*Jay*
Because I have taken an overly long nap this afternoon, due to the unfortunate draught that Eden… strange how the name I once adored suddenly grates on me… slipped me, I'm far from tired when the clock on the mantel chimes ten. Esma, on the other hand, is wilted. She tells me to sleep in her bedchamber. She has plans to sleep with Eden. If sleep comes at all.
Although aware that I appear a buffoon without manners, I don’t stand when Esma rises from her chair. I know if I get to my feet, nothing on earth would stop me from approaching her, taking her in my arms and carrying her to bed. If I can last that long. My body is wound so tightly from being alone in her presence that it is quite possible I’d try to have her before we ever leave the room. So I stay where I am, give her a dist
