“Does it surprise you?” he asked quietly, not looking at me, but somehow aware of the direction of my gaze as I soaked up the sight of those rooms for as long as I could until they were out of sight.
“Yes,” I admitted before I could stop myself.
“Why?”
Because I had expected stone and severity. Because I had imagined something colder. Because warmth complicated the dark narrative I had been trying to build around him. The inhuman ruler that was far safer to fear than it was to fall for.
“I don’t know,” I said finally, unwilling to give him the real reason. As well… I wasn’t quite that foolish…yet.
His arm shifted ever so slightly beneath my hand. Not yet ready to pull away, but simply adjusting to my pace as we reached the base of the staircase. As if he had only just noticed the difference in our height and that I was having to quicken my steps to match his long strides.
“And what did you expect exactly, I wonder?” he mused, glancing down at me as we began to climb the staircase. One that curved upward in a slow, sweeping arc. The carved banister was cool beneath my free hand as we climbed.
Even with his arm beneath my fingers, I was acutely aware of the difference between us. The breadth of his shoulders beneath the dark fabric of his jacket, the quiet strength in the way he moved. Each step seemed effortless to him, measured, controlled, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he would look like if he ever lost that cool restraint.
As for our height difference, again, I ended up having to take two steps for every one of his.
“I don’t know, mounted demon skulls on your walls and a throne made from their bones?” I half-teased in answer to his question.
He gave me a wry look in return, before admitting,
“I guess I asked for that one, didn’t I?”
I chuckled and agreed.
“Yeah, you kind of did.”
After that, he looked deep in thought, as if putting himself in my mortal shoes when first setting foot inside his club.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked lightly, changing the subject as my voice echoed faintly against the height of the hall. However, he didn’t reply straight away, instead, he paused as if about to choose his words carefully.
“Long enough,” he replied cryptically, making me huff.
“That’s not an answer.”
“Perhaps not, but for now, it’s the only one you are receiving,” he replied, and despite his words, there was no sharpness to it. If anything, there was something almost amused beneath the restraint.
I glanced up at him, catching the faintest curve at the corner of his mouth.
“So, this is yours then… all of it?” I pressed, regardless, and he simply replied with a curt,
“Yes.”
“And do you live here alone?” I asked, quick to push for more at this point. Something that earned me a look. It wasn’t irritated or harsh, but more…calculating.
“Does that concern you?” he asked as way of answer.
“It might,” I confessed as we neared the top of the staircase.
“And why is that?” Because the idea of him inhabiting this vast, lavish house entirely alone felt…well, it felt almost wrong.Because warmth had lingered in the rooms below, and I couldn’timagine all of this belonging to someone who lived in it by himself.
“I was curious,” I said instead.
“I imagine you are,” he said softly, and the sound of it lingered in my head long enough that I failed to notice we had reached the landing. Which meant the final step came sooner than I anticipated. The change from marble to carpet snagged at my heel, and my balance shifted abruptly beneath me. I caught a breath that never quite became a gasp.
That was because his hand closed around my waist, warm and certain, drawing me back into the solid line of his body with a control that made the stumble feel almost irrelevant. My body collided lightly with his and was held there for much longer than was necessary. Which left me pressed firmly against him, my breath catching as I registered the solid heat of his chest against my back. That and the unyielding strength of the arm anchoring me at the waist. As though letting go had never been an option.
“Careful,”he said softly, far too close.
