Barnaby neither agreed nor disagreed with Lena's little performance. He gave me one cold look, wrapped his arm around her waist, and walked away.
I watched the two of them disappear into the master bedroom.
The moment the door clicked shut, my heart sank with it, dropping into some endless void where no sound could reach.
In the middle of the night, I lay alone in the guest room. Then a sound crept through the silence and into my ears.
I got out of bed and followed it to the hallway. It was coming from the master bedroom.
The woman's voice was syrupy, dripping with a sweetness designed to dissolve bone.
"Stop, you're too worked up. Caroline's right next door. What if she hears us?"
The man's voice was raw, thick with desire.
"Relax. The soundproofing in this place is top-notch. I already shut the door. She can't hear a thing."
"Lena... my Lena. What am I going to do with you..."
He kept murmuring her name, but his movements never slowed.
I had never seen Barnaby like this. Unraveled. Out of control.
In five years together, even in bed, he had always been gentle. Restrained. I'd assumed that was simply who he was, that passion ran cool in his veins.