could cut him off before he saw Ethan. Since Ethan was wearing all black and had been standing in the shadows, there was a chance heâd get away before Soren could see him.
âYes, Soren.â
I was used to Soren stopping by late at night. However, it hadnât happened often lately.
âWere you talking to someone?â he asked with a smile.
âOh, you know me,â I said, smiling back and trying to keep calm. âJust talking to the baby.â I patted my
stomach.
âYou sounded⦠upset,â he told me, looking around. I noticed he had a beautiful pink chrysanthemum in his hand.
âUpset? Huh? Oh, no. Just the little booger kicked me right in the ribs. I was sitting in the swing talking
about how excited I was to meet my baby, and bam, right in the ribcage. You probably heard me say, âO ooh!ââ I tried to make it sound the same as when Iâd told Ethan to go.
Perhaps changing the subject would help?
âIs that for me?â I reached for the flower.
âOh, yeah.â Soren was definitely distracted. He was spinning around, looking at every shadow, sniffing t he air. âI saw it on my way home from your house. Itâs so beautiful. The pink reminded me of the shade
your cheeks turn when you blush.â
âThatâs so sweet of you!â I gushed.
He wasnât standing still long enough for me to actually take the flower from him. I moved a few times to
step in front of him. We probably looked ridiculous to his bodyguards, who were hanging back a few ste ps, as we did a strange waltz around the flower garden.
âSoren?â
âIâm sorry!â he said, extending the flower to me. âIâm so distracted. Here you go, gorgeous. In fact, let me He broke the stem off and slipped the flower behind my ear, taking a moment to situate it just so. His fingertips grazed my cheek, and I felt a tingle go down my spine.
It mightâve been exciting, and I might have even wondered whether I wanted more from Soren than just our friendship, if I hadnât just seen Ethanâ¦
Now, I couldnât even let myself think about any of that, with anyone.
Not right now âThank you,â I said, smiling at him. âThat really was very kind of you, to come all the way back over here He chuckled. âYes, youâre right, I do. But⦠was there a skunk out here or something earlier?â
âA skunk?â I asked, staring at him. âWhat are you talking about?â.
âIt doesnât smell like a skunk exactly, but more like a skunky wolf. A stinky⦠horrific. awful wolf with man I could only look at him and try not to give anything away.
Had he figured out that Ethan was here earlier?
Of course, I thought Ethan smelled wonderful, but I wasnât another dominant male.
âI donât smell anything,â I told him, but that wasnât quite true. Ethanâs scent did linger in the air a bit, and I could certainly still feel his touch on my body from where heâd been holding me.
âWell, I think we need to plant some more fragrant flowers around here tomorrow. There must be some s âSoren,â I said, giggling. âAll of these flowers smell wonderful, and there are plenty of them.â
He shrugged. âSomething out here smells rotten.â
âI was the only one hereâ¦â I suggested, but that just made him laugh.
âYou? You smell like a fresh, spring rain, Ro. Itâs definitely not you. All right. Iâll go. But you should go inside in case thereâs som âI will,â I promised him. âMy guards are nearby.â.
âMaybe itâs them!â he joked. He was still laughing when he kissed my cheek for the second time that nig Soren was so funâloving and goodânatured. He was the exact opposite of Ethan.
Ethan.
I stood outside for a few more minutes, waiting to see if heâd come back out.
But he didnât.
Was it possible Iâd dreamt him up? Maybe he was a figment of my imagination, and he hadnât really bee No, he was there. I had seen him. Iâd pinched myself and confirmed that I was still awake.
âEthan,â I whisperedâ not to summon him, but just to feel his name on my mouth.
He didnât come out, but he didnât have to. Iâd told him Iâd talk to him again, so I knew heâd come back eventually. Whether I liked it or not.
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