CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

After a few minutes, I crawled back to my room. It felt bizarre being alone in the kitchen naked, and I needed a soft place to lay my weary bones. The past twenty-four hours had been gruelling, and there was some sleep I needed to catch up on.

Drawing the curtains and pulling the plain white duvet on top of me, I wrapped it around me so snugly it was nearly as good as being clothed. Thankfully, sleep came upon me almost instantly and I fell into its deep, comforting embrace with open arms.

Kiel was there waiting for me. One minute I felt like I was falling, and in the next I was cradled in his arms.

“I’ve missed you,” I whispered, snuggling in close to his chest. In response, he hugged me tight to his body.

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“How could you do that to me? Just walk out of my life without even so much as a goodbye?” There were tears of accusation in my eyes as he lowered me to the ground and cradled my face in his hands.

“Be fair, Kat. I didn’t exactly have much say in the matter