This woman needs her own damn bus to lug around all these bags.
The door clicks closed behind us, sealing us inside, and I shuffle awkwardly into the room. Even though I was invited, it feels like I’m invading her space. Thankfully, I’ll only be here a few minutes.
“Ignore the mess,” she says, pushing past me into the room. “Can you give me like five minutes to get ready for bed?”
I sigh. As eager as I am to get back to the convention center, staying a little longer isn’t going to kill me. “Sure, but I’m counting.”
She rolls her eyes and heads to the bathroom, shutting the door and turning on the sink. I move to the little sitting area in the corner, ignoring the open laptop on the table and the ring-light next to me.
You’re going soft, Kaseilon. My own voice rattles through my head.
Since when do I care so fucking much?
Saving a human, making sure Joseline made it to her hotel, now offering to help her sleep because she’s anxious. Gods, the empathy is getting to be too much to bear. I shake my head and close my eyes, reliving the steps that landed me here.
I wish I could blame it all on Sebastian. After all, the band was his idea to begin with. But I’d always intended on escaping Hell; I’d always yearned for a way out. And if I was always set on Earth, I would have ended up among humans anyway.
This empathy, it’s their fault. The twins’ mate, Ashten. Niki. Joseline. Even our bus driver, Jerry.
They’re all to blame.
My eyes pop open when I hear the bathroom door open, and Joseline emerges. I almost don't recognize her. Her nearly black hair is down, her makeup washed away. Instead of her form-fitting clothes that perfectly hug her voluptuous curves, she's in loose pink silk pajama shorts and a baggy T-shirt. She looks much softer, more approachable, which I know is a lie.
Joseline is sharp as a knife and just as eager to stab someone.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she snaps and crosses the room to the bed, pulling back the perfectly-made comforter. I watch her settle nervously on the edge of the bed, fidgeting like she isn’t sure what to do next.
The corner up my mouth hitches upward as I realize how much I like seeing her this way. Her fiery nature is impressive, but I like knowing there’s something soft underneath.
“Like what?” I shove myself up from the chair and pace toward her, not missing the burst of energy that explodes as she shuffles back on the bed. She watches me with wide eyes as I stop a foot from the bedside, looming over her. “How am I looking at you?”
Her lips part and she swallows hard. “I don’t know. Maybe just don’t look at me at all.”
“Because that makes sense.” I chuckle and jerk my chin toward the pile of pillows next to her. “Lie down.”
She hesitates, and I think she might argue, but then she follows the command and pulls the comforter over her, tucking herself in. Once she’s safe beneath the blanket, I take a step forward, my thighs brushing theside of the bed, and I don’t miss the uptick in her pulse. Beneath her nerves, fear swells.
Maybe she really is rightly terrified of me.
Good.
“Ready?” I ask, flexing my gloved fingers.
“Yes. No, wait!” She bolts upright, her eyes widening. “I always lock the deadbolt. How will you?—”
Laughter escapes me, bouncing off the walls. “After what you’ve seen, you’re worried about locked doors?”
I press two fingers to her shoulder and push until she lays down again.
“I’ll take care of it,” I assure her. “Close your eyes.”
Her eyes remain locked with mine for another long second before she obeys. Slowly, I reach to brush the backs of my fingers along her jaw, smirking at the way she tenses against me.
I begin to draw on her energy, slowly, carefully; I can't risk taking too much. I just want her to fall asleep, not be weak in the morning when she wakes up.
Again, I'm not sure when I started to care so much, but I've given her my word.
“T-Tobias,” she whispers, the word almost too faint for me to catch.
