The dark fabric slid easily from his shoulders. The movement was slow and unhurried as he draped it over the back of a nearby chair. As though settling in for the night was the most natural thing in the world, even with me standing there.
I watched this small display for a moment longer than I probably should have. Mostly because it looked suspiciously like someone making themselves comfortable.
“Make yourself comfortable, why don’t you?” I said lightly, folding my arms as I leaned slightly against the edge of the dresser. His gaze flicked briefly toward me at that, though there was something faintly amused in the way his brow lifted.
“I would offer you a nightcap, but I’m fairly certain my hosting abilities are somewhat limited under the circumstances,” I said, glancing vaguely around the room as though such a thing might appear if I searched hard enough. He studied me for a moment before asking calmly,
“Do you wish for another drink before bed?” I promptly choked on the breath I had just taken.
“What?” I managed between an undignified cough, yet his expression didn’t change.
“I asked if you wished for another drink before bed,” he repeated, as if this would help. When in reality nothing would, as my brain had short-circuited at those two words…Before bed.
“What do you mean before bed?” I asked slowly when enough of my senses came back to me to do so. Wye tilted his head slightly, his expression almost thoughtful now as he gestured lightly toward me.
“Do you usually sleep in your evening attire?”
I blinked.
Once. Twice.
Then again.
Because suddenly the pieces of this conversation were rearranging themselves into something I was fairly certain I had misunderstood.
“You…” I began cautiously, then stopped.
“Wait…” My eyes flicked around the room before returning to him again.
“What do you mean before bed? This is my room,” I continued, gesturing vaguely around the space and making him cross his arms over his chest and state assertively,
“I believe you will find this is my room.”
I gulped at that.
The words themselves were simple enough, yet the implication behind them made something tighten uncomfortably in my chest. Because, despite already knowing this was his room, something he had already informed me of when first bringing me here, I didn’t think he actually meant that he would also be using it. That he intended in sleeping here with me! I thought he had just been playing with me or trying to freak me out. Obviously, I had massively downplayed the warning as being nothing but a throwaway comment. Had I really been that much of an idiot, or just a hopeful one?
My mind was practically spinning, but as for Wye, he hadn’t moved since removing his armor and jacket. Yet without the weight of it across his shoulder, he somehow seemed even larger. The dark shirt beneath his jacket was now clearly visible where the firelight caught along the lines of his frame. The fabric stretched easily across his shoulders and arms as he shifted his stance slightly. The material tightened briefly along the powerful line of his biceps before settling again.
“Yes, I know that, but I’m the one currently using it,” I argued, this time making him smirk.
“You are,” he said so calmly that, for a moment, I almost wished he would argue back. At least then I might have hadsomething to push against. Instead, he simply stood there watching me with that same steady focus. The kind he seemed to reserve exclusively for moments when he knew I was trying to outmaneuver him.
“The one you put me in,” I reminded him, trying once again to make my point.
“That I did,” he agreed in an infuriating way, making my fingers curl slightly at my sides. The conversation was starting to feel suspiciously like walking into a trap I couldn’t quite see yet.
“So clearly that means I’m sleeping here,” I added, trying to prompt more from him, but all I got was a silent nod of his head.
“Great, glad we are in agreement then.”
“We are. Now, do you want help with your dress?” he asked, shocking me.
“Erh… okay, now, with you saying that it makes me think we are not in agreement at all,” I said carefully, choosing each word with far more caution now, and Wye paused for a moment before asking,
“And what agreement would that be exactly?”
“That this is my room for the night and not yours,” I replied, and his gaze drifted slowly over my face. His eyes were studying me with that same quiet intensity that had become increasingly distracting the longer the evening had gone on. The firelight flickered across the sharp line of his jaw as he shifted his weight slightly. The movement drew my attention briefly to the way his shirt pulled taut across his chest before relaxing again.
