Chapter 6: A WARM HAND

Eloisee shifted on the bed as the sun peaked through the blinds and settled onto her eyes, she groaned and rolled over to the other side of the bed before opening her eyes. 

 She looked at the bed and sighed, where Riviera was sleeping was vacant. Her eyes roamed the room and she saw a small note on the drawer. She got out of bed and walked to it. 

 Eloisee picked up the note and looked at it. 

 The handwriting was perfect, each stroke of the pen skillfully weaved and the note said, go to the kitchen when you wake up.

 She placed the note down and went to prepare herself, she was not about to go out in his clothing. After completing her morning ritual and changing clothes, she left the room. 

 Eloisee made it down the stairs and she could hear Elizabeth and Mia talking. She entered the kitchen where the two women were. " Good morning." 

 Elizabeth was the first to respond to her greeting, she turned her head as Eloisee sat down on the chair across her. " Good morning, how was your first night?" 

 Mia smiled and poured Eloisee a cup of coffee, she pushed it toward Eloisee and winked. " Soo.. spill the beans, how was it?" 

 Eloisee thanked Mia for the coffee and took a sip as Mia got closer and asked the question, she raised an eyebrow at her. " Um... I don't quite follow.." She said softly. 

 Mia's smile grew wider at Eloisee's obliviousness. " You know, what a man and woman do in 

 heat." 

 Eloisee blushed and coughed as the coffee sipped into her air pipe. She looked at Mia, her face flushed deep crimson which reflected on her alabaster skin. "I… uhhh…" 

 Elizabeth after having a heart-felt laugh, pulled Mia by the ear. " Leave the poor girl alone." Mia protested but ultimately dropped teasing Eloisee, vowing to tease her again in her heart. 

 Eloise had a look of gratitude as she looked at Elizabeth who winked at her. 

 Eloisee watched as the women moved about the kitchen, with Elizabeth taking the helm and commanding Mia, occasionally, she would help but not too much. Eloisee was paying attention, and soon enough what Elizabeth was doing would be her job. 

 At noon, the three women were relaxing in the living room, the cleaning had taken its toll on them. 

 The door opened and Riviera walked inside, behind him was Ruid. 

 He looked at the women in the room, his eyes focused on Eloisee, he watched with acute vision as her chest rose and fell, he closed his eyes and pinched his nose remembering how soft her body felt against him. 

 Ruid smirked as he looked at the reaction Riviera had, this was something Mia had to know, their bad boy was smitten. " Well... this is a surprise." 

 As Ruid broke the silence, three pairs of eyes opened and looked at them. 

 Mia jumped to her feet and rushed past Riviera, she gave Ruid a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. " So how was the meeting?" 

 " Well for once…" He began to explain his story but glanced at Riviera. 

 He saw the death glare he received from Riviera and chuckled. He was not going to miss the chance to make fun of Riviera especially when Eloisee was Involved. " He left the meeting halfway because he wanted to take Elo shopping." 

 Elizabeth and Mia looked at Riviera as if he had grown a second head. 

 Elizabeth pointed at Riviera, her eyes already looking at Ruid." This workaholic, dropped a meeting for Elo? Lord what has happened to our Riviera" 

Ruid nodded. 

 " No way, I must be dreaming." Elizabeth continued her rant. 

 Eloisee looked across the four. 

 Riviera had an annoyed look, Ruid was amused. 

 Elizabeth and Mia were in a state of shock. 

 She wondered what was wrong with what Ruid had said, Riviera had said that he was going to take her shopping. 

 Riviera pinched the bridge of his nose, their dumbfounded state was annoying. He was doing what every husband would do for their wives right? 

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He opened them simultaneously sighing and he stared at Eloisee. " Let's get going before you get infected by their stupidity." 

 Eloisee nodded and got up from her spot, as she locked eyes with Riviera, an unfamiliar feeling flourished in her chest and stomach, she looked at her feet avoiding eye contact with Riviera, and walked to his side with her head still bowed. 

 Elizabeth looked at the two standing at the door and her lips tugged up into a smile. " Take care of her Rivi." 

 Riviera nodded and opened the door for Eloisee. She offered a meek thank you and walked out, Riviera following closely by. 

 They walked to the car in silence, Eloisee kept stealing subtle glances at Riviera. 

 Riviera saw this and raised an eyebrow. " Is there something on my face?"

Eloisee shook her head. "No." 

Riviera sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Eloisee, you don't need to be timid around me. You are my wife…" He paused, the way the word wife rolled off his tongue felt so perfect. He gazed at Eloisee and then at the car before them. " Just be free around me," 

"I'll keep that in mind." 

With that, Riviera and Eloisee went quiet. The car ride to the town was quiet, no one said anything but Riviera would glance at Eloisee from the corners of his eyes and occasionally would catch her looking at the forest with a distant look. 

 ***

"Let's go. You can choose whatever you like here." Riviera said as he turned off the engine and got out of the car. He rolled to the side and opened the door for Eloisee. 

Eloisee looked at him and the corners of her lips tugged up, he was putting an effort to make her feel welcomed. Perhaps, being more talkative with him, he was her husband. Her stomach flipped when she thought that. 

"Thank you…" She whispered and got out of the car. 

They walked in silence through the mall, Eloise put a certain distance between them, she was not certain if she should but she did catch the subtle gestures like Riviera: 's hand attempting to close the distance between hers. Their fingers would occasionally brush together and like the previous day, his touch did not make her stomach flip horribly. It was the opposite, it felt safe. 

She breathed in and reached out her hand, her fingers intertwining with Riviera's. 

Riviera's eyes went wide a bit. "Are you comfortable?" He asked once he got over his surprise. His eyes looked at Eloisee and he stopped mid-step. 

She had a small smile on her face, her eyes had a shine to them. He smiled himself and looked at the road ahead. His ears heard the calls of the people around them whispering about how cute they looked. It was only yesterday he was critical in his criticism of her but now, she opened up to him and allowed him to touch her. 

"Let's go into this store!" Riviera suggested pointing at the clothing store to their right. 

Eloisee only nodded and allowed her Alpha to guide her. 

She gasped when she entered the shop, the decorations, the ambiance, the layout of the clothes, and the clothes themselves were stunning. 

"How may I help you?" The assistant asked as she saw them come through the door. 

Riviera looked at the woman, he erased the smile on his face and kept a straight face as he usually did. "I'm here to get my wife new clothes.". 

The woman looked at Eloisee and gasped, from their height and how young she looked, she had assumed that Eloisee was Riviera's daughter. She sheepishly nodded. "Right this way," she pointed at the aisle of women's clothes to the left.

Eloisee let go of Riviera's hand and followed the assistant leaving Riviera standing there. 

"Well isn't this a surprise?" A blond-haired woman with sparkling blue eyes said as she walked over to Riviera, a smile present on her red-colored lips. She added a sway to her hips as she did, the white suit she was wearing moving with her curvaceous figure. 

"Isabella" Riviera smiled as he greeted the woman and offered her a hug. 

It was then, Eloisee appeared from behind the rows of clothes, holding a set to show to Riviera. She stared at the embracing two with wide eyes.