I groan out loud and roll over in Callum’s very large, very comfortable bed.
It’s covered in blankets and furs, with down-stuffed pillows, and burrowing so far into it I never have to come back out again sounds like a pretty good idea right now.
But I’m also a nosy girl at heart, and having a few minutes alone in his place is too big a temptation to pass up.
The floorboards are cold beneath my feet as I shimmy out of bed. So is the air, just this side of chilly as I tiptoe into the main part of the room.
I rub my hands together, partly for warmth, partly because there really must be something wrong with me to be this excited about the opportunity to do a little recon on my supposed demon mate.
That excitement, however, doesn’t last more than a minute or two.
There just… doesn’t seem to be much here.
A few personal items. Some spare clothes in the dresser. Mostly bare cupboards. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think the place was some kind of crash pad. Maybe like the demon version of a vacation rental.
Certainly not the place where a fully grown demon spends his life.
Oh yes,a little voice in the back of my mind pipes up to remind me.Because you’re absolutely in a place where you can judge how other people live.
That voice has a point.
It’s not like my childhood bedroom in my parents’ house is anything to brag about.
I haven’t exactly flown the nest, so I probably shouldn’t be judging Callum for—
A key clicks in the lock, the handle turns, and the hinges on the front door creak.
I freeze like a deer in the headlights.
But if Callum finds it strange for me to be standing frozen in the middle of his apartment, he doesn’t show it.
He doesn’t say anything at all.
No, for a few long seconds, he just looks at me. From my bare feet, up my legs to my shorts and tank top. Higher, to the flush on my cheeks and my rumpled hair.
There’s something inscrutable in his eyes. Not unfriendly, not annoyed, almost… warm.
Like he’s relieved to see me here.
Like maybe he expected I would have bolted the moment I woke up.
“Tea?”
“What?”
Instead of answering right away, he crosses to the small kitchen and turns on the stove, fills the kettle, and sets it on the burner.
“Tea,” he says again. “Would you like some?”
“I… uh… yeah, sure, I guess.”
Callum nods, and that’s that, apparently.
He goes to work preparing the tea, and I take the opportunity to grab some fresh clothes and duck into the bathroom to change.
The only problem is that once the door swings shut behind me, I’m alone with my thoughts again.
I’m alone with the echo of Callum’s deep voice and all the clamoring memories of the past twenty-four hours.
