Chapter 13: Thin Ice

Florian's POV…

"Do you always sleep with your shirt off?”

“It's more comfortable that way.”

“I should probably try it.” 

“You are not in a shirt, you are wearing a gown.”

“Right, then I should probably take it off too.”

“You can’t sleep naked, keep your clothes on.”

She leaned a bit towards me before whispering, “I am actually not naked, I would have my panties on,” followed by a little giggle. 

“Don’t tease me, Rose…line.” I opted to call her just Rose, the name felt more befitting that way, but it was too intimate and her reaction the last time I called her Rose, wasn’t what I expected. Well…not that I was expecting one. 

“Oh, but you are allowed to tease me?”

“I am not teasing yo—“ I looked at my bare chest, “you know what let me just put on my shirt.”

“No!” Roseline reached for my hand, “… I prefer you without them.”

Her hand remained on mine for a few more seconds before she finally withdrew it. 

Yet a few seconds of skin contact burned heat through where her touch rested. 

We fell into an uncomfortable silence both mimicking each other's breathing as the silence between us grew thick with neither of us sleeping.

We remained glued to our own sides of the bed, scared of moving even an inch; not that the bed even afforded us much distance. 

Her phone rang beside her, breaking the silence. 

I let out a shaky breath, I was silently grateful for the call because it drowned a bit of the growing tension between us. 

On the other hand, Roseline stiffened when she saw the caller ID. 

Her finger hovered over the phone as she decided her next line of action. 

The phone rang a few more times before she finally picked up. 

Her pupils became dilated and her breathing erratic when the person on the other end of the line spoke.

Her body started shaking violently as sobs broke out.

I moved closer to her, I wasn't sure of what to do but I wrapped my arms around her to still her shaky body.

The line on the other end was cut, but she was still sobbing.

“I need to leave.” After a few minutes in my embrace, she finally spoke as she jumped to her feet opening her wardrobe.

For a minute I thought she was packing up her things, but she picked only one shirt out of the wardrobe.

She moved with so much haste as she unclasped the dress she was wearing and took off her bra all without warning. 

I gulped hard, swallowing a thick lump in my throat.

She was backing me so I could only see her bare back and her underwear. 

Yet my d*ck jerked threatening to bulge through my pants.

Not tonight buddy.

I turned the other way to afford her some decency and get a grip on myself.  

The sexual tension between us was getting crazy, and every day that passed the ice between us grew thinner. 

She was the only woman whom I craved to have a second time in my bed.

I had never done exclusives in the past, nor was I sex crazy.

But I had a bunch of women who were ready to go down that path with me, and many people are quite fine with the whole no-strings-attached arrangement. 

I mean I was…but with Roseline, my body craved something different; I couldn’t exactly place what it was.

Probably because she was also the only woman not to throw herself at me. 

As she struggled to put on her pants I could hear her shuffling and tripping while at it. 

I turned to face her when the shuffling noises had stopped. 

She was all dressed in a plain shirt and a pair of jeans. 

I cleared my throat, “Where are you going? It's really late… whatever it is, can't it wait till the morning?”

“It can't, I really messed up Florian. I need to leave tonight.” 

I moved towards her, “Let me drive you.”

“There’s no need, I can go alone.”

“No you can't, you are drunk and it's too late for a cab.”

“I am already sobered up.” 

“Don't argue on this one let me take you.”

She paused for a moment before she let out a sigh, “Take me to the hospital.” 

I grabbed my shirt and put it on.

I didn't ask who we were visiting, I just drove her.

——-

Roseline's POV…

My heart dropped to the floor immediately after I entered the hospital.

I have always hated hospitals, from when I was little.

My mum spent a long amount of time in the hospital before she finally died, even though I was quite young it left some kind of fear in me.

So I avoided hospitals like a plague ever since, my father was not a fan of hospitals either which only meant that whatever had kept him here was serious. 

We usually had the family doctor over at the mansion whenever any of us were sick.

My heartbeat drummed loudly in my ears as I followed behind Mr Roland, my father's butler. 

He didn't give me intricate details as to what was wrong with my father but his voice sounded shaky over the phone.

He is the longest-serving staff member my family has, so having access to my father's phone wasn’t a big surprise.

But the way he sounded when he spoke was what kept me on edge for a minute. I thought the worst had happened.

I kept on replaying the last conversation I had with my father back at the mansion in my head.

What if those were the last words we ever said to each other? 

I wasn't sure I would have been able to live with myself.

Fuck! 

As I walked down the hall to the VIP ward, it felt like I was trapped in one of those haunted houses I couldn't escape.

“Here.” Mr Roland gestured to the room where my father was.

I gripped the door handle and exhaled a deep breath.

I had to consciously force myself to breathe before I turned the doorknob.

Immediately I set eyes on my father, tears pooled in my eyes at the person before me.