TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 15

Fifteen

Lisa POV

Sleep never really came.

The sky outside my window stayed dark for hours, the grounds below quiet and empty. I stayed in my room until mid–morning, but eventually the walls began to press in on me. Sitting there any longer felt impossible.

I left the room and wandered through the mansion, taking hallways I hadn’t explored yet. Most of the doors were closed. A few stood open, revealing quiet sitting rooms, a music room with a massive piano, and a library lined floor to ceiling with books.

At the end of a long corridor I found a balcony overlooking an interior courtyard.

Stone pavers covered the ground below. A fountain stood in the center, water spilling into a circular basin. In one corner someone had set up training equipment: punching bags, weights, sparring mats.

I lowered myself into one of the wrought–iron chairs and stared down into the courtyard, trying to keep my mind empty.

My phone buzzed.

Sasha.

Soooo… has the big bad wolf touched you yet?

I stared at the message before typing back.

Tonight.

Her response arrived instantly.

Sasha: Oh God. Are you ready for this?

I don’t know.

Another message appeared.

Sasha: You can still leave. Just walk out. Come home. Forget the contract.

She didn’t understand. Leaving now would destroy everything,

I turned the phone face down on the table and looked back toward the courtyard.

Two men stepped through a doorway on the far side.

Both shirtless and heading for the training mats.

Franklin and Cameron.

I should have gone back inside.

Instead, I stayed where I was.

Franklin was huge. Even from this distance the size of him stood out. Years of combat training had carved strength into every movement.

Cameron moved differently.

Where Franklin carried brute power, Cameron moved with controlled ease. His body looked built for precision, every motion economical and balanced.

They started with stretches. Then drills. Soon the drills turned into sparring. I watched despite myself.

Franklin said something I couldn’t hear. Cameron laughed.

I had never seen him laugh before.

The change surprised me. His face lost its usual severity, and for a moment he looked younger, almost relaxed.

They grappled across the mats. Franklin tackled him to the ground, and for a second it looked like he had Cameron pinned.

Then Cameron twisted, shifting his weight and using Franklin’s momentum against him. The movement was quick and controlled, and suddenly Franklin was the one trapped beneath him.

They both laughed again. The sound carried across the courtyard.

Then Cameron turned.

His gaze lifted straight to the balcony, straight to me.

I jerked back from the railing and hurried inside before he could confirm what he had seen.

Great.

Now he probably thought I had been spying on him.

I walked quickly back to my room and locked the door behind me.

The afternoon crawled by. I tried to nap. It didn’t work.

Lunch arrived. I barely touched it.

Four o’clock came.

A knock sounded.

“Come in,” I called, expecting a servant.

The door opened.

Cameron stepped inside.

I pushed myself off the bed in surprise. I had been lying there in shorts and a tank top, and suddenly the clothes felt far too casual.

I reached for my robe.

“Don’t bother,” Cameron said. His voice stayed flat. “I’ve seen worse.”

His gaze remained fixed on my face.

The dismissal in it stung more than if he had looked me over.

“Tonight,” he said. “Nine o’clock. Be ready.”

My voice barely worked.

“Do you even want to do this?”

His expression hardened.

“What right do you have to question me?”

“I’m sorry. I just—”

“Be ready. Nine.”

He turned toward the door.

At the threshold he paused without looking back

“This doesn’t have to be complicated. Just do what you’re told.”

Then he left.

I stood in the middle of the room, my hands shaking.

“Not tonight.”

He shifted his weight.

“He didn’t say.”

I nodded slowly.

Franklin looked at me for a long moment.

“Lisa,” he said quietly. “Are you sure you want this?”

“Do I have a choice?”

He didn’t answer.

He left the room, closing the door behind him.

I sat on the edge of the bed.

How many times would this happen? How many nights would I prepare myself for something that might not even occur?

Was this deliberate? Some twisted way of keeping me off balance?

I pulled the nightgown off and tossed it aside, changed into my regular pajamas, then crawled under the covers.

Eventually sleep came.

Morning arrived with a dull ache low in my abdomen.

I recognized it immediately.

No.

I threw the blankets aside and hurried to the bathroom.

The evidence confirmed it.

My period.

A week early.

I sat there staring at the floor.

The fertility drugs must have disrupted my cycle. Or the stress had.

Maybe both.

It didn’t matter.

What mattered was that my body had failed to be ready when they expected it to be.

Another delay.

But this time it wasn’t Cameron’s decision.

This one was mine.

I cleaned up and sat on the edge of the bathtub with my head in my hands.

The cramps worsened, forcing me to lean forward and press a hand against my stomach.

Perfect.

Just perfect.