The imposing nature of it sent a small ripple of heat through me that had nothing to do with fear.
“You’re not going to let me bolt, are you?” I asked quietly, not turning to look at him, though I felt the faint shift of his breath near my hair.
“No,” he replied, and there was no teasing in it this time. Only calm certainty.
“I am not.”
For reasons I could not fully articulate, the honesty steadied me rather than unsettled me, and enough that I stepped inside. The room opened gradually rather than all at once, lamplight casting warm gold across even more paneled walls that absorbed the glow rather than reflecting it. The space was not cavernous like the hall below, nor was it as stark as I might have expected a spare, unused room to be. But instead, it felt oddly lived in, making me frown in question.
It was in that moment that he finally followed me inside. The room unfolded further, and my eyes started to take in more details of the space he had now declared was mine. Heavy drapes framed tall windows that revealed something entirely unexpected, not the urban warehouses I had prepared myself to see. It seemed the exterior of his home was not the only thing he kept hidden from the world.
A wide rug softened the floor beneath my steps, its muted tones echoing the quiet richness of the sconces mounted along the walls. But my eyes finally landed on the center of the room, where there stood a huge bed. In fact, I didn’t think I had ever seen one so big!
It looked like something torn straight from the pages of a dark fairytale. The bed dominated the space, dressed entirely in deep charcoal and black, the heavy covers swallowing the light rather than reflecting it. There were no soft pastels here, no delicate touches meant to soothe. Everything about it felt substantially controlled and undeniably masculine. The kind of bed that belonged to someone who took up space without apology.
It was large enough that four or five people could have slept there comfortably, the sheer width of it beyond excessive. And I wondered if lying on it meant that I could disappear into it entirely, lost somewhere in the dark sweep of fabric and shadow.
My fingers drifted along the edge of the sheets, the material thick beneath my touch, warmer than I expected. It didn’t feel decorative but instead was chosen for another purpose. Perhaps solely to intimidate me, and that thought sent a faint shiver down my spine.
Because even imagining someone like Oblivion stretched out across those dark sheets felt…intimate in a way I hadn’t prepared for.The weight of him. The breadth of his shoulders against the pillows. The quiet control that never seemed to leave him. I let out a shuddered breath as my thoughts spiraled. As now I was thinking that if this were merely a guest room, what must his bed look like?
The thought unsettled me more than it should have.
“You expected something else,” he observed quietly from behind me, clearly trying to read my thoughts again. And why I was shocked that he was watching my expression so closely, I didn’t know. Not when he seemed to always be watching me.
So, I turned slightly, meeting his gaze.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect,” I admitted, allowing my eyes to roam once more across the room, deliberately avoiding the bed before I started blushing like an idiot.
The room was vast, far larger than any bedroom I had ever seen. Bigger, I realized with a faint flicker of disbelief, than my entire apartment. And yet it didn’t feel empty, but intentionally divided, almost as though it held more purpose than to simply sleep.
To one side, a heavy antique desk stood beneath a cluster of shelves lined with dark-spined books, their titles worn and aged. Beyond that, a low seating area had been arranged around a substantial marble fireplace. Its mantel was carved with intricate detailing that caught my attention, with winged warriors stood like frozen sentinels on either side. A pair of thick armchairs upholstered in deep charcoal velvet flanked it, the kind that swallowed you whole when you sat down. The perfect place to curl up and read a good book.
Paintings lined the walls, though these were not gentle countryside landscapes or ancestral portraits I had seen lining his gallery. These depicted darker places. A jagged fortress rising from black rock. A castle carved into the face of a mountain, its spires vanishing into storm-heavy skies. Vast, dramatic landscapes that felt less earthly and more…ancient and Hellish.
However, there were no domestic touches. No unnecessary cushions or furnishings. Everything here felt deliberate. Masculine…Powerful.Even with the sheer size of the bed, the room did not feel cramped. It felt sectional, almost like several rooms occupying one grand space, a place for rest, for work, for thought…For solitude.
Two doors stood set into the far wall. One, I assumed, led to a bathroom. The other, wider and framed in darker wood, likely concealed a dressing room or, no doubt, something far more expansive than my pokey little closet.
“You will stay here,” he said evenly after he silently watched, and I took it all in. The words were said with a quiet authority that made me shiver.
“For how long?” I asked, unable to keep the question from surfacing.
“We can discuss that later,” he replied and before I could argue, he continued as if my question meant little to him,
“You have access to everything you require,” he continued, gesturing subtly toward a smaller door near the corner.
“There is a bathroom through there, and your suitcase will be brought to you shortly.”
I exhaled slowly and glanced around again, taking in the absence of bars, locks, or visible restraints.
“It’s not exactly the prison I expected,” I said lightly, though there was more truth in it than I meant to show. His eyes narrowed a fraction in response.
“I told you that you’re not imprisoned here,” he replied, stepping closer, though not enough to crowd me this time.
“You are very keen to reassure me of that,” I countered, folding my arms loosely, though I remained wrapped in his jacket.
“I am keen to ensure that you understand you are my permanent guest,” he corrected smoothly.
