But he only cocked his head, tucking his dagger into his coat pocket before bringing out his gloves, wearing them over those long, thick fingers.
Turning away from him, I reached for the larger book I’d wanted. “What about this one—”
I stopped and looked over my shoulder when the air behind me turned cold.
He was gone.
I scanned the aisle, the next aisle, between shelves, but there was no trace of him. Somehow, he’d slipped away without me hearing a single step.
A sigh escaped me as my gaze fell to the book he’d pressed into my hand, and I exhaled again, my inside going empty at his sudden absence. Why vanish like that after being gone all day?
Making sure no one could see the pinhole on the right breast of my top, I returned to my table and slid on my jacket, zipping it up.
But as I pulled the chair back, my breath caught at the sight of the food sitting on my table. On top of it was a small sticky note he’d taken from my table, written in his hand.
The Soulless Man will break you apart if you don’t eat on time next time.
How did he know I’ve not had food?
A chuckle broke from me despite myself, finding it unusual that he knew the old children’s tale—the nightmare mothers used to scare disobedient kids into behaving.
I knew he wasn’t anywhere near. And still…I found myself turning and scanning the corners just in case. Realising he was truly gone, I sat down and opened the book he gave me, saving the food for later.
CHAPTER TWENTY
SANORA
I was already in bed, drifting in the hazy space between wake and sleep, when I heard the front door open downstairs. The clock read a little past midnight, and the only person who could be coming in at this hour was the man I’d spent the entire night waiting for. I’d killed time by watching a horror series my mother had recommended last week, taking a break from the grim history of deaths I’d been digging through since I woke up. The fear—of the characters meeting their demise—gripping me through the screen had kept me company until just before twelve, when I finally abandoned the couch and climbed the stairs to my room.
Now it was fifteen minutes past, and his footsteps were on the stairs, slow and heavy…heavier than usual. Something in their rhythm snagged my attention, and I sat up, my gaze catching on the book resting beside me, the one Thrax had given me. I’d borrowed it from the library and it would be due in two days. I couldn’t really focus on it inside there after his distraction, and as soon as I took a break and ate the food outside the reading area, I couldn’t go back to reading. So I’d packed everything and came home.
I’d barely lasted an hour before I ended up under the covers, chasing the high he’d left in my blood, desperate to wring it out of myself. It was after then I could think straight. And no, I did notfantasise about his hand around my neck nor the way he looked at me as if he wanted to swallow me whole while I fingered myself to orgasm.
His door opened and closed, shutting me out of my head at the same time. I bit my lip.Go to him, or sleep?
I stared at my door, and the silence from it was infuriating. It stared me down until I groaned, flopping back and yanking the blanket over my head. I tried to sleep, but my ears were straining for the faint sounds coming from his room.
With a roll of my eyes, I pushed the blanket away and sat up again. What if something was wrong? His steps earlier had sounded…tired. But he’d warned me not to come into his room again before proceeding to drag me out.
My phone dinged, cutting through the chaos that was my thoughts. I reached for it with a sigh, running through the short list of people who would text me at this hour in my head. I came up empty.
Tapping my phone screen awake, I unlocked it, my heart skipping at the three words that glared back at me from the screen.
Unknown
Go to sleep.
My eyes flicked to my door. How did he get my number? And more importantly, how the hell did he know I wasn’t asleep? I sure as hell wasn’t buying that thing he said about my heart beat. He ended up not telling me what my emotions were in the library. Although it was quite obvious what I was feeling when he played his knife game with me.
Lust.
I started typing to ask if he was okay, but another message arrived before I could hit send.
Unknown
I’m okay. Go to sleep.
My head reared, taken aback by his response to the question I was yet to ask. I sighed, sensing his disapproval through the phone. He didn’t want me near his room. He just told me to go to sleep twice, meaning he was desperate for me to not see him.
