Then he added calmly,
“Then you're right, we are not in agreement.” My breath caught at this before I opened my mouth to speak. Although I wasn’t entirely sure what was going to come out of it. In the end, it didn’t matter, as he got there first.
“This is the room you will be staying in,” he said, letting the statement settle for just a fraction of a second longer than necessary, his gaze never leaving mine.
Then, after the smallest pause,
He confirmed the reason for all my anxiety. The lingering doubt that had been pressing at the back of my mind about whether he was truly serious. And he did so by finishing his sentence, one that felt more like a statement than a suggestion…
“With me in it.”
10
HEROES AND VILLAINS
For a moment after he said it, I simply stared at him.
Not because I hadn’t heard the words properly, but because my brain seemed determined to rearrange them into something far more rational than what he’d actually said, as I was still adamant, he wasn’t being serious. I mean, yes, we had kissed, and holy Goddess, they had been some kisses! The best in my life so far, but I must have missed the part where that had translated into sharing a bed and sleeping together. Like bam! We had suddenly hit relationship status apparently. Which, under any other circumstances, might have been great… perfect, even. But I knew barely a thing about him, and technically, I was still his prisoner. Which wasn’t exactly what I would call the ideal foundation for a love match. I could just imagine the future now,
‘So, Mom, how did you and Dad meet?’ Okay, so now who was getting way ahead of themselves? Either way, I was most definitely not ready to jump into bed with him. Not when I knew it could potentially end up getting into some serious trouble, seeing as there was no guarantee I was the lost Siren he thought I was.
As for the current, hot and handsome bane of my life, he simply stood there watching me. Doing so with that same steady focus he had perfected over the course of the evening. The kind that made it impossible to tell whether he was amused, curious, or simply waiting to see what I would do next. And when several seconds passed without him volunteering any helpful clarification, I cleared my throat and decided to supply one myself.
“Well then,” I continued carefully, gesturing vaguely toward the rest of the club beyond the door as though the solution were perfectly obvious,
“I’m sure there are plenty of other rooms available.”
“There are,” he agreed easily, making me sigh in relief. One that was, unfortunately, short-lived and something I discovered only after I had walked towards the door.
“Excellent,” I replied at once with renewed confidence as my hand reached for the handle.
“Then you should probably go and find one then.” Behind me, there was the faintest shift of movement, the subtle sound of fabric adjusting as he repositioned himself within the room. I expected footsteps approaching the door, perhaps even some mild protest at being so efficiently dismissed from his own bedchamber. What I didn’t expect was silence. And when none of those footsteps came, a small knot of suspicion began forming somewhere near the base of my spine.
Still, I pulled the door open.
“There you are,” I said brightly, stepping aside and gesturing out into the corridor beyond.
“Problem solved.” For a moment, there was no response. Then Wye’s voice drifted across the room behind me, annoyingly calm and entirely unbothered.
“And you appear to be under the misconception that there is a problem that needs solving. Just like you appear to be underthe impression that I will be leaving.” My mouth dropped open at this, before arguing,
“I am not under that impression, but I am operating under that expectation that you will do the right thing,” I snapped back, folding my arms and nodding to the door, hoping it was stern enough that he knew I was being serious. However, when his expression shifted almost subtly, with the faintest hint of amusement gracing his lips, I didn’t exactly take this as a good sign.
“I’m a demon, Eliza, in case you missed that part,” he replied arrogantly, as if this explained everything.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I have no intention of leaving, as our ideas of what theright thingis differ greatly,” he said evenly, and a strangled breath escaped me.
“I… you…” I stammered, trying to find the right words. When really, had I found them, they would have just consisted of so much cursing, it would have likely made half the demons in his club blush.
Instead, what actually came out was far less satisfying.
“Well, that’s just… just ridiculous!”
Wye didn’t look particularly troubled by that assessment. If anything, the faint curve lingering at the corner of his mouth suggested he found my reaction far more entertaining than he had any right to.
“You may believe that to be the case, but it does not change facts, Eliza,” he stated, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
