Con

CHAPTER 61

Sophia’s POV

The elevator ride to our hotel room was suffocatingly silent. I could hear every tick of the numbers as we ascended. When we finally reached our floor, I breathed a small sigh of relief.

We walked to our room with no one speaking, the soft carpet muting our steps. Elijah unlocked the door and gestured for me to enter first. I stepped inside, feeling the dampness of my clothes clings to my skin even more uncomfortably in the cool air of the room.

I can’t believe I’m going to have to sleep in the same room with him!

“Give me a second,” Elijah said, breaking the silence as he rummaged through the closet. I watched him pull out a hair dryer.

“Here,” he said, holding it out to me. “Let’s get you dried off a bit.”

“Thanks,” I replied, taking the hair dryer from him. My fingers brushed against his for a brief moment, and I pulled back as if I’d touched a hot stove. I plugged in the dryer and began to work on my dripping

clothes.

For a moment, I felt as if we were husband and wife again in our very own room back in the Sinclair mansion. But that memory triggered unhealthy, negative emotions. I shook my head, literally trying to get it out of my head.

Elijah picked up the phone and called the front desk. “Hi, this is room 512. Could we get two robes sent up, please? Brand new, if possible. Thank you.” He hung up and turned to me, concern etched on his face. “Sophia, you should take a shower. You’ll catch a cold if you stay in those wet clothes.”

I glanced at him, hesitating. The awkwardness of the situation made me want to shrink away, but knew he was right. “Okay,” I said quietly.

Soon the robes were delivered to our room. I took one and turned off the hair dryer. Then I headed toward the bathroom, feeling Elijah’s eyes on me as I walked away.

The hot water felt like heaven, washing away the cold and the awkwardness. I stayed there longer than necessary, savoring the warmth and the brief escape from the tension outside.

But then, I heard my phone ringing.

“Uh, Sophia?” Elijah called through the door. “Perhaps that’s Kayla or maybe Trevis? Do you want me to answer and put them through?”

My heart raced, my eyes widening. Oh, my gosh! At this hour, it could be my daughter Reese!

“No!” I answered louder than I intended. “I’ll be out in a jiffy. Then I can return the call.”

I turned off the shower, my heart quickening. Reese. It had to be Reese, using Kayla’s phone. I grabbed my robe and hastily wrapped it around myself, not bothering to secure it properly. My hair, still dripping wet, clung to my face as I rushed out of the bathroom.

As soon as I came out and saw the look on Elijah’s face, I glanced down and saw that the loosely tied

+15 BONUS

robe had a significant part of my upper chest exposed, barely covering my sensitive areas. I tightened it around me self–consciously as I moved past him to get my phone.

But then, to my surprise, Elijah gently pulled my hand, bringing me to the vanity to sit down. “Let’s get your hair dried first.”

“Okay, but I can do it,” I quickly said. But he was already doing it for me.

There was something about the way he touched the strands of my hair and provided me with this simple service that made my heart, flutter. At times, his fingers would brush against my ear or neck, and the soft, fleeting touch would cause my entire body to heat up.

At one point, our eyes locked on each other in the mirror. I closed my eyes at once and pretended to be sleepy.

Why are you doing this, Elijah? my mind screamed. In the two years we were married, you never once did anything like this for me, even while I was pregnant.

The memories of the past were enough to snap me back to reality and stop me from falling for whatever it was he was trying to do. My eyes popped open again, and I saw him turning off the dryer and packing it away.

Standing up hurriedly, I almost bumped into him. We stood so close to each other that I could feel his warm breath on my skin, smell his favorite perfume, and feel the heat from our bodies fusing together.

His hands moved to my robe, carefully tying it in place, though his eyes never left my face. Because it was only my robe that separated my naked body from him, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sensual longing for the man whom I had once loved.

Shivers ran down my spine, and a blaze pooled below my waist. Damn, this can’t be happening.

“There,” he said softly, his fingers lingering a moment longer than necessary. “All better,”

I glanced up at him, only to find his eyes darkening with an emotion I couldn’t ignore. Desire. The air between us crackled with unspoken tension. I quickly looked away, my heart racing.

“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Elijah’s hand cupped my chin, gently guiding my face back towards his. “Sophia,” he murmured, his breath warm against my skin.

I swallowed hard, the closeness of his body, the intensity in his eyes, it was all too much. “Elijah, I…”

Forcing myself to step away, I gave him an awkward smile. “I… I think you should also take a shower. It’s your turn.”

He looked taken aback. And a bit disappointed. “Oh, alright.”

As soon as he’d disappeared into the shower, I quickly got dressed and grabbed my phone, my insides. still trembling from that close and very tempting encounter. I curled up on the couch situated farthest from the door of the bathroom.

I dialed Kayla’s number. As soon as the call connected, I heard Reese’s voice on the other end.” Mommy! Mommy!”

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My heart stopped, my eyes darting toward the bathroom. The sound of the water running was suddenly gone. I waited, holding my breath.