Chapter 20

Dark blue bedsheets hug me from the back, a heavy comforter rests on my shoulders as I sleep on my side, my hands folded neatly under my head. My hair is spread out like a fan across a pillow as the cool delicious-smelling air of a man's bedroom caresses the exposed skin of my arm like silk while I slowly open my eyes to the light of the day.

"So, you're awake?" A cold taunting voice inquires huskily next to me causing me to lift my head slightly off the pillow to see who's speaking and before I know it, I'm more wide awake than a cup of tea can ever make me. "Good morning, Janette."

My heart pounds in my ears as his cold grey eyes assess me, as I try to make sense of where I am and how I got here. To sum it up simply, I'm in Alexander Holt's bedroom, in his bed, with him and if I want to make this situation sound even worse to myself, I am not wearing what I wore to dinner last night.

I'm wearing only an oversized black T-shirt and my pair of black panties from the night before.

"Mr Holt..." I breathe my eyes not wanting to believe that he's next to me and that I'm so scantily dressed. "What...How..."

"I'll leave you to get dressed," He cuts me off, leaving the bed.

My eyes follow his retreating as he walks casually towards a door to what I presume is his bathroom, his dark grey sweatpants hang dangerously on his waist, and the muscle of his back flexes mesmerisingly with every step he takes until he disappears into the bathroom.

Scrambling to get out of bed, I run to my bedroom with my cheeks flaming red. My back rests momentarily against the back of the door before I push off it to jump into the shower.

The thought of how I ended up in one of his shirts is haunting and it refuses to leave my mind as I shower. Did he change me himself or did someone else do it? Did he see the scars? Did he do anything to me while I was sleeping? How did I sleep through all this? I'm usually a very light sleeper, in fact, how did I even let my guard down enough to sleep while he was driving? When did I even fall asleep after the kiss in the car? How could I?

The steaming hot water cascades onto me like the worries floating through my mind, it hurts a little but it's not a bad kind of pain, it's more of a soothing spiking kind of pain. Weird description I know but I don't know how else to explain that my body is relaxing and my mind is panicking.

Switching off the water as the last of my soap flows down and off of my body, I wrap my towel around my body as I leave the hot confines of the shower cubicle. I told myself to keep calm and think about things rationally, he might not have even undressed me.  It started to register that after the kiss and his statement, I said nothing and resumed looking out the window of the car.

"Do you always mumble in your sleep or have you just started doing it recently?" Alexander asks, casually sitting on my bed causing me to retract behind the bathroom door which I just opened.

"Wha-What?" I stutter as I use the door as a barrier between him and me, my eyes darting around in an attempt to avoid eye contact with him. "Mr Hol-Alexander...Don't you have to go to work?"

"I do, Janette," He replies, eyeing me amusedly as I hide behind the door. "I own my company so it gives me the privilege of arriving late."

Biting the inside of my cheek at his words, I press my lips together tightly as I try to remember what I spoke of last night in my sleep, and I end up drawing a blank. Where the heck is my inner incubus and freaking subconscious when I need them?! This would be a great time to show up guys!

"No...I don't think I mumble in my sleep..." I hesitate, darting my eyes briefly to the left as if I'm in deep thought before meeting his grey eyes head-on to show the sincerity of my next words. "If I do, I'm sorry if I kept you up."

For a moment, I think he's calling my bluff as his eyes don't waver from mine but my doubt is soon extinguished when he closes his eyes as he gives my statement a stern nod. Pushing off of the heels of his hands to get off of my bed, I silently blow out a lungful of air through my mouth in relief as he makes to leave the room.

"So, the name Edward West doesn't ring a bell to you?" He asks rhetorically as he leaves the room, his eyes catch mine in a passing glance and I know that on my face must be a look of pure shock. "I'll see you tonight for dinner, Ms Summers."

Dinner? As shocked as I am that I said the stranger's name in my sleep, confusion about his parting words manages to creep its way into my mind. Dinner? Spotting the manila file nearby, I go over to it in my towel, cracking the cover open to find today's date.

_Dinner with the Whites' (Smart Casual)_

Oh...another dinner? At least we're not going to be alone. Closing the file, I wander my way into the walk-in wardrobe of my room where everything that used to be hung in there is gone. The wardrobe is empty. Confused, I open and close the wardrobe a few times to register the scene before me. With my towel wrapped tight around my body, I peek my head out of my room which now that I have taken a less panicked look seems to be lacking even the bedsheet for the mattress.

Running as decently as I can back to Alexander's room, I throw open his wardrobe to see it is a walk-in closet. It doesn't take me long to find my clothes nor does it take me any longer to pick what to wear (the clothing nearest to me). I pick out a monotoned white shirt and a pleated pink shift skirt that stops just above my knees. Letting my hair down to air dry, I keep my towel around my shoulders to prevent any see-through shirt mishaps, I make my way out to the living room where I find myself witnessing something I never expected to see.

Danny's giggles filter through the apartment when I enter the living room I see Alexander throwing him in the air playfully, making my heart jump every time he's in the air. The beautiful sight of father and son bonding has me leaning against the wall leading to the living room.

He looks like a father right now...

As if he felt my gaze on him, Alexander turns around to meet my gaze turning Danny to me in the process and I swear to god I hear him whisper to Danny, "Look who's awake. It's mommy."

"Mmmm!" He giggles, making grabby hands to me as he struggles in Alexander's hold to get to me as I sheepishly approach the pair from my spectator spot. "Mmmm!"

"Hey baby," I coo as I relieve Alexander of the squirming boy, my mind lingering on the fact that he called me Danny's mother. "Did you give Mr Ford a hard time?"

Giggling at me, Danny wraps his little arms around my neck in delight, clearly not understanding what I just said. His fingers play with my damp hair, twisting and turning the strands to make the tangled mess that is my hair even more tangled. Placing him on my hip, I cross over to the kitchen where Mrs Denise has already set out plates of bacon, toast and pancakes. She even made miniature pancakes for Danny.

The silence between us is denser than Osmium and that is the densest material in the world. Feeding Danny small pieces of the pancakes drenched in his milk formula, The little clinks of metal against glass occasionally sound as Alexander eats his food. My untouched food grows colder with every passing minute of the thick silence which is as icy as the North Pole, at one point a shiver visibly goes through my body and the heaviness of the silence suddenly grows a little bit lighter.

I didn't even notice that he left his seat but when the towel around my neck was suddenly taken away and rubbed gently on the top of my head. His fingers gently massage my damp hair with my towel, he says nothing to explain why he's drying my hair and I don't do anything to question him.

"Sorry, Mr Holt," Mr Ford's voice speaks coming out of nowhere, making me jump in my seat. "Mr Anton Heaven is here."

Almost immediately after Mr Ford announces this a man dressed in a dark black button-down shirt and business suit pants walks into view, his hair is a shaggy mess of brown and dark brown in the light of the sun rays from the windows, his eyes are a pretty cognac brown with a defined jawline and straight nose, his looks slightly rival Alexander's.

He looks familiar...

"This is where I find you, Alex?" The man yells, waving his hands in the air as he approaches the table. "Why the heck are you playing the family man? Who the heck is she? Oh, come on. Was she the one who warmed your bed last night? You've got to be kidding."

WHAT DID HE JUST CALL US?! My inner incubus screams so loudly in my head that causes me to wince horribly in pain from the mind-twisting headache she's giving me. Where the heck was she when Alexander appeared in my room just now?

As much as I want to stand up from my seat to slap this man, Alexander's soft humourless chuckle stops me short...well, that and his grip on my shoulder which is keeping me on my seat.

"If you want to insult me then you'd better try harder, Anton," Alexander states coldly, his grip on my shoulder tightening. "This is Janette Summers or in a matter of a few months, Janette Holt and you just insulted her."

"Who the heck named their kid 'Janette' I mean..." The man rants shortly before trailing off as his eyes meet mine and his sarcastic gaze turns into absolute shock and recognition. "Alastora?"

Oh god no...that name again?