Chapter 96
Dorothea grabbed a quilt from the closet and laid it out for Latham on the floor. She felt a little guilty, but if she asked him to sleep in the bed with her, she just knew he’d get the wrong idea. So she shut down any funny business by tossing him an extra blanket.
“Go to sleep,” she told him.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Dorothea woke up to the sound of coughing. Rubbing her eyes, she peeked over at Latham, who was curled up like a shrimp on the floor. She checked the clock. The air conditioner had switched off at some point, and now the room felt like an icebox.
She bit her lip, glancing at the flimsy quilt he had. Guilt prickled at her. If he got sick, would he send her the bill?
Dorothea nudged him. “Hey, Latham p>
He cracked open those dark eyes. “Hmm? What’s up p>
“You She hesitated, then just went for it. “Come sleep on the bed. You’ll catch a cold down there p>
He looked right into her eyes. “Not worried I’ll try something p>
Dorothea chewed on her lip. “We set boundaries. Just don’t cross mine, okay p>
He tried to hide a smirk. “Well, you better not cross mine either, or I might get mad.” Dorothea just stared at him. Was he for real? The nerve.
They ended up sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the photo shoot, but Dorothea was out like a light almost immediately.
Maybe it was that call from Carmen earlier, but all night Dorothea dreamed of being chased by Albert. She ran and ran, but everywhere she turned, there were endless doors. Every time she opened one, Albert’s cold face stared back at her. She kept running until she was out of breath, mumbling into the darkness, “Go away, Albert p>
But the person pressing against her lips suddenly turned rough, all the earlier gentleness gone. Dorothea’s breathing picked up, a fire blazing in her chest. She started writhing unconsciously.
Suddenly, something felt off. She forced her eyes open.
There he was, right in front of her, even closer than before their noses practically touching.
Latham was at it again! She’d had enough. She hauled her leg back and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him tumbling off the bed.
Latham let out a hiss. “Wade, are you out of your mind p>
Wait. Dorothea froze.
Did he just call her Wade? Did he think she was someone else?
So the guy he liked really was Wade?
Dorothea felt a surge of frustration. If he liked guys, whatever. She didn’t even care if he wanted to mess around outside their arrangement. Just so long as he left her alone. Why couldn’t he just behave?
“Latham, our agreement never said anything about selling my body. Even if we’re
supposed to be married, it should be consensual p>
She was really upset now, her eyes shining red, even the tip of her nose turning pink.
Latham’s mood darkened as he
heard her say “consensual.” Even in her sleep, she called out that other guy’s name that jerk Albert had brokenher heart, but she still couldn’t let him go? Did she not see how good Latham was to her?
He pressed his lips together. “You’re the one who told me to get in bed last night. And you’re the one Who couldn’t stay still, basically hanging all over me. I’m a grown man, you know p>
“No matter what my preferences are, you were still tempting me. Plus, I genuinely thought you were someone else p>
“I can apologize for the kiss. But you didn’t just insult me. You insulted my character.
I think you owe me an apology too p>
Dorothea’s eyes went wide.
How did this get flipped on her?
Latham let out a short laugh, grabbed his clothes off the floor, and left the room without looking back.
Dorothea just stared at the floor. Guess this was what happened when you got a little too smug. Two days of smooth sailing, and now everything was falling apart.