Valentina pov
“Achoo!” I sneezed, rubbing my red nose while sniffing.
Hm? Was someone thinking bad about me? I wondered with a shrug.
But just as I looked up, my eyes widened in shock. Standing before me was Martha, holding a tray filled with medicine and a cup of water.
“Here you go, madam,” she said calmly.
I blinked at her in disbelief. What the hell? I had just sneezed, and she was already here with medicine?
How was that even possible? Tsk. I knew it-Martha wasn’t human in the first place. No one here was normal if you really thought about it. A man who killed without mercy, a kid who didn’t even flinch at gunshots-everyone seemed like characters straight out of an action movie. I was the only normal one here. Well, maybe Daniel and Sebastian too. Julian? That fool didn’t count (because of what happened at the club yesterday)
“Thank you.” I forced a smile, taking the medicine from the tray before swallowing it down with water. Placing the cup back, I sighed, my gaze drifting around the room in resignation.
Guess where I was? If you guessed Alexander’s room, congratulations-you’re absolutely right.
I was really going to be sleeping in Alexander’s room from now on. Crazy, right? At first, I was excited, giddy even but that was when I knew who Alexander truly was. Now I was absolutely terrified, especially after what happened to both Daniel and Julian at breakfast.
The man didn’t even blink before swinging a knife at his own brother and cousin. So naturally, I started wondering-what would he do to me if I accidentally annoyed him?
Like, what if I snored too loudly? Would he just wake me up like a normal person? Or would he shove me off the bed in frustration? Honestly, the second one seemed like a very Alexander thing to do.
“Well then, goodnight, madam. If you need anything, please call for me,” Martha said, pulling me out of my thoughts as she bowed, preparing to leave. However, before she could take another step, I quickly grabbed her hand and shook my head, silently pleading with her not to leave me alone.
Alexander wasn’t in the room right now, and I had no idea when he would return. To be honest, I didn’t want him to. I was too scared to sleep alone, especially after everything that had happened last night.
“What is wrong, madam?” Martha asked, trying to pull away, but I held on tighter and batted my lashes at her.
“Madam-”
“Could you stay? Please?” I blurted out, then quickly corrected myself. “No, I mean… Can I sleep in my own room tonight? I really don’t feel comfortable changing rooms like this”
Martha sighed before turning fully to face me. “Madam, that is something you should ask Master. Why didn’t you bring it up during breakfast?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but I could already guess she knew the reason why.
Tell Alexander I didn’t want to spend the night in his room? After that wicked smile he gave me today? I wasn’t that reckless or stupid.
Martha gave me a knowing look before yanking her hand free, almost pulling me along with it.
Damn, this woman was strong.
“If you don’t feel comfortable, you can talk to Master tomorrow. But for tonight, Master won’t be coming home, so you can sleep alone peacefully,” she said.
My eyes widened at her words, and I exhaled a breath of relief.
Alexander wouldn’t be coming home tonight? So I had been worried for nothing.
…. But why did I feel this odd twinge of disappointment?
I quickly shook my head, pushing the thought away, and forced a smile before thanking Martha.
Alexander wouldn’t be home tonight. That meant I could finally sleep in peace, without fear.
This was good especially with how soft this mattress was. I bet I would sleep in no time.
___
I couldn’t sleep.
I didn’t know if it was because I was still scared that Alexander would walk through that door at any moment or if it was something else entirely…
I felt hot.
And not the kind of heat caused by the weather-this was different. This heat burned deep, settling between my legs, making me restless.
Whenever I closed my eyes, my mind inevitably drifted back to what happened in this room with Alexander yesterday, and an unbearable heat spread through my body for some strange reason.
No matter how hard I tried to push it away, the memories resurfaced-Alexander kissing me, touching me, claiming me. It was as if those sinful moments had been etched into my mind.
“You fucking horny dog. Get those thoughts out of your head,” I muttered under my breath, running a frustrated hand through my hair.
What the hell was wrong with me? One moment, I was relieved that Alexander wasn’t around, and the next, I was thinking about him.
I took a deep breath, biting my bottom lip as I fixed my gaze on the ceiling, trying to distract myself from the heat pooling between my legs. But with each passing second, ignoring it became harder.
“Ninety-nine sheep, seventy-eight sheep… wait, I messed up,” I muttered with a frown, closing my eyes before sitting up with a frustrated sigh. Running my fingers through my hair, I exhaled sharply.
Fuck it. Concentrating was impossible, and there was only one way to fix this. Right now, I had no choice.
I bit my bottom lip and slid the blanket off me, my face heating as my breathing grew labored in anticipation of what I was about to do.
“It’s normal,” I murmured to myself. “Touching yourself to get rid of the ache is totally normal. I just have to make sure I don’t think about Alexander.”
Lifting my nightgown higher to my waist, my fingers hovered over my panties, hesitating for a brief moment. Should I really do this-especially in Alexander’s room? But before I could stop myself, my eager hands had already slid my panties down, exposing my dripping heat.
“Just get this done quickly so you can go back to sleep,” I whispered, taking a deep, shaky breath.
But before my hand could reach its destination, a deep voice shattered the silence, making my heart lurch in my chest. My head snapped toward the door.
Leaning against the door in the dimly lit room stood Alexander, exuding his usual effortless dominance. His hands rested casually in his pockets, his dark gaze locked onto me with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. His head tilted slightly, a smirk tugging at his lips as his eyes bore into mine.
“You seem pretty eager, don’t you think?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
And when I tell you my eyes widened so much they nearly rolled into the back of my head-believe me, they did.
Fuck.