Edward took another step until both men stood with little room between them. “We find out whattheywant and give them peace.”
“Stop it.” William buried his head in his hands, giving into his own darkness, pleased for the peace of it. “Stop speaking like that, acknowledging that there are others here. It’s all fantasy.”
The lie sounded as bad as it tasted in William’s mouth.
A soft finger brushed over his hands. Edward slowly pried them away from William’s face, forcing him to look at him once again. “It’s apparent you need me to remind you, but you’re not alone. I’m here with you. This isn’t a problem you need to face by yourself.”
Just like the memories of the past had seeped into the foundations of Hanbury manor, Edward’s words worked through all of William’s shields until they etched on his bones. Since Archie had died, William had been alone in every sense of the word. Even now, as he looked deep into Edward’s eyes, he felt the need to argue his point. But something stopped him.
Pushing people away was his most prized skill, and yet, in that moment, he couldn’t do it.
“I just want to sleep.” It was all William could manage. The past nights of sleepwalking and fright had done a real number on his sanity. “I can’t think straight when my thoughts are so frantic. Knotted.”
“Then that’s what we shall do. Sleep.”
Edward took William by the hand and guided him towards the bed. Robert’s journal rested on the ruffled sheets, a silent witness to everything that had happened. It was a brief and hot reaction, the urge to pick it up and cast it out of the window, but the allure of answers still sang to his tired mind.
He resisted, for now.
“What about the board?” William asked as he climbed onto the sagging mattress.
Edward lifted the duvet over William, cocooning him in the sheets as though they could protect him from his new reality. It was impossible not to be entirely focused on how attentive Edward was with everything he did.
“I’ll put it out of the room for now, then we can deal with getting rid of it tomorrow – I mean today.” Edward chuckled, the sound almost out of place but still beautiful to William. “I don’t think I’ve stayed up this early since freshers’ week at university.”
With that, Edward turned his back William, paced to the door and opened it. Nothing was amiss outside, nothing to suggest anything sinister had ever happened. Not that William knew what to expect or look for.
Had the figure from the grave followed him back to Hanbury, or maybe it was the other way around. Perhaps that figure was always in the manor and simply followed William out.
Edward did as he promised, placing the board beyond the door and then shut themselves away from it. Without question, he moved back towards the bed, stopping just shy of it enough for him to tug his shirt over his head. For a moment, William was completely distracted. His mind was completely stuck on how sculptured Edward was, the number of muscles he hid beneath his clothing and the way his abdomen ended in a perfectly shaped V of muscles over bone.
William diverted his gaze before Edward could notice.
“Shall I close the curtains again?” Edward asked, voice a muted whisper.
“No,” William exhaled. He didn’t care how childish his sudden fear of the dark was, nor did he feel like Edward was the one to judge. “I’d feel better with them open.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
The bed shifted with the added weight of two bodies. Suddenly embarrassed that he was overly dressed beside Edward, William turned his back on him, facing the wall whilst his mind reeled.
“May I?” Edward said, his breath brushing William’s ear.
William didn’t know what the request was regarding until he peered behind him to find Edward entering the big spoon position. There wasn’t a need to ask for further explanation, not when Edward’s body language screamed with answers.
“Please,” William said, then arms folded over him, anchoring his body to Edwards. “But only if you’re sure.”
“I’m most certain. And this way, if you have another bout of sleepwalking, I’ll know about it.”
As Edward wrapped his warmth around William, he found the tightness around his lungs abate. The heavy pressure of an arm over his side, the hard press of a chest against his back… all of it added to his much-needed comfort.
Edward closed his face into the back of William’s neck. A pleasant ripple of shivers coursed over him. He hoped that wasn’t noticed by Edward, but would it have been terrible if he had?
“I don’t even know if I’ll be able to sleep,” William admitted, nuzzling his head into the pillow.
“Can you feel my heart?” Edward asked.
There was a faint patter coming from Edward’s chest. How could he ignore such a harrowing feeling? It took everything for William not to melt further into Edward. “I can.”
