Free Pretend With Me (Midnight Society #1) by Jemma Grey

drops
fell from his hair, rolling down his naked chest, making
him look glorious in every way.
“Did I wake you?” he asked when he saw me w atching
him. “I’m sorry, I just came in for a shirt.”
“No, you didn’t,” I sighed, not taking my eyes of his
shirtless body. God he was gorgeous. How could he be
that appealing? It wasn’t fair.
He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me
confused. “Why are you staring? Do I have something on
me?” He was abruptly horrified.
“No,” I sighed again, this time looking down at the
covers, trying not to blush. If only he could tell what was
running through my mind right now...
“Jen...” he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed
and something in his voice made me look up to him. “I
have to leave, but I won’t be long, I swear.”
“Where are you going?” I asked trying to be as normal
as I could about this, but I didn’t want to be alone here.
Not after that dream...
“I’m meeting a friend... Well she’s more of an old
acquaintance really,” he replied awkwardly. My eyebrows
rose at this.
“So,” I mused trying to be as casual as I could. “How
do you know her?” I could ask that, right?
“Hmm,” he considered, “well I’ve known
about
Katalin since I was born, I guess. Kind of like you.”
“Okay,” I muttered and got out of the bed, walking out
of the bedroom and towards the beach. I didn’t go far;
instead I sat down on the sand, as close to the forest’s edge
as I could, closing my eyes as the wind blew around me.
There was a soft, cold bite in the air and in response, I
wrapped my arms around myself as shivers ripped through
me, folding my legs so that my knees met my chest. There
was nothing I wanted more than to curl up into a bal, and
just vanish. I knew I was being foolish but I felt trapped,
and it wasn’t just the marriage with Eric; it was everything.
There were so many questions and no answers to keep
them company. For one, who was Eric, really? I knew that
he was rich, that his family was well-known and powerful,
but that was all. Why had my parents kept this from me?
Why did this marriage have to be now? Why not when
both Eric and I were older? I was seventeen and he was
twenty. How did he know to bring me here? And those
were just the questions that had been staring at me. I was
sure that if I thought about this some more there would be
others, harder ones.
I felt as if my life had been plunged into total darkness,
and I was stumbling about lost and confused. I had been
feeling so ever since that night... It was like... when Daren
died, he had taken my sight with him, leaving me blind.
For so long he had made everything in my life seem
sane and now that he was gone, I was puzzled and alone,
and no matter how hard I tried to break free - the more I
fought and struggled - was the more blinding the darkness
became. Sometimes I felt like I was still trapped in the
closet they had locked me in. And I was still banging on
that door, screaming as loud as I could, but no one even
turns my way.
Without realizing it, I had started to cry. I wiped the
tears from my face, but as soon as it was gone more spilled
out. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then
another, and another, but no matter how many breaths I
took, I wouldn’t stop crying.
When I did finally stop, I stood up numbly and started
to make my way back at the house. Eric was still gone and
it felt empty and cold without him. The house was
gorgeous, just as I imagined it would be. The door to the
room, which was the master, opened up to the kitchen,
dining room, and living room. There were two other
bedrooms, meant for kids by the looks of it and two toilets
and baths including the one in the master bedroom.
After I had finished touring the house, Eric still wasn’t
back yet so I decided on a shower. The only problem was
that I couldn’t find my clothes. All I found were Eric’s
clothes, still wrapped neatly in clear plastic bags and
smelled brand new. I made up my