Read Online Breath of Memory by Ophelia Bell - Free Book Online

shower.
    After finding more than enough food in the well-stocked kitchen on the first floor, she went back to bed. Loneliness had become a habit for her since Aris died, but she’d had her own apartment to comfort her then. All her own belongings—knicknacks collected over the years. Here she only had darkness and unfamiliar sounds. She longed for home, but more than that she longed for a pair of strong arms to hold her. A solid body to weigh down the other side of the bed. Firm hands to touch her.
    She scrambled out of the blankets and felt around the end of the bed for the one thing she thought would comfort her. The silk brushed against her fingers and she grabbed it.
    She lay back down with the scarf crumpled under her cheek and breathed deeply. She imagined she could smell him on it. Maybe he had worn it for a little while as he wrote that note. Maybe he’d even carried it on him for a time until he could find a place to mail it. She tried to imagine everything he’d experienced since they’d parted, including how he and Racha had met. A seduction like Aris’s seduction of her? She doubted Corey would have fallen for that like she had. Yet he and Racha were together, and he was tearing himself to pieces over his love for her… a mere human.
    No. Corey wouldn’t have given in unless he believed he could love Racha. She must have done something spectacular to accomplish that. Jill respected Racha for capturing his attention. Of course the Dragon Queen had to be the least pretentious woman Jill had ever met, in spite of how beautiful she was. That would have attracted Corey, too. And she was a good kisser.
    Jill rolled over onto her back, remembering the kiss. She’d been surprised, of course. She’d gone to meet the new boss. The daughter of her old lover, and the person who could keep her alive. It had been business in her mind. The kiss Racha had given her at the end of their conversation had been her undoing. It left her vulnerable to Corey, moments later in the elevator. And all that followed.
    But that kiss had been so sweet, so gentle. Such a perfect mix of urgent need and love. Acceptance and fearlessness. Racha had sensed her hesitation and pulled away, but Jill had been left with the feeling of being intimate with Aris again, along with an old lover and a new one. All three of them rolled into one kiss.
    She fell asleep with her thumb caressing the same nipple Racha had touched, in an effort to evoke that same feeling again. Acceptance. Fearlessness.
    Jill called in sick to work on Monday. She didn’t want to chance seeing Corey, but had what she needed where she was. She’d texted him that she needed her laptop, and at some point in the early morning he’d delivered it without her knowing. She could work anywhere, provided she had an internet connection.
    Being confined at the moment suited her, at least as long as he was avoiding her. In a day or two she’d hopefully be brave enough to slink back to reality, but for now her mind was entirely occupied with old memories and thoughts of a child she’d already carried for months but who still wouldn’t have a chance at life unless she stayed put.
    Corey remained absent for the next week. Some mornings she’d wake up and find gifts with short notes. Hollow gestures, she thought, as she stared at each one when she found them. Her favorite eggs Benedict from the restaurant they’d eaten at after making love all night their first weekend together.
    One evening she only vacated the main room long enough to work out and shower, but came back to a bowl of chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzels and a bottle of champagne. Their celebration the night before their last morning together.
    She finally remembered the camera in the bedroom that first night and wondered if there were others around the apartment. He must be watching her to know her every movement during the day. It didn’t bother her. She’d always been private about her personal life, but he