There were multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, all modern and minimally decorated--nothing was over the top, but definitely a little more luxurious compared to Ramsay’s simple barn house.
“This is the guest room,” Eric told me, opening the door to a bright room with a beautiful view of the forest. “You’ll be staying here. Treat this place like home while you’re here. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
I put down my bags and unpacked, then refreshed myself in the bathroom. It felt strange to be away from Ramsay and Colton, but this was a new adventure, and right now I had Eric all to myself.
Maybe I should make the best of my time and do something together with him,I thought.
But when I came out of the bathroom, Eric was gone.
“Eric?” I called, my voice echoing throughout the open-concept house.
Muffled voices outside reached my ears. I opened the window in my room--which I found out was actually a sliding door with a small balcony--and peered down.
Eric was there along with a few guards, all talking in serious tones. I frowned. Eric had told me earlier not to worry, but how could I not when he was being so secretive?
Eric suddenly paused, noticing I was there. He looked up and smiled. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
I guess that was his polite way of sayingquit eavesdropping on me.
I shut the sliding door and explored the house instead. Many of the doors were shut, and though Eric told me to make myself at home, I didn’t feel right opening them. He knew I was coming over so he’d probably shut them for a reason.
I smiled to myself, thinking that if Ramsay were here, he’d make some joking comment about Eric keeping dead bodies behind there or something.
I wandered until I came to another open door, slightly creaked open to reveal what looked like a large bedroom. Without even going inside, I knew it was Eric’s room. His unmistakable scent wafted out and I stood there for a moment, just inhaling it. For a moment I felt guilty, even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong. It just seemed strange to enjoy his scent so much when we hadn’t even begun a relationship yet--at least, not the way I had with Ramsay and Colton. With those two, it had been so easy and natural. With Eric…
I stepped past the threshold and entered his room. Then I gasped.
Where the rest of the house was minimal and clean, Eric’s room was… a mess.
Well, it wasn’t that bad. But behind the door stood a desk littered with messy papers and pens. A bookshelf behind the desk was in similar disarray, with mismatched books stacked horizontally and all crammed together to make them fit. On the leather desk chair were clothes strewn carelessly across the seat. There was even a half-drunk--and probably flat--bottle of soda on the desk.
I blinked at the scene, suddenly feeling like I shouldn’t have intruded.
When I stepped back out into the hall, Eric’s voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.
“So you went inside?”
I yelped. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to barge in.”
He looked a little annoyed, which made me feel worse. Then he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s fine. I guess you would’ve seen it eventually.”
I fiddled with my fingers, not knowing what to say. “Erm… What were you talking about outside?”
“You really are nosy, aren’t you?” Eric asked, crossing his arms. But there was no malice in his voice. He mostly sounded tired. “I was just receiving reports from my guards about activity past the border, in the outskirts.”
I didn’t really know what that meant except that it seemed bad. “Oh. Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“Then why do you seem so upset?”
His brows raised. “I’m not upset.”
“Really?”
Eric blinked, then glanced away. “Yes. I’m actually quite excited that you’re here.”
