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Still, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.
“Niall, why are you inside?” Tyran questioned, his voice cold.
He lifted his hand to show us his phone. “Left this behind in the commotion.”
His dark eyes flicked to me, and I fought a shudder. It was the kind of feeling I got in my nightmares, remembering those excruciating days and nights on the boat while being transported to the final destination where I’d be auctioned off.
“Okay,” Tyran acknowledged. “The rule of nobody inside the castle still stands.”
The man nodded, then walked past us. He sidestepped us, going around me, and his shoulder barely brushed against mine.
But I felt it.
My whole body tensed and I stood immobile, the door behind us shutting with a thud.
Tyran’s hand came to mine. I lowered my eyes to our joined hands, finding mine clutching his so tightly that his flesh turned white. He slowly peeled my fingers off but didn’t remove his touch.
“You okay?” I nodded. “Hungry?”
“No,” I croaked.
“Too bad, because I’m feeding you anyway. I brought you something from the States, and I want to see your face when you open it.”
He slipped my jacket from my shoulders, shrugged out of his own, and tossed them both onto the nearby table before taking my hand and leading me farther down the foyer toward the kitchen.
“Who cleans this place, anyway?” I asked, glancing around. It was always spotless, yet I’d never once seen anyone actually cleaning.
“Joseph’s wife.”
My head whipped around. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, it made sense since Joseph is the gatekeeper.”
“I guess.”
“You impressed them, you know,” he added casually as we entered the kitchen.
“Who?”
“Joseph and his wife.” Tyran pulled out a chair for me and I took a seat as he headed toward a large bag that sat on the counter. “He mentioned you during one of my check-ins. He wanted to make sure you were free to walk the forest. The way he described you… It reminded me of you. That’s how I found you.”
“Joseph should really learn to mind his own business,” I said, annoyed, although there was no bite to my words.
“I agree. I don’t like anyone’s eyes on you but mine.”
He turned around, leaned against the counter, and folded his arms across his chest. My eyes fell to those muscles flexing, and the world and everyone in it faded.
But those forearms.
For the past five years, I hadn’t felt a flicker of lust. Then this man showed up, and suddenly he was turning all my switches on.
“Sienna?”
I slowly dragged my eyes to his and noticed he was waiting for something. Shit, did he say something?
“Huh?”
His mouth twitched. “I asked if you’re ready for your surprise.”
