The memory surfaced again with irritating clarity, vivid enough that heat crept slowly up the back of my neck despite the cool corridor air. He had kissed me, multiple times in fact, although none had been as intense as the first one in his office. And I had been more than willing.
The kiss hadn’t been hesitant or uncertain. Quite the opposite. He had claimed my mouth like he had been thinking about doing so ever since the first time he laid eyes on me. Although I also knew how dangerous it was to fixate on such things. As there was still so much of his world I didn’t understand. This Siren business being only one of them. And as for what the future held for Bo and me, well, that was an answer that scared me the most.
The uncertainty was almost crippling.
His hand tightened slightly around mine once more. The subtle shift was enough to pull my attention back, and my fingers flexed slightly in his without thinking. And the reaction was immediate as Wye’s thumb brushed lightly across the back of my hand in a slow, absent motion. The subtle gesture carried a quiet reassurance that made my thoughts stumble slightly before settling somewhere far less sensible.
“You are thinking very loudly,” he murmured beside me, and my head turned toward him automatically.
“I am not,” I lied, and the faintest hint of amusement touched the corner of his mouth.
“You are,” he replied quietly, the annoying certainty in his voice that did absolutely nothing to help my case. I narrowed my eyes at him, the defensive response arriving far quicker than my ability to stop it.
“You can’t possibly know that” I argued.
“Can I not?” he replied in a teasing tone, ignoring my frown completely and answering it with a knowing smirk instead. In other words, being utterly frustrating and handsome whilst doing it. Which made an even more annoying combination in my book.
“No, unless of course, you’ve suddenly developed the ability to hear other people’s internal monologues,” I countered, lifting my chin slightly.
His gaze drifted toward me briefly, pale eyes glinting faintly in the low corridor light before returning to the path ahead.
“I have no need to hear your thoughts,” he said calmly, making me panic internally, wondering whether he could. Goddess, I hoped not! Or I had no idea how I would ever face him again. Especially not if he caught even the faintest hint of the dirty thoughts I’d been having about him these past few days.
“Your entire face announces them for you,” he added, and my stomach flipped.
“Well, that doesn’t seem fair,” I grumbled.
“If it helps, your pulse tends to betray you as well,” he added, laughing when he saw my face and just howunhelpfulthat was.
His laughter faded into the quiet corridor, though the faint curve of his mouth lingered as we continued walking. I resisted the urge to glare at him properly. Mostly because doing so would require looking at him again, and I had already established that this was a terrible idea.
Instead, I focused on the corridor ahead. Unfortunately, that only reminded me where we were going. The further we walked,the more my earlier confidence slipped. The quiet stretch of hallway eventually revealing the dark wooden door waiting at the end of it.
And the moment I saw it, my stomach tightened.
“So,” I said lightly, mostly because the silence was making me even more nervous. His gaze shifted toward me almost immediately, glancing down at me over his shoulder.
“So,” he echoed as if sensing my discomfort and this time being amused by it because he knew why. I cleared my throat softly, forcing my attention forward again as the corridor stretched toward its end.
“I think this is the part where you walk me to the door, say something charming and mysterious, and then kiss me goodnight. You know, before disappearing back into your demon kingdom to brood dramatically about ancient prophecies,” I said, feeling slightly smug at my witty comment and nodding once toward the door ahead as though the explanation were completely obvious. But for a moment, he said nothing.
The quiet focus of his attention settled on me again, that same thoughtful intensity lingering in his eyes as though he were studying the exact reasoning behind my assumption. Then the faintest hint of amusement returned to his expression.
“I see,” he replied, if you could even count that as one. But by the time he said it, we had already reached the bedroom door. And with nowhere further to walk, I slowed before finally stopping altogether. For a moment I hesitated, then turned to face him properly, lifting one shoulder slightly as I gestured lightly between us.
“Well…” I began, before pointing out,
“It does seem like the polite way to end the evening, don’t you think?”
“And what if I have no intention of ending the evening? What then?” The question wasn’t surprising coming from him, yet it still drew a quick breath from me. Now all I had to do was figure out how I was going to answer that.
Of course, it didn’t help that the moment he took a step forward, I instinctively took one back.
Then another.
Until finally, the cool wood met my back, and I realized I had been gradually edged right up against it. Something Wye looked far too pleased about.
“Well?” He asked expectantly and with a knowing smirk that said he knew exactly why I was so nervous. So, I took a deep breath and braved to say,
