Delicious - 1 Sway (out of Cherished) by Lauren Dane

Author:Lauren Dane
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781101610688
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2012-08-07T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Talia lay on her stomach, pillow shoved under her chin as she stared out the big picture window to the splash of blue in the distant horizon. After having lain here for the last hour, she’d calmed down and lectured herself on overreacting.

She’d overheard two sentences with no context to draw from. She had no idea what Xander had been talking about and it was unfair—not to mention stupid—to fly off the handle when she had no idea what he’d really meant.

Now her mood was shattered and what should have been an otherwise beautiful day was in ruins because she’d gotten all emotional—and irrational.

It didn’t help that she simply didn’t know her place in this new world she’d been dumped into. Words were just words. And she’d heard them often. But what if she was a naïve twit who’d believe anything said to her as long as it was accompanied by sweet gestures and a gentle hand?

But the flip side of that was that perhaps she was reading way too much into an overheard snippet of conversation and as a result she was overreacting and being a cynical bitch.

She sucked in a deep breath and squared her shoulders—as much as she could lying sprawled across the bed, her chin dug into one of the plump pillows.

Enough was enough. She was not going to spend the day moping, nor would she allow this incident to make her second-guess every single aspect of her time here.

She’d simply ask Xander what he’d meant. She’d tell him what she’d heard and go from there. It was a simple enough solution, and it was what she should have done from the onset rather than spend an hour sulking in the bedroom.

Feeling marginally better about having a plan of action, she pushed upward from the pillow, shoved her hair that had fallen forward from her face and started to roll to her side so she could get up.

She froze when she saw Xander standing in the doorway of the bedroom, a grim expression on his face.

There was something off in his demeanor. Something that sent a curl of dread through her stomach and into her chest. Her optimism of just moments before evaporated, and her anxiety level shot through the roof.

“Nico said you were feeling unwell,” he said, still not moving from his post at the door.

That wasn’t like Xander. He rarely kept his distance from her. If they were in the same room, he was always touching her, or next to her. Often holding her or simply sitting beside her.

But he stood coolly aloof, surveying her with concern in his eyes and yet maintaining the distance between them.

“I’m all right now,” she said softly, a lie. “I woke with a headache, but it’s much better now.”

He stood a long moment in silence. With each passing second her dread mounted because this was so unlike Xander. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong and this time she wasn’t going to scold herself for being paranoid.

“I’m releasing you from the contract you signed,” he said in a quiet tone.

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