“I did,” he confirmed.
Roque nodded.“That’s what I thought.”
That was it.He didn’t add anything or ask questions.He just turned back to the window and squinted in a way that shouldn’t be endearing or make Dimri want to grab his face and kiss him.
Well, shit.Dimri hadn’t expected his collaboration with Roque to end up with possibly developing feelings for the bodyguard.Being stuck in this room together wasn’t going to help with that, but they couldn’t afford to start anything, not right now.Their focus should be on stopping the war and Ramiel.They couldn’t do that if they couldn’t stop thinking about each other.
There wasn’t much to do to prevent that, unfortunately.Even though Dimri was planning on keeping his developing feelings a secret from Roque, it wasn’t like he could stop himself from thinking about the demon.He’d do that whether he liked it or not.
As infuriating as Roque was, he was also easy to like.He was protective and sweet, especially with Berith’s daughter.He cared about people.He was fierce about his job, and Dimri knew he’d sacrifice himself without hesitation if it meant protecting someone.The fact that he was handsome didn’t help, either.How was Dimri supposed to resist?
He was going to find a way to do that.They couldn’t afford to be distracted right now.
He cleared his throat.“Has anything happened?”
“No.The lights are off, and I haven’t seen any movement.I think it’s safe to say that he’s asleep and won’t be leaving the house until tomorrow morning.”
Dimri nodded.It was tempting to get out of this chair and slide into bed, but instead, he leaned against the wall again and turned his attention to the house.It was better than keeping it on Roque, even though that was what he wanted to do.
The way Roque made Dimri feel was dangerous.He felt safe enough to fall asleep on the job.That had never happened before.
Dimri was in trouble, wasn’t he?
Chapter Six
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“SOMETHING’S HAPPENING,” Roque said.
Dimri looked up from the sandwich he was eating.“What?”
“He opened his front door, but he’s not leaving.He’s just standing there as if waiting for someone.”
Roque was trying very hard not to be seen from the outside, which made watching Abath slightly complicated.Roque wasn’t a demon who could easily hide, not with his massive horns.The last thing they needed was for Abath to notice they were there, watching him, especially if something was about to happen.
Dimri put down his sandwich and quickly cleaned his hands.He didn’t know if something was truly happening or if Abath was waiting for a food delivery or something like that, but this was different from anything that had happened in the past few days since he and Roque had started watching Abath, so it was worth checking out.
There wasn’t a lot of space by the window, but Dimri squeezed in next to Roque.He sucked in a breath and told himself that it wasn’t weird.The only thing that made it weird was his feelings for Roque, and Roque didn’t know about them.Dimri needed to keep his focus on Abath, even though Roque smelled good and his body was warm.
He leaned forward, his shoulder pressing against Roque’s.Sure enough, Abath was standing by his front door, nervously glancing around the street.It was clear that he was waiting for something or someone, but there was no way to know who or what.Surely if he was doing something illegal, he wouldn’t be doing it on his doorstep?Dimri hoped the palace didn’t hire people who were dumb enough to do something like that.
But even if Abath was the spy, it didn’t mean that he was smart.It also didn’t mean that he was doing it willingly.He had gambling debts, something Ramiel wouldn’t hesitate to exploit, but from everything Dimri had been able to find, he wasn’t a bad person.He just seemed desperate, and desperation often made people do things they normally wouldn’t do.
Dimri felt Roque tense next to him, but he didn’t look at him.He kept his attention on Abath, half hoping that something would actually happen so they could confront him, half hoping that nothing would happen so that he and Roque could stay in this room for a few more days.He wasn’t quite ready to give up the intimacy they were building, even though nothing had happened between them.
“There,” Roque murmured, leaning even closer.
Dimri sucked in a breath and told himself not to be a creep.He couldn’t start sniffing Roque.
Focusing on the street and on what Abath was doing was hard, but once Dimri managed, it was easier to ignore Roque’s presence next to him.He watched as Abath leaned forward when a demon neared his home.The demon was wearing a hood, which wasn’t unusual, but made it hard to identify them.Dimri saw a flash of green skin and dark clothes, but that was it.
“One of us should go down there and follow whoever that is when they leave,” he murmured.
Roque shook his head.“Or we could ask Abath who it is.”
“Again with your idea of talking to Abath?”
Roque didn’t look impressed by Dimri’s words.“We agreed we’d do things my way if we didn’t get anything interesting after a few days, and it’s been a few days.As much as I’m enjoying my time here with you, it’s time for us to go back to the palace.”
