Chapter 108

With Horace stepping in and covering things up,Eleanor didn't manage to pin down any hard proof against Lainey, even after wrapping up her work in Otrad.

Not that it mattered.

She already knew in her gut Lainey was behind it,and that was enough.

Evidence could wait. She had all the time in the world to deal with her when the moment was right.

With the last artifact sealed and handed over,Eleanor finally straightened her back, groaning at the stiffness that came from days of near-constant work underground.

She had been pushing herself without rest just to make the deadline. Her phone had been shut off that whole time too, her own doing.

When she finally powered it back on, a flood of notifications nearly overwhelmed her.

Most of them were from Nolan.

The instant his familiar profile picture popped up, her heart gave a little jolt.

She opened the chat and started scrolling through the messages, one after another.

"Don't forget to reply when you get this."

"Is your signal acting up?"

"Eleanor, take care of yourself."

"Good night."

The last one was from late last night. It read, "I miss you."

Her chest tightened. She could almost still feel the warmth of his kiss on her forehead, and those words hit her like a slow burn searing into her heart.

Guilt settled in heavy.

Nolan wasn't the type to reach out easily,yet here he was, sending her message after message, waiting in silence for a reply that never came.

She could imagine the letdown he must have felt every time her silence greeted him.

Eleanor's grip on the phone tightened as she started typing.

"Sorry, I just saw this."

She stared at the words, then backspaced. Too flat.Too dismissive.

She then typed another reply. "I didn't have signal here. I wasn't avoiding you."

Delete. That sounded like an excuse.

She rewrote and erased again. Nothing sounded right; everything came out too light, too shallow,never close to what she truly wanted to say. In the end, she settled on something short but certain. "I'm coming back now."

Sliding the phone back into her pocket, she headed straight for her tent, packed up her things, and made her way to the airport.

Hours later, when she finally stepped off the plane in Elepdon, the first thing she spotted was Nolan's ridiculously handsome face.

Her footsteps faltered without her meaning to, and before she could even collect herself, Nolan was already striding over.

Without saying a word, he caught her wrist and steered her straight toward the Bentley parked outside the terminal.

The second the door shut behind them, he pulled her into a kiss that left her breathless.

Eleanor tried to shove at his chest, muttering against his lips, "Someone might see..."

But when her eyes flicked forward, she noticed the partition had been raised, sealing them off from the driver.

She had the sudden suspicion this whole thing was no spur-of-the-moment act-he had thought it through.

Ever since their first kiss, it was like Nolan had flipped a switch inside himself-unstoppable,relentless, like he had been holding back for far too long.

Still, he knew just when to ease off.

After stealing a few deep kisses, he finally let her go.

Eleanor sat up quickly, smoothing her hair and forcing a calm expression. "From now on, no kissing me in public."

Nolan didn't look the least bit sorry; instead, his lips curved in a slow smile.

He leaned in, pressing his forehead lightly to hers, his breath warm as he murmured, "So what you're saying is that I'm allowed to kiss you at home?" Without thinking, she blurted, "Yes."

Her own answer hit her a second later. She had walked right into that one.

Flustered, she clenched her teeth and shot him a glare. "Either way, you still need my permission first."

Nolan only chuckled softly, watching her sulky expression with clear amusement.

He brushed his fingers across her lips and whispered in a tone that promised more, "Okay. Whatever you say."