Just One Orgasm!

Tuesday arrived quietly.

Emilia lay across her bed with both hands resting over her chest, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Her mind refused to settle.

A few more days. That was all she had.

A few more days before the people who had taken those photographs could send them to the school.

And once they did, everything would change. Her scholarship, her reputation, and Adrian’s position.

Everything they had carefully kept hidden could be exposed in a matter of seconds.

Emilia swallowed.

She rolled onto her side and stared at the bedroom door. For a long moment, she didn’t move.

Across the room, Rowan sat comfortably on the edge of her bed with a book in her hands. She spared Emilia a brief glance before returning to the page.

Emilia sighed.

Her fingers moved through her hair.

She hadn’t slept properly.

Adrian’s face kept appearing in her mind.

The way he had looked at her when she walked out of his office. The way his voice had changed when he’d asked her not to leave, and the way she’d still walked away.

She closed her eyes.

She didn’t regret leaving, but she missed him.

Today was technically a free day. She didn’t have class, and Blackwood University would officially close for winter break tomorrow.

She had expected to feel relieved.

Instead, she felt restless.

Rowan eventually lowered her book. "Emilia."

"Hm?"

"I’ll drop by Adrian’s today to get some of my books." Rowan tilted her head. "Wanna join me?"

Emilia’s eyes opened.

She looked at Rowan. Her first instinct was to say no. She didn’t want to see Adrian.

Not yet.

She wasn’t ready to walk into that penthouse and pretend everything was fine. Maybe she wasn’t ready to see him. Maybe she was.

She bit the inside of her lower lip, then she slowly nodded.

"Okay."

Rowan smiled lightly. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Emilia sat up. "Thanks."

Rowan studied her for a second. "Give me twenty minutes."

Emilia nodded.

She reached for her phone. There was no new message from Adrian. He had sned some lat night, but none this morning.

For some reason, that bothered her more than it should have.

She locked the screen.

"Asshoe," she muttered.

Rowan glanced over. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head, with a smile.

.......

The penthouse was unusually quiet when they arrived.

Rowan unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Adrian?" She called. There was no response.

Emilia followed her. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. Perhaps Adrian would be in his office. Perhaps he’d be on a call.

Rowan glanced toward the hallway. "He should be upstairs."

Emilia nodded.

"I’ll get my books."

She started walking away.

Emilia remained behind for a moment. Then she followed. Rowan took another turn to another wing, while Emilia walked to Adrian’s bedroom.

The door wasn’t completely closed.

She pushed it open. "Adrian?"

There was no answer, so she stepped inside.

Adrian was lying on his bed.

He wasn’t sleeping.

He was simply staring toward the balcony through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

The winter light washed faintly across his face.

He looked strangely still. Almost too still.

He turned at the sound of the door. The moment his eyes landed on Emilia, he sat upright.

His shoulders stiffened.

He cleared his throat, then he exhaled slowly.

Emilia raised an eyebrow. She had never seen him like this. She had never seen him ildle without a phone pressed to his ear, or seated behind a desk.

Just lying on his bed. Still, and quiet.

She cautiously walked farther into the room. "Are you okay?"

Adrian didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, his eyes moved toward the hallway behind the open door. "Rowan drive you down?"

Emilia nodded. "Yes." She placed her small purse on one of the couches. Then she walked closer.

Adrian watched her.

She stopped in front of him. Her hand slowly lifted, and her fingertips touched the side of his cheek.

She rubbed it gently.

"Are you alright, Adrian?"

His eyes lifted to hers. For a moment, an unexplainable emotion moved through them.

He swallowed. "I’m fine."

Emilia frowned. She leaned closer. "You’re hot."

Adrian said nothing.

"And the air conditioner is on." Her eyes moved over him. He was wearing a blue shirt, but the fabric around his neck looked slightly damp.

"You’re sweating."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. Before he could respond, a voice came from the hallway.

"Adrian!"

Rowan’s footsteps hurried toward the bedroom. She appeared at the doorway, breathing harder than she should have been.

"Mrs. Collins said you were in the kitchen an hour ago."

She stared at him. "Are you alright?"

Emilia looked between them.

The kitchen? Why was that important?

Adrian glanced at Rowan. "I’m fine."

Rowan walked quickly toward him. She took both his hands and pulled him to his feet before wrapping her arms around him.

"I’m so sorry, Adrian."

Adrian’s expression softened slightly.

"Did something happen?"

He shook his head. "No." He gently returned the hug. "I was just about to take a nap, Rowan."

She pulled back enough to look at him.

"I’m fine. Nothing happened. You worry too much."

Emilia watched them.

Something was wrong, and she knew it.

Rowan wouldn’t have reacted like that if everything were normal. And Adrian wouldn’t have looked so uncomfortable if cooking were simply cooking.

Adrian rubbed his temple.

"My head is splitting."

Rowan immediately frowned. "Then rest."

He nodded. "How about I call you in when I’m ready?"

Rowan studied him. Then she smiled. "Okay."

She squeezed his arm gently. "Call me."

"I will."

Rowan stepped back.

Adrian’s eyes moved toward Emilia. Their gazes met. Neither said anything.

Emilia gave him a small nod, and Adrian returned it.

Rowan glanced at Emilia, then she walked out. Emilia followed. She closed the bedroom door behind them.

The moment the latch clicked into place, she turned.

"What was that about?"

Rowan didn’t answer.

She continued walking down the hallway.

"Rowan." Emilia caught up with her. "What was that?"

Rowan stopped.

For several seconds, she seemed to consider continuing without answering. Finally, she turned around.

Her arms folded across her chest. "His biological mum made him make meals for her daily immediately after abusing him."

Emilia’s expression changed.

Rowan rubbed behind her ear. "It’s complicated." She sighed. "But Adrian cooking a meal is..." She searched for the right words. "A trauma response."

Emilia stared at her.

Rowan continued carefully. "To violence."

Emilia’s face fell.

"Any kind of violence. Even something as small as someone raising their voice at him."

Emilia looked back toward the bedroom door.

Her chest tightened. "He..."

"Yeah." Rowan pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked down, then she raised her eyes again.

"When Adrian was fifteen, after he’d been adopted and started living with us, I caught him in his room after something happened. It would have been suicide if I had arrived a second late."

Emilia listened silently.

"My friends had come over that day." Rowan’s expression became distant. "We were kids. Loud kids."

A humorless smile touched her mouth. "We were running around, yelling, and arguing over stupid things."

She shook her head.

"One of the boys knew Adrian was adopted. He was around Adrian’s age."

Emilia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"They argued." Rowan looked away. "It got violent."

The word settled heavily between them.

"Adrian didn’t fight back."

Emilia’s brows drew together.

Rowan shook her head. She swallowed. "When violence happens around him, he doesn’t always react the way you’d expect."

She looked toward Adrian’s closed door. Her voice lowered. "Most times, he wouldn’t react and if he does, he cooks afterwards. A that moment, all he seees is his biological mother."

Emilia’s stomach tightened.

"That day, he went into the kitchen at one of our vacation houses."

Rowan folded her arms tighter. "He made an absurd amount of food."

Emilia stared at her.

"Then he went back to his room, and locked the door." Rowan looked down. "He didn’t come out for two days."

Emilia’s eyes widened.

Rowan nodded. "My parents weren’t there." She swallowed. "I was about six."

Emilia stared at her. Her eyes softened beyond reasoning.

Rowan gave a faint, sad smile.

"I was too young to understand what was happening." She looked at her hands. "I just knew something was wrong so I stole the spare keys."

Emilia’s lips parted. "From where?"

"My mother’s study." Rowan gave a tiny shrug. "I wasn’t supposed to." She looked back toward the bedroom. "But I did."

Her voice became quieter.

"I opened his door."

Emilia waited.

"And I found him. He was sitting on the floor beside the bed, just about to slit his wrist. Turns out he had done it a few times, but had never hit the right vein."

Emilia’s breathing slowed. Her heart clenched.

Rowan eyes dropped. "I remember he started crying after that."

Emilia looked toward the bedroom door again.

Suddenly, the man inside felt different. Just... more understandable.

Rowan exhaled. She shrugged lightly. "That’s why I reacted when Mrs. Collins told me he’d been cooking."

Emilia slowly nodded.

"He usually isn’t cooking because he’s hungry." Rowan’s voice was gentle. "He’s trying to make himself feel safe."

Emilia looked down.

Her mind returned to the office, and the shattered bottle.

Emilia looked at Rowan. "Can I stay here for a while?"

Rowan stared at her for a second. "That’s up to you. As long as you mind what you say."

Emilia glanced toward Adrian’s door.

"Also, remind him to give me a call in the next two hours." Rowan nudged at her, before walking towards the elevator.