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It took a moment to get my bearings, tearing at the exhausted curtains drawn across my mind. The light above the vanity burned my eyes, glowing around the tree stump-shaped sink and mocking me where I hunched on the floor.
Bits and pieces came back.
Sliding down the door while waiting for Ily to eat. Tiredness creeping over me the longer I gave her space. My chin nodding, my eyes closing…
I must’ve drifted off sitting up.
Great.
Groaning at the kinks in my spine, I staggered to my feet. I jerked as my gaze bounced back in the mirror. Unkempt and messy hair. Almost gaunt face. A thicker five o’clock shadow from not shaving.
Goddammit, what time is it?
Was it the witching hour and time to execute a little breaking-and-entering?
Panic wrenched through me.
Ily.
I’d left her alone for God knew how long. Had she left to go back to Peter and the others? I’d locked the door, but what if someone decided to take her—
Shit.
Unlocking the bathroom door, I stumbled into the bedroom.
And froze.
Ily lay curled up right in the middle of the bed as if she’d toppled sideways after her last mouthful. Her legs drawn up to her chin. Arms wrapped around her knees in a foetal position. Her negligee didn’t offer any decency, and the peak of her pussy between her delectable thighs sent my heart reeling.
She flinched in her sleep as if horror bled into her dreams. Her soft pink lips parted, golden eyes squeezed closed, and raven hair spilled like ink around her. As beautiful as she was, she didn’t look peaceful. She looked afraid and tense, and every now and again, her entire body twitched as if running from monsters.
She’s so small.
So goddamn breakable.
I stood looming over her like a motherfucking stalker. Unable to look away. Completely corrupted by the sight of someone who’d been a total stranger yesterday and had somehow become someone of such importance today.
Important?
To the mission only.
Balling my hands, I nodded.
Yes, that’s what I meant.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Padding around her, I gathered up the empty plates from the end of the bed and stacked them as quietly as I could on the trolly by the door. My stomach snarled, annoyed that she’d eaten every fry and every crumb. It seemed only one of us would be sated tonight.
And that made me…glad?
Glad that I’d provided for her. Male satisfaction that I’d fed her and housed her.
Snagging the soggy slices of tomato she’d left on the plate from the burger—obviously not a fan—I devoured them quickly before swiping my hands on my trousers. The thick, decadent carpet kept my footfalls silent as I drifted to the large wardrobe and checked the clock on the wall.
Next to the mother-of-pearl clock, a huge painting of a black-horned unicorn being butchered glistened in the moonlight. Its blood dripped all over a forest glade while an evil goblin hacked off its head.
I wrinkled my nose.
