Forged My Marriage, Stole My Baby—Now I’m the Judge You Kneel To - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Two months later, the doctor finally cleared Rowena for discharge.
That evening, he brought her to the dining room.
The table was loaded with authentic Italian food...
The smell was incredible.
"Where did you get all this?" She looked at Thorne in amazement.
"Had a chef flown in." He pulled out her chair. "Dig in."
There were two drinks on the table. Rowena randomly grabbed one and took a huge gulp, immediately choking and turning bright red.
"Holy shit—what is this stuff?"
Thorne went pale. "Wrong glass."
It was the strong-as-hell cocktail he'd just made for himself.
But Rowena had already knocked back half of it, and the alcohol was hitting her system hard. Her cheeks went all pink and her eyes got this dreamy look.
"Mmm,not bad..." She licked her lips and went for another sip.
Thorne lunged to grab the glass, but she dodged him. Rowena swayed as she stood up, stumbled, and fell right into his arms.
Suddenly they were pressed together.
Thorne went completely still.
The woman in his arms smelled incredible, her flushed face right there. His throat worked as he tried to look somewhere else.
But Rowena suddenly grabbed his face. "Thorne, you're ridiculously hot."
"You're wasted." His voice came out all gravelly.
"Nuh-uh!" She pouted, her fingers tracing his jawline. "This part's hot, and this part, and this part too..."
Thorne's breathing hitched.
Before he could process what was happening, Rowena pushed up on her toes and kissed him.
The kiss was all alcohol and sweetness, messy but intense. Thorne's brain completely flatlined, and by the time he came back to reality, he was already gripping the back of her head, making the kiss deeper.
"Ow..." Rowena suddenly shoved him back, making this wounded face. "That fucking hurt."
Thorne"...What?"
"You bit me!" She pointed at her bottom lip like he'd committed a crime. "It stings."
In the dim light, there was definitely a small bite mark on her swollen lip.
Thorne realized he'd totally lost his shit and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Sorry." He picked her up. "You need to sleep it off."
Rowena got tucked into bed all gentle-like, barely conscious as someone pulled the covers up.
"Thorne..." She grabbed his shirt. "Please stay..."
Thorne crouched by the bed, running his fingers through her hair. "I'm right here."
Moonlight came through the window, hitting his soft expression. He touched his busted lip, still tasting her.
He'd been waiting for this forever.
Rowena woke up to sunshine blasting through the windows.
The hangover hit like a freight train, her head pounding like a jackhammer.
She massaged her temples as pieces of last night started coming back—
All that Italian food.
The wrong glass.
That kiss with blood.
"...Shit."
Rowena shot up in bed, then immediately regretted it when everything went black.
She wasn't one of those people who blacked out drunk—she remembered every mortifying second of last night.
The door cracked open and Thorne walked in with some hangover remedy, that cut still visible on his mouth.
Rowena's eyes zeroed in on that mark and her whole face went hot.
"You're up?"Thorne acted like nothing had happened. "Drink this."
Rowena took the mug, their fingers brushed, and she yanked her hand back like she'd been electrocuted. She kept her head down while drinking, dodging his eyes, but heard this quiet laugh.
"What're you hiding from?" Thorne suddenly leaned in, hands on either side of her, pinning her against the headboard.
"You were pretty bold last night."
"I was drunk off my ass."
"Sure were." Thorne nodded, watching her ears turn red. "So now that you're sober, we pretending that didn't happen?"
Rowena death-gripped the blanket. "Thorne, we can't..."
"I'm in love with you." He cut her off, his voice low and serious. "You konw,not in a family way."