Chapter 561
Rowan’s gaze swept over her flushed ears, and realization dawned on him. “Is our little Nine feeling shy?”
II
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Elissa couldn’t be bothered to entertain him. She crawled to the edge of the bed and took a peek, wishing she could bury herself under the covers right then and there.
Every day, Mrs. Gable came upstairs to clean the room spotless. If the housekeeper saw this ridiculous scene, Elissa would never have the face to go downstairs again.
Just as she tried to get up and hurriedly clean the mess, Rowan got out of bed with effortless grace, picking up his loungewear and slipping it on.
Then, as if reading her mind, he began picking up the items scattered on the floor one by one.
The stockings that made her want to die of embarrassment, and the already skimpy lingerie that had been torn to shreds…
At this very moment, they were all held in the man’s distinct, well-defined hands.
Inexplicably, Elissa remembered how those hands felt on her body yesterday.
She also remembered that moment of intense intimacy, when their passion reached its peak. He had held her tightly, their noses touching, passionately whispering his love for her.
“I love you. Elissa, I will always love you, and I will only ever desire you.”
Catching her gaze from the corner of his eye, Rowan noticed her flushed face and teased, “Where is your mind wandering so early in the morning?”
“I was thinking…”
Perhaps the security Rowan gave her, both in the past and present, was simply too overwhelming. Because of that, she never wore a mask around him and had learned to express her feelings openly.
She looked at him with burning eyes, curling her lips into a smile. “I love you too.”
Then, having flirted with him, she fled the scene, wrapping a thin blanket around herself and slipping out of bed in a flash.
By the time she emerged from the walk-in closet in fresh clothes, the man had already changed the bedding.
The windows were open, airing out the lingering intimacy of the night.
They moved in sync, heading into the bathroom to freshen up. While she squeezed out her facial cleanser, he unhurriedly prepared his toothbrush and poured a glass of warm water.
As soon as she turned off the faucet, a fresh towel was placed into her hand.
Next came her electric toothbrush, already dotted with toothpaste.
For some reason, Elissa felt enveloped in an overwhelmingly intense sense of happiness.
This kind of happiness couldn’t be compared to any number of sweet words.
Elissa had been worried about
sleeping
too late, but to her
surprise, Janice Garrett looked up as
they came downstairs and asked,
Why didn’t you sleep a little longer
Is Elissa well-rested?”
Elissa touched her nose guiltily. “I’m well-rested.”
“Good, good.”
Janice instructed the staff to prepare breakfast and said warmly, “I woke up early, so
I already had a bite. I’m going to watch a reality show for a bit, you two go ahead and eat.”
The older woman was young at heart and loved watching various reality shows, never missing a single episode of dating programs.
“Okay.”
Elissa smiled in relief.
If Janice had waited for them to eat breakfast together, she would have felt terrible.
During breakfast, Elissa suddenly remembered something. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “I have something I need to tell you.”
Rowan placed a piece of food on her plate. “What is it?”
“I found out the last time I went back to Cresthaven.”
Elissa took a sip of her drink and pursed her lips lightly. “My… my biological parents weren’t undercover narcotic cops. They were just kind hearted people who temporarily adopted me. They died in the line of duty before they could find my real parents.”
Rowan paused slightly. “You knew this when you went back to Cresthaven. Why are
you only saying it now?”
Elissa clenched her hands, having no
intention of hiding anything from
him. The corners of her lips dropped unconsciously, revealing a hint of nsecunty. “I was afraid… that my background might become a burden toyou one day.”