#Chapter 194: Because I Can

The next morning, though I wake without Caleb, I still feel as though I am in some kind of beautiful dream. The evidence of Caleb’s being here the night before remains all around me, and on me. In the mirror, I spy several live bites running up and down the column of my throat. They continue over my collar bone and across my breasts. Bruises of his fingerprints mar my hips and backside. My core feels pleasantly sore from the ferocity of his lovemaking. Even after pulling on a high neck sweater, the moment I walk out of the bathroom, I can feel Bethany’s knowing gaze on my neck. My smile must be contagious, because her mood has also lifted today. A true friend, she shares in my happiness, even before she truly knows what happened. Or maybe she does. Servants always seem to know everything. I guess I did too, when I was one of them. The others always talked like we weren’t real people standing in the room. In the kitchens and servants quarters, we’d share all the gossip. “I’