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“I’ll give you a proper tour of the house tomorrow, angel. Let me show you to our room.”
My brows furrowed at his choice of words. Our room? Surely, he had meant my room? Obviously we wouldn’t be sharing a bed; the thought was ridiculous.
Convincing myself it was a slip of the tongue, I let him guide me up the set of stairs to the left of the hallway and led up to the first-floor balcony that overlooked the foyer. I glanced around, trying to take in each of the antique golden frames hanging on the cream walls, containing elegant paintings of various landscapes that I knew I would come back to examine in finer detail.
Reaching the first floor, a blood-red carpet runner ran the length of the stairs and along the hallway, softening our footsteps. Several doors lined the hallway, but Jacob didn’t stop to explain what room was behind each door; instead continuing up another flight of stairs until we reached a closed door.
My eyes bugged out of my head when Jacob opened the door and indicated for me to step inside. The bedroom was a far cry from my immature, pink bedroom with olive green walls, silver decor, and voile drapes.
An enormous bed with cream silk bedding took up a lot of space, positioned opposite two glass doors that led out to the balcony, and beyond that was a stunning view of the lights of the harbor twinkling in the distance.
Across the room stood a large round table with two chairs tucked neatly around it, and like in the foyer, a glass vase of beautiful sunflowers had been placed in the middle. An open-plan wardrobe ran along one side of the bedroom, filled to the brim with men’s clothes, shoes, and accessories, and in the far corner was a closed door.
“What do you think of the bedroom?” Jacob asked, watching me carefully.
A humorless chuckle slipped from my mouth. “It’s beautiful. Much better than the childish pink bedroom I’m used to.”
Jacob’s eyes lit up as if he were relieved to hear my answer. “The ensuite is through there—” he pointed to the closed door “—if you wanted to freshen up before bed.” He crossed to the bed, picking up a set of folded clothes that I hadn’t noticed before. “Here, I picked out some pajamas for you to wear.”
“Oh, thank you,” I replied, releasing a breath. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought about what I would wear to sleep or what I would wear in the morning until Jacob just mentioned it. At least I wasn’t going to have to sleep in the clothes I was wearing. Or naked. “Where do you sleep?”
His head tilted to one side. “In here, angel. This is our room.”
I blinked several times, trying to comprehend what he’d said. “But…”
In two large steps, he closed the gap between us, delicately lifting my chin with his finger. “Are you scared of me, angel?”
His eyes filled with sorrow, and my heart stuttered in my chest at how sad he looked. “No,” I answered honestly. Of all the things I’d felt since meeting him hours ago, I hadn’t felt scared of him. Maybe of the situation, but Jacob, no.
“But you don’t want to sleep next to me?”
“I…uh,” I stumbled over my words, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. “It’s just, I don’t know you, Jacob. I met you for the first time only today, and it just…feels weird to sleep next to you.”
He held my gaze, a muscle ticking in his jaw, and an unreadable expression on his face. Releasing my chin, he took a step back. “I understand, angel. It’s okay; I’ll sleep in a different room for tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll get to know each other a bit more.” A reply lodged in my throat at the expectation that tomorrow night, I would be sleeping next to him. But before I could force words out, he lowered his mouth to place a featherlight kiss on my cheek. “Goodnight, angel. Sleep well.”
With that, he turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. My hand lifted to touch the spot on my cheek where the feeling of his lips still lingered. Confusion rolled through me at the feelings Jacob was stirring inside me.
He’d made a deal with my parents to claim me; it wasn’t right for me to be attracted to him. Maybe I just needed sleep and to assess the situation with a clear head.
Forcing myself to move, I headed to the bathroom to use the toilet before stripping off my clothes and changing into the soft pajama top and shorts Jacob had handed to me. When I fell into bed and wrapped the covers around me, I reached out to hit a light switch, plunging the room into darkness.
I closed my eyes and attempted to get comfortable in the unfamiliar bed, and the entire time, all I could wonder was what it would be like if Jacob was in the bed next to me.
Chapter 5
Cries from seagulls filtered into the room, waking me from sleep. I blinked against the bright light streaming through the balcony doors, fighting against the cover wrapped around me to pull myself into a sitting position.
The scent of sea salt and fresh air reached me when a light breeze drifted into the room, eliciting goosebumps on my skin. Someone had been in while I slept and opened the door, and at the realization, a shudder passed through me.
I’d been in such a deep sleep that I hadn’t heard a single thing, and knowing someone had been in the room while I was comatose left me unsettled.
Glancing around, my gaze snagged on a pile of clothes sitting on the table next to the sunflowers, along with a bottle of water. I wriggled out of bed and crossed to it, swiping up the bottle and downing the water in big gulps. As I drank, my eyes landed on a note resting on top of the clothes.
Angel,
You looked so peaceful sleeping; I didn’t want to wake you.
I’ve picked out some new clothes for you to wear today. When you’re awake, come downstairs. I’ll be waiting for you.
