“I have zero interest in watching you shower,” he lied. “But it’s my job to keep you safe, which means I need to confirm upstairs is safe.”
She stepped aside, holding out her arm and giving him a brittle smile. “Then by all means, check away.”
He walked up the stairs, acutely aware of her behind him. He paused at the top, and she said, “The two doors to the left are the guest bedroom and bathroom. The door at the end is my aunt’s office. My bedroom and my aunt’s bedroom are to the right.”
He checked the office, the guest bedroom, and the bathroom, leaving his bag on the bedroom floor.
“The bed will be too small for you,” she said.
He eyed the queen-sized bed and shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
He followed her down the hallway, checking her aunt’s bedroom and pretending not to notice how watery-eyed she got just being in the room, before following Cece into her room.
He stopped abruptly, a “Holy shit” escaping his mouth.
The bedroom was on the larger size with a king-size bed, two bedside tables, and a wooden dresser. It was a totally normal bedroom, except for the hundreds of plants that crowded the room. Multiple tall wooden shelves, short metal shelves, wall shelves, and even the floor itself were covered with plants of all shapes and sizes.
A hexagonal wooden plant stand loaded with plants stood in front of the only window. Briggs glanced up as something tickled the back of his neck. Dozens and dozens of hooks were screwed into the ceiling, and pots of various sizes with cream-braided macramé holders were hung from each one.
Each pot held a vine plant, and he brushed away the vine tickling his neck. Eventually, the vines would grow so long and thick that Cece would have to hack her way through them to get to her bed.
He inhaled deeply. The room smelled like rich, dark earth with a hint of floral, and his polar bear growled in approval. Whether it was his bear’s obsession with Cece or because of the plants and the scent of good, clean dirt, he was finally chilling the fuck out.
He took another deep breath as Cece gave him a look. “Don’t say it.”
“What?”
“That my room has too many plants,” she said. “I love plants, and I won’t apologize for it.”
“I like it,” he said honestly.
She blinked at him before her shoulders relaxed. “Oh, um, thanks.”
“I’m surprised they grow so well with how cold it is in here.” He crossed the room to the window, leaning around the plant stand to study the lock. It was just as flimsy as the rest and, he scowled, not even locked.
He squeezed his arm between the stand and the window and turned the lock. “Keep this locked.”
“Right,” she said.
“Do you use magic to make the plants grow so well?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Not deliberately, but I’m a green witch, so plants tend to do well under my care.”
Her eyes suddenly widened, and he followed her gaze to her bedside table. A pink silicone vibrator sat next to the lamp, and he immediately turned away as Cece rushed over to the bed.
He heard her yank the drawer open and then slam it shut, and while he could practically taste her embarrassment in the air, he was too busy trying to block out the mental images that had roared to life in his head.
Cece, naked in the bed, one hand teasing and toying with her nipples, the other slowly sliding that pink toy into her wet pussy, while she moaned his name.
He grimaced, resisting the urge to reach down and adjust his half-hard dick. One, he was being a fucking pervert, and two, why would she moan his name while using a toy?
His bear growled in annoyance. He didn’t want Cece using a toy, not when Briggs had a dick that was perfectly able and willing to let her ride it for as long as she wanted. His bear was, in fact, trying hard to force Briggs to take Cece’s vibrator and toss it in the garbage.
Get it the fuck together! Briggs snarled when his bear tried to force the shift so he could get rid of the toy.
Acutely aware of the thick scent of Cece’s embarrassment, he strode toward one of the two doors in the room. “What’s in here?”
“Bathroom, but don’t -”
