Page 86 of Bound By the Sleeper’s Harp

His downstairs gym was great, but it wasn’t the same as attending classes downtown. Perhaps I could do a little dancing downstairs too, work on my flexibility. But it still wasn’t the same as dropping in for a class.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. There was also the matter of my apartment. Days had passed with everything sitting in disarray, broken and scattered—just like my life right now. As nice as Bastian's house was, nothing compared to my own things, my comfort, the freedom to come and go as I pleased.The little slice of paradise I’d made for myself. My bedroom with its neon pastels, beautiful art, and creature comforts.

Several gulps of coffee later, I sighed. Salted caramel. Regular coffee would never cut it again—once I moved back home, whenever that would be, an entire case of this brand was going on my shopping list. A small laugh escaped me. Bastian was such a coffee snob. And a wine snob. He was so many things I hadn’t expected, just looking at him. The more I got to know him the better I liked him. The kind of like that was becoming dangerous. Because I knew he wasn’t one for attachment, and if I let my heart latch on…this was going to become problematic.

I spent the entire day keeping busy, if only to stay out of my head. I checked my phone. I went downstairs to work out. Checked my phone again. Did some laundry and tidied whatever I could, mostly to avoid the fact that there was no word from Bastian. Then I settled in to read.

It was early evening. Teddy was curled on my lap, soundly sleeping, when the rumble of the garage announced Bastian’s return. My heart hitched. I glanced down at myself, then back at my e-reader.

A door slammed. “Eleanor?”

“In here.” My eyes fixed on the living room doorway.

He appeared. A sigh whooshed out of me as I checked him over. No blood today, but his expression was tight, his lips pinched. His shoulders relaxed a measure at the sight of me and I liked that, perhaps too much.

“Still here,” I teased. “I didn’t go anywhere, just like you asked.”

He gave a jerk of a nod, then crossed the room and poured a drink, coming to sit at the couch. He swirled it, staring into it, but didn’t lift it to his lips. My stomach hardened. “Long day at the office?”

“You could say that.” He knocked it back, then leaned back against the couch. His muscles were rigid. “This cannot continue. It needs to end.”

A sour taste filled my mouth. “End?”

“Yes. It’s gone on long enough. We need to get this piece of shit. Quickly.”

“Oh.” I set my e-reader aside and buried my fingers in Teddy’s fur. It didn’t stop their relieved trembling. “Right.”

He cocked his head to the side. The corner of his mouth twitched.

“What’d you think I meant, sugar?” I didn’t answer. “Ah. You thought I was talking about us. You and me.” Still, I didn’t answer. “No, there’s no end for that—not at this point.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t been able to escape the smell of you burned into my nostrils, the memory and taste of you on my tongue. My fucking cock has never ached so much. You’ve kept me in a constant state of frustration. If I don’t pin you to the wall and fuck you soon, I’m going to lose my shit.”

My lips parted. No one had every talked to me like this. This…dirty. This direct.

“I warned you, Eleanor,” he said, voice dropping low. I couldn’t tell if he was frustrated. It sounded like he was. “I warned you what would happen.” There was a flicker as his glamor wavered, like he was fighting it. Fighting for control.

If he wanted me this badly, why was he holding back?

He groaned and shook his head. The tension in the room evaporated with that one sound. Setting his empty glass on the wooden tray, he crossed his arms and leaned back to regard me. “A handful of days—that’s all it took.”

“For what?”

“It’s time for you to call Eaden,” he said, side stepping my question. “Get yourself on the schedule. You’re working every night for the foreseeable future until I can get my hands on Luke fucking Portman. We can go by your apartment tomorrow, clean things up. The sooner you’re back at Vortex, pretending everything is normal, the easier it will be for me to catch him.”

I went rigid. The whiplash had my mouth opening and closing. “You really want to use me as bait? You weren’t kidding?”

“I wasn’t. If Eaden has a problem, he can come to me. Get yourself on the schedule.”

I swallowed. “This is your plan, then? I don’t have a choice?”

“The mayor is severely wounded. He’s in critical condition. Might not pull through.”

I froze. “What?”

“Someone tried to murder him.”

My eyes widened. “What?!”

“There’s no proof that it was Luke, but…” He blew out a breath. “I don’t think it was a coincidence, do you?”