For a second, he just stared at me, then his mouth twitched. “Right.”
We both went quiet. Listening.
Nothing.
No rustling.
No breathing.
No sudden movement from the closet or under the bed.
After about thirty seconds, Dorian shrugged. “They probably moved to a different floor,” he said.
I nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
That made sense.
Plenty of better hiding spots downstairs.
Or upstairs.
Anywhere but the first unlocked room in the guest wing.
Dorian stepped closer to me, one hand settling on my waist.
“See?” he murmured. “All clear.”
My pulse picked up again for an entirely different reason.
Outside the locked door, somewhere in the house, the hunt had begun.
But in here, it was finally just us.
Still, it was better safe than sorry. “Can you just check the wardrobe and the bathroom, please? Just to be sure?”
He laughed, but relented easily. “‘Course.” I held my breath as he crossed the room and grasped the handles of the wardrobe before pulling them open.
Dorian leaned forward and peered inside, pushing a row of neatly spaced hangers aside with one hand. The closet held a few spare robes, extra pillows stacked on the shelf above, and a small luggage rack.
“All good here,” he reported.
He shut the doors again and moved toward the bathroom. The light flicked on when he pushed the door open. I could see the marble countertop and glass shower from where I stood.
He checked behind the door first, then under the sink cabinets, no surprises popping out.
Dorian leaned out into the bedroom again, one brow raised. “All clear, angel.”
He shut the bathroom light off and returned to me, shutting the door with a quiet click behind him.
Dorian’s hands slid back to my waist the moment he reached me, fingers spreading over my hips as he backed me slowly toward the bed.
“So,” he murmured.
I swallowed. “So…”
The backs of my knees hit the mattress, but Dori didn’t stop moving forward, caging me in as I tipped backward onto the edge of the bed. He stepped between my legs, one hand sliding up to caress the side of my neck.
“Still tense,” he observed softly.
