Until Forever (Complete)

Chapter Forty

His warm skin was assaulted with something cold. A soft groan escaped his lips as he turned to his side, the sound of the sheets rustling in response to his movement.

He felt it again, this time, it traveled the length of his jaw, until he could no longer ignore the cold surface that disturbed his rest. Frustrated, to say the least, he let out a loud groan and shoved himself to a half sitting position with his elbows pressed against the bed. His eyes scanned the dark room, his blurry vision making it almost impossible to see properly. He blinked several times in an attempt to rid his eyes of sleepiness and turned to his side. It took a few seconds for his vision to clear up and for the silhouette of a figure seated beside his bed with its back to him, to become visible.

His first instinct was to scramble out of his bed and scream for help. But on second thought, as he watched the figure, it became more obvious to him that she was a woman.

Her figure was lighted up by the first peek of day break that lighted up the curtains, making it possible for him to see her even in the darkness even if he couldn't see her face.

Was it a maid? His mind screamed. Yet, he knew no maid possessed such audacity as to place herself on the edge of his bed. He would have addressed her if he didn't feel so frightened by her presence. He watched her, observing her closely as his vision adjusted to the light of the room.

She sat straight, her shoulders squared. Her hair, a color he was starting to think was brown, fell lazily around her shoulder. On further inspection, he realized that what he was staring at was the bare form of a woman; devoid of any piece of clothing, she sat on the edge of his bed, neither speaking nor moving.

Deciding that he had taken as much as he could bear, “wh-” He opened his mouth to speak but was easily silence but the sound of her exhaling.

Slowly, she rose to her feet, revealing her full form as she made her way to the window that was covered by white, silk curtains. Her hand reached for the curtains and she pushed it aside. His eyes were immediately assaulted by the increase in light in the room as the sun was beginning to make a full appearance in the sky. His gaze shifted to her, her body now fully visible in the bright room. Her hands still clutched to the curtains as he studied her form, hoping he could recognize her just by staring at her body. But, the longer he watched her, the more apparent it became that he couldn't.

He had been with many women in his time and hadn't given the time of day to take note of their bodies. A part of him wondered if he had spent the night with her. Had he gotten drunk and forgotten the fact that he brought a woman home with him? He couldn't remember but that was the only explanation for a woman in his room. It made perfect sense.

With a smile now creasing his face, he climbed down the bed and made his way to where she stood overlooking the sunset. He still had his clothes on, he realized, as he reached her and pulled her against himself. Perhaps he had been too drunk to get his money's worth, he thought, trailing her neck with his lips. He shoved her hair to the side and continued to kiss her neck, deriving satisfaction from her stillness.

For a while, she stood, allowing herself to be ravaged by him until he took hold of her shoulders and turned her around.

His eyelids grew several sizes as he stared at Caitlin who stood before him with a plain expression on her face.

“A while ago,” She reached forward, placing a hand against his cheek. “You said you didn't want me. Yet, here you stand, wanting me.” Her voice carried into his ears, hollow and emotionless. Her eyes watched him, unreadable. Her figure seemed fuller, perhaps due to the fact that she was with child.

They stood watching each other. Frederick wanted to deny knowing what she spoke of, but he couldn't. It was only yesterday he shamed her and her mother out of his estate.