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“Clara told me to knock if you didn’t follow her out in a minute. Everything okay?”
Godsdammit. My cousin was totally a traitor. One hundred percent.
Knowing I would chicken out and would talk myself out of confronting him, she cut me off at the pass. Well played.
I reached for the handle to open the bathroom door. Caius leaned against the door frame; one arm braced against the trim. His sleeves were rolled up and his skin stained red from my blood.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear nervously.
“Listen, Reagan?—”
“Caius, I?—”
We both stopped, waiting for the other to continue.
“Is there somewhere we can go?” I asked after a suspended pause. “That we can be alone?” I swallowed hard on the word “alone” and it came out softer than intended. “Not here ...” I added, glancing at the broken dresser.
If he was surprised by my request, he didn’t show it. “My suite. We won’t be bothered there.”
I nodded, stepping around him. Caius led me out of my room and down the hall. It didn’t escape my notice that the puddle of red on the floor was gone. Caius and Pol cleaned it up, as promised. Without thinking about it, I skimmed his body, focusing on his strong hands and found myself blushing before I could stop it.
“You can look.”
“Excuse me?”
He chuckled. “Your hearing is just fine, but because I’m a gentleman, I’ll repeat—you can look at me if you want to.”
Okay, I thought I was blushing before. It was nothing compared to the inferno engulfing my face now.
“I wasn’t?—”
“You’re not a good liar. Did you know that?” His teasing tone turned flat, emotionless. A shudder worked its way down my spine, but I suppressed it.
“Fine. I noticed the floor wasn't stained, but I was looking at your hands and saw they are.”
He nodded. “Aterstone isn’t porous; skin is.” I didn’t recognize the name, but I wasn’t exactly versed in geology on Earth, let alone Tartarus. “Was that so hard?”
Pressing my lips together, I formed a thin smile. Dream or no dream, his smugness got under my skin.
The walk to his rooms was short. I realized that he was in the same hallway. No doubt intentional on his part. How had I not paid attention to any details since arriving?
Caius waved his hand and a large door opened in front of me, leading to a room that was largely black with smaller accents of white and gray. A four-poster bed was situated on the opposite side of the room, covered in midnight-colored blankets and pillows. Positioned between the bed and the door was a sitting area with two wing-backed chairs and a loveseat . They were patterned with threads of silver and cream that popped in the low firelight emitting from the hearth.
“I never thought black could be . . . comforting.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Caius said.
“It was one.” The giant fur rug looked so soft, I actually squatted down to brush my fingers over it. Somehow it was even softer. “I could sleep on this.”
“If you like it that much, just wait until you feel my comforter. It’s made from the underbelly pelt of the same creature.”
Said creature must be a mammoth for how large the rug was, and that wasn’t all of it? I’d never seen anything close to this size in The Crossroads.
“Awfully presumptuous that I’ll end up in your bed.”
“You will,” he said, completely and utterly assured. “You’ll be staying with me from now on.”
My fingers froze. My body stilled as my heart started to pound harder. He said what now? I wanted to talk to him; not sleep with him.
