Chapter 79: Sunning the plant
Noah’s POV
The silence that fills the room is loud and more embarrassing than if he had laughed in my face.
Goddess. I sound like a needy slut in a badly written erotica to him, don’t I?
"I mean..." I start and Elias lets out a hard breath that shuts me up immediately.
"No" he says.
"No. I’m not doing that" he says like I didn’t hear him the first time.
"It’s just..." I start to say something else. I really want to convince him, but he interrupts me even before I can complete my thoughts.
"I triggered you" Elias grinds out. His teeth are clenched and his jaw ticking.
Fine! Haughty jerk.
Again, I know I’m acting like a spoiled brat, but I don’t understand why he’s acting so rigid about something so small and insignificant.
"It’s not that serious" I huff and fold my arm over my chest.
"Yes, it is Noah" Elias growls and I look up at him with fear in my eyes.
"A trauma response is never to be joked around with, Noah. Never" he says and he’s suddenly crowding me on the bed.
He’s talking like he knows what trauma feels like when he doesn’t have a single clue.
He hasn’t been forced out of his own home by armed men who were nothing but mythological and made up until they showed up at my door.
He hasn’t been almost raped and sold into being a broodmare for a stranger.
He hasn’t been taken away from his parents and forced into missing his dad, the only person who cares about him.
"You don’t know what it’s like to be traumatized" I say quietly, moving away from him and climbing into the bed.
"I just wanted you to touch me" I say, and his back straightens automatically.
"Good night, Elias. At least this evening made the day a good one" I say as I slip under the sheet, lying on my side with my back turned to Elias.
My crush, the man I hate but I’m married to, is big jerk.
With him it’s two steps forward, nine steps back.
Thinking I can have a relationship with my captor is just plain stupidity and delusionality, isn’t it?
I stay still, pretending to be asleep so I can listen in on Elias.
It doesn’t sound like he has moved away from the spot I left him standing, so I shut my eyes tighter.
"I want to touch you too...angel, I really do" he says and it sounds like he’s coming closer to me.
"But you’re difficult. You’re hard to understand, and I need to break you without damaging you" he says and brushes my hair off my face.
What is he even talking about?
I want to ask him what he’s talking about, but instead, I relax into the sheets and fly to a beautiful dream land with the sensation of his finger brushing my messy bangs away.
Morning comes soon and I wake up to the familiar rhythm of Arctic Monkeys’ 505 playing from a speaker.
The song is so loud that I almost fall off the bed.
"Goddess" I mutter under my breath as I squint my eyes.
"What is going on?" I ask, shielding my eyes from the sun with my arms and looking around.
Who even opens their windows this wide in the morning? And where is Elias Deus?
I turn my head and find the alpha is standing at the door.
I can’t help but frown at the way he’s dressed in his usual semiformal clothes. He goes to the speaker while holding a tray of food.
"Are you awake?" he asks.
Who wouldn’t be awake when a song is being played that loudly?
"It’s too loud" I complain. It’s like a repeat of yesterday, but without the thirst trap song.
Elias balances the tray on one hand, turns down the volume, and gives me his attention again.
"What’s going on?" I ask, rubbing my temple to soothe the ringing inside my head.
"I’m taking you out" he says flatly but my eyes widen with excitement at the thought of being taken out.
"Really?" I ask, sitting up to look at him.
"You need to get sun. You look dead" he says and I scowl at him. "I’m not a plant" I hiss at him.
"Would you rather I call you a granite?" he asks and I shut my mouth.
At least plants have life while granites don’t. That’s a plus...I think.
He places the tray on the side table, and I stare at it without asking questions yet. The breakfast tray consists of waffles, eggs and bacon, and a glass of milk.
"Go get ready and come eat..."
I don’t wait for Elias to finish what he’s saying before I jump off the bed.
I’m excited to spend the day outside, so I run to the bathroom and get undressed. I wash up, brush my teeth, and get ready for the day.
Once I’m done and wearing a robe, I return to eat the food Elias brought to me.
And maybe it’s because I’m eager to leave the room, I wolf the food down and shove the tray away.
After gulping the milk to wash the delicious meal down, I slam the cup on the table and clear my throat.
"Done" I say, jerking my chin towards the empty tray and forgetting that I’m only putting on a robe.
"Go get dressed, Noah" Elias says tiredly, and I do what I’m told.
I put on his clothes in a hurry and stand by the door, waiting for him to fulfill his promise of taking me out.
Elias finally takes me to his car, and I open the door by myself.
I notice there’s a different man in the driver’s seat, but I ask no questions. I don’t know how Elias would react if I asked about Lucas.
I look outside the window as the driver starts the journey, Elias gets busy with his phone, and the driver plays a soft jazz song.
The car isn’t quiet, but without Lucas to liven up the mood, the ride becomes boring.
"So...where are we going?" I ask Elias after a few minutes of being driven in silence.
"There’s a lake my mother used to like. You can go swimming" he says, looking at his phone instead of at me.
"Really?" I ask.
How does he know I love swimming? I used to sneak away for a dip on some days back at Winslow.
"Turn left, Tom" Elias says and I don’t hide my happy smile.
You said I’m difficult, Elias, but you’re even more difficult. Do you hate me or not? Do you still want to break me or are you trying to heal me?