Chapter 164

Agnes

I woke to the gentle warmth of sunlight against my eyelids and the feeling of Elijah’s body curved around mine. For a moment, I inhaled deeply, letting reality filter back into my consciousness.

The wedding. The confrontation with Olivia and Mason. The sweet surrender in Elijah’s arms afterward.

My body ached pleasantly, my muscles sore from a night spent dancing and lovemaking and everything in between. The sheets were tangled around our legs, trapping our body heat beneath the expensive silk. When I shifted, trying to stretch without disturbing Elijah, I felt him stir behind me.

His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me flush against him. The heat of his skin against my back made my breath catch. Even after everything we’d done last night—and we’d done quite a lot—my body still responded to his touch without hesitation.

“Good morning, wife,” he murmured, his lips finding the sensitive spot behind my ear.

I shivered but smiled. “Is it still morning?”

Elijah glanced toward the window, where golden afternoon light spilled across the floor. “Technically, no. But I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”

My laugh caught in my throat as his hand slid down my side, tracing the curve of my hip. The playfulness in his eyes shifted to something darker, more intent. Without another word, he leaned in, pressing his mouth to mine.

The kiss was tender at first, almost reverent. But as I pressed myself closer, it deepened, became hungry. My fingers tangled in his hair as his hand slipped between my thighs, finding me already slick and aching.

“Already?” he breathed against my lips.

“Always,” I admitted, gasping as his fingers teased at my entrance. “For you.”

That was all the invitation he needed. With one smooth motion, he slipped his cock out of his boxers and pressed it against my opening, making me instinctively buck my hips back against him. But he pulled back ever so slightly, refusing to give me what I wanted without a little teasing first.

“I’ll never get tired of that sound,” he chuckled when I let out a frustrated little whimper. “And I’ll never get tired of you.”

And then he was pushing inside me, filling me. The stretch of him made me gasp, my body still sensitive from the night before. But the discomfort faded quickly, replaced by pure pleasure.

We moved together slowly at first, savoring each sensation, each small gasp and moan. There was no rush, and I was glad for it. Finally, after all this time, we could just be together. Nothing could keep us apart anymore. Nothing.

I shifted onto my back, changing the angle, drawing him deeper. His rhythm faltered, breath hitching as I clenched around him.

“Agnes,” he groaned, his mouth finding the crook of my neck and shoulder. “You feel incredible.”

The answering pulse of heat that flooded through me at his words pushed me closer to the edge. I clutched at his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin as the tension built low in my belly.

Elijah’s pace quickened, his control slipping as our bodies moved together. My release hit me suddenly and without warning, leaving me trembling and breathless. Elijah followed moments later, his body tensing above mine as he spilled inside me with a low groan.

Afterwards, we simply lay there, tangled together, too blissful to move. Eventually, Elijah shifted, pulling out with a pleasant rush and propping himself up on one elbow to look at me.

“That,” he said, pressing a kiss to my temple, “was the perfect way to start our first day as a properly married couple.”

I smiled, nestling closer to him. “I have to agree.”

We might have stayed there all day, drifting in and out of sleep and each other’s arms, if not for the polite knock at the door. Elijah groaned, burying his face in my hair.

“Ignore it,” he mumbled, but the knock came again a moment later.

“Alpha Elijah?” a voice called through the door. “The staff asked me to inform you that the complimentary newlywed breakfast is ready in the private dining room whenever you wish.”

My stomach growled at the mention of food, making Elijah chuckle against my neck.

“Thank you,” he called back. “We’ll be down shortly.”

We heard footsteps retreating, and reluctantly, we began to untangle ourselves from the sheets. After a quick shower—which almost devolved into another round of lovemaking before we remembered the waiting breakfast—we dressed in the casual clothes that Elijah had prepared for us ahead of time and made our way downstairs.

The private dining room was a sunlit alcove overlooking the estate gardens. A table laden with food awaited us—fresh fruit, pastries, eggs, bacon, and a pot of fragrant coffee. My mouth watered at the sight.

“They’ve thought of everything,” I remarked as Elijah pulled out my chair.

He smiled, taking his own seat. “That was the plan.”

We fell into comfortable silence as we ate, occasionally sharing glances that made my cheeks warm. The food was delicious, the coffee strong and hot, exactly what I needed after everything.

But as I sipped my second cup, an odd sensation washed over me. A specific kind of fuzziness in my head, a slight queasiness in my stomach that had nothing to do with the food. It felt… familiar. Disturbingly so.

The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water. I knew this feeling. I’d experienced it once before, seven years ago, after waking up from being drugged at a party.

The party where I’d lost my virginity to a man whose face I couldn’t remember. The night that had left me pregnant with my missing daughter.

I set my coffee down, my hand trembling slightly and causing the cup to rattle against the saucer. The aphrodisiac Mason had given me last night—it must have been the same drug from seven years ago. The same morning-after symptoms, the same disorienting haze that had enveloped me when I’d woken up in that strange bed, alone and confused.

“Agnes? Are you okay?”

Elijah’s concerned question pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. I looked up to find him watching me.

“I’m fine,” I said automatically, forcing a smile. “Just… thinking.”

He didn’t look convinced, but thankfully, he didn’t push. I returned to my breakfast, my mind racing. It could be a coincidence, I told myself. Date rape drugs weren’t exactly uncommon, unfortunately. The fact that I’d been drugged with the same substance twice in my life wasn’t so far-fetched.

But something else nagged at me, a detail that didn’t make sense. As the fog from seven years ago and the remnants of last night’s drugging mingled in my system, I found myself remembering flashes from that night long ago.

The stranger’s hands on my body. His mouth on my neck, my shoulder. The way he’d whispered against my skin.

It had felt… familiar. Similar to…

I glanced at my husband across the table, studying the line of his jaw, the curve of his mouth. No, it couldn’t be. Elijah couldn’t have been that stranger from seven years ago. It was impossible. I would have recognized him, wouldn’t I? He would have recognized me.

Besides, the timing didn’t make sense. If Elijah had been that man, then Thea would be…

No. Thea wasn’t my daughter. We’d been over this too many times to count now, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up again.

But I couldn’t help myself. I tilted my head and asked, “Did you ever get that DNA sample from Olivia? To test if Thea is hers?”

Elijah’s expression shifted, something unreadable flashing in his eyes. “Not yet. But now that Olivia’s in custody, it should be easier to obtain. I’ll make it happen soon, I promise.”

“Thank you,” I said, relieved. Once we had the DNA results, this strange notion would be put to rest once and for all. Thea would be confirmed as Olivia’s daughter, not mine, and these odd similarities would be nothing more than coincidence.

Then, I could just focus on finding my biological daughter. Or mourning her. I hoped it wouldn’t be the latter, but at least now, I would have Elijah and Thea—a real family—by my side through it all.