Page 65 of Ruthless Contract
“Hey, Juliet,” I called, hating to wake her up.
The snores continued.
“Juliet, baby,” I said louder.
The snoring immediately stopped. A second later, her voice drifted through the speakers.
“I'm still watching it.”
I burst out laughing. A moment later, she laughed too.
“I was asleep, wasn't I?” she asked.
“Your snoring is cute. I recorded it so I can one day use it as your ringtone.”
A groan escaped her. “Please, no,” she said before yawning. “Sorry. It's been a long day.”
“I figured.”
For a second, neither of us spoke. I hated for this to end, but I knew she was tired.
“Go to sleep, baby. We can finish the series tomorrow,” I told her.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Okay. I'll send you a link tomorrow night.”
A warmth settled in my chest.Tomorrow night. The words shouldn't have meant so much. But they did. It meant she planned to call. Planned to talk to me again. Planned to let me spend time with her.
“Goodnight, sweet Romeo. And thank you for staying up with me tonight.”
“You’re welcome.”I’d do anything for you if you’d just let me.“Goodnight, baby.”
Neither of us disconnected right away. I listened to her breathing for a few seconds. Then the call ended. The screen informed me she'd left the chat. Only then did I disconnect. Closing the laptop, I placed it on the nightstand.
The room suddenly felt quieter. Emptier. I settled deeper into bed and pulled the covers up to my chest. As I started to turn over, pain shot through my shoulder and upper chest.
“Fuck.”
I carefully adjusted my position until the discomfort eased. Then I stared up at the ceiling. I hadn’t put the tracking code on her computer. I hadn’t tracked her location. I was no closer to finding her than I was yesterday.
But at least I’d gotten to watch a show with her. Tonight, that was enough. My eyes drifted shut. For the first time in over a week, sleep came easily. It was the best sleep I'd had since... Well...
Since the last time I'd talked to my Juliet.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ROME
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That night, I dreamed of her.
I dreamed of our life together. Our home. Our conversations. I dreamed of having her bath water prepared for her when she got home from work. I dreamed of massaging her feet as she told me how her day went.
And if she complained about someone, I waited until I put her to bed, fucking her good until she was able to sleep well. Then I left the house in the dead of the night and hunted down those who’d stressed her out.
