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The door to the library opens behind me, and I glance toward it. Soo walks in. I guess it’s a casual day for him since he’s wearing a pair of slacks and a white button down. The uniform for him and Nic, it seems.
I give him a nod, which he returns.
When he doesn’t leave, I wait for him to say something, but the silence stretches long and loud.
“Did you need something?”
He faces the bookshelves and makes a show of inspecting the spines. It hasn’t escaped my notice that this house has a vast library, and I’ve seen none of the men who live here actually reading.
“I know you’re not here to look for a book. Did Nic send you in here to babysit me?”
Soo glances over his shoulder at me. “Babysit? Wow. You sure have a way with words. And a way of degrading my position here.”
I turn all the way around so I can actually face him. Especially if we’re going to do one of these verbal sparring matches. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I actually wanted to ask you something.”
He shoves his hands into his pockets and faces me. Now I have his full attention.
“I want to know if Nic seems different to you.”
“How do you mean?”
I try to play things casually. But I’m well aware I’m a shitty liar, and both he and Nic are experts at detecting them. “I just mean, does he seem different to you? Not just the way he’s acting toward me, but just different?”
Soo studies me now, cocking his head in the same way Nic does when he is trying to figure me out. “If I thought Nic was acting differently, and I’m not saying I do, I wouldn’t be discussing it with you.”
“Not even if I can make him happier than he is now?”
He scoffs. “And what makes you think he’s happy? You may be in his bed, and he may treat you differently, but there are too many things he needs to finish before he might describe himself as happy.”
To be fair, happy probably wasn’t the right word to use in the situation. “I just mean maybe there’s something I can do to help make his life easier.”
Even I think that is a terrible excuse for my questioning. And I don’t doubt for a second he can see right through me.
I throw up my hands and shake my head. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to think. He’s acting so differently than from how he acted before, and I’m just worried, I guess, that he’s going to stop.”
He doesn’t acknowledge my statement or apology. Instead, he drags a book from the shelf and gives me a withering look. “Before I leave, is there anything you need?”
It’s one of those questions that he really doesn’t want answered. No doubt Nic sent him in here to check on me, and he’s just being thorough so he can report back that I’m safe and sound.
Since he’s being a dick, I guess I’ll be one right back. “Well, while we’re talking, maybe I can convince you to take me to see Lucas.”
Surprise flickers across his face before he can snatch it back. It feels like a victory until he opens his mouth. “We both know that I’m not taking you anywhere near Lucas.”
“But Nic trusts you. He knows you would keep me safe.”
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean he won’t murder me for taking you there against his wishes. Wishes he’s made quite clear to me, the rest of the staff, and Lucas himself. You are not to go near him.”
We both know if anyone is safe from murder in this room, it’s him. But I don’t point that out. I’m tired of both him and Nic treating me like a glass doll balancing on a precipice. “If you won’t take me to see him, will you at least let me write him a letter and deliver it?”
Again, he shakes his head. “Not going to happen. As I said, Nic would kill me, and then he would tie you to his bed until he’s had his fill of you. And that would be merely the start of your punishment.”
It disturbs me to hear him referencing anything to do with Nic and my sex life. I rack my brain, trying to think of something to say that might convince him. All the while, he’s watching me, waiting to see what I’ll do next. It makes me feel a bit like a bug in a jar.
Even as I switch tactics, I know I will regret it. “Who knew Nic has such a tight leash on you? I thought you were his best friend, not his underling.”
Soo tosses his book on the nearest side table and stalks across the room toward me. It doesn’t occur to me I should be afraid. Of everyone in this house, he’s been the kindest to me from the beginning. But there isn’t a sliver of that kindness in his gaze now.
