Page 107
Seeing the mansion from far away was impressive; seeing it up close… totally different. The completely white building is accented with grey brick around the door, window frames, and the corners. Small outside lights shine down onto the render from the overhanging roof, giving the building a gentle white glow. Black, intricate balconies stick out from most windows on the second floor. And there are more cherry blossoms. It’s magical.
My door swings open, and Ezra’s hand reaches out. Out of courtesy, I take it. I feel a little suffocated with being coddled. I’m not used to this. I’ve been on my own for years. But I also don’t want to be rude to the people that are now supposed to be protecting me from my fucked-up ex. I still marvel at the building as he helps me out of the car, but I keep my ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ to myself. I signal Sid to jump into my arms, and he does. It’s the most natural thing for him.
“Ezra! There you are. Robert wanted me to give you this.” A high-pitched voice rings out from beside us, and my hackles immediately rise. “Oh—” Penelope halts, her eyes assessing me carefully. She’s wearing a long, red ballgown. I can tell she’s forgotten my name already.
Rude.
“Camila,” I smile wide, extending my hand out towards her. If I’m going to tolerate her for the time I’m here, I might as well try and be ‘friends’.
She clears her throat and straightens her back, her brown eyes still scanning me from head to toe. She begrudgingly shakes my hand, then pulls away as if I’ve just passed some deadly disease onto her.
There goes my ‘being civil’ plan.
“Penelope.”
“Oh, that’s right! I knew you looked familiar,” I reply in an equally high-pitched tone. Ezra lightly snorts behind me.
Her face twists into disgust. “What is she doing here?” she asks, pointing her eyes at the guard behind me.
“Miss Wilder is here to stay for the foreseeable, Penelope. You could be a little nicer.” His smooth voice carries right into her soul because her scowl drops.
If ever there was a personification of ‘humbled’ in the dictionary, Penelope’s picture would be the first.
“I didn’t know it was her as our guest,” she scoffs.
“Penelope,” Ezra warns.
Sid hisses in the crook of my elbow, and I can’t help the twitch in my lip.
“Well,” she starts, smoothing the material of her gown. “I assume you’ll be staying in your assigned room tonight?” She couldn’t hide her apparent jealousy if she tried.
“Miss Wilder will be joining me tonight.” A deep, smooth-like-velvet voice interrupts us. Xander emerges from the front door, half-dressed in black, tailored trousers and completely shirtless, wearing a shit-eating grin on his face. The outside lights highlight every hard edge of his muscles as he hops down the stairs, straight towards me, not sparing Penelope a single glance.
I flash my gaze to her. Or at least I think it’s her; her complexion has completely blended with her dress.
That shit-eating grin on Xander’s face disappears the moment his eyes find Sid.
Ezra slinks up beside me, stroking under Sid’s chin—who purrs in response. “Look, Xander. This is Obsidian,” he coos.
Xander looks like he’s seen a ghost. His throat bobs with a swallow as Ezra continues to make kissing noises at Sid. His paw unravels itself from my arm, and he gently prods Ezra’s finger.
Xander stops short in front of us. “Make yourself useful, Penelope,” he says, his fresh amber scent overwhelming my senses as he approaches. “You too, Ezra,” he instructs through gritted teeth, giving him a pointed look.
Ezra chuckles and steps away. “I can take him to your room, if you’d like,” he offers.
“My room, meaning…”
“Ours,” Xander confirms.
Deep, calming breath, Camila.
“Okay,” I nod, passing Sid to Ezra, who immediately snuggles into his arms.
“Marley is going to love you…” Ezra’s voice trails off as he heads inside the mansion.
Xander crowds me. I can feel the heat of his skin out here in the gentle frigid wind. One of his hands tangles in the hair at the nape of my neck as he pulls me in for a kiss. It’s not full-on, but it’s a long, hard one.
A welcome kiss.
