Page 22 of Deadmen's Queen

“What are you drawing?” Tristan was heading into the living room, and I quickly closed my sketchbook. I suddenly felt like I was intruding on Nate’s privacy, to capture his likeness without his permission.

“Nothing, just doodles,” I said, smiling at him. “It's getting late, and it’s been a long day. Would Nate mind if I went up now?”

Tristan reached down, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. He slipped his arms around me, and pressed his lips gently to my forehead.

“Of course not,” he reassured me. “It's your home now, Paige. You don't need permission to exist here. Come on, I'll show you the way.”

I called goodnight to Bast as we passed the kitchen, and he gave me a brief smile. As we made our way through the large townhouse, Tristan pointed out different rooms— the study, a pool room, lounges filled with expensive-looking furniture—and finally, we stopped before a door on the top floor.

“This is Nate's room,” Tristan said. “Relax, he doesn’t bite.”

He pulled me back into his arms, and bent down to kiss me thoroughly, leaving me gasping for breath.

“Tris, what are you doing?” I smiled up at him.

“Well, you’re about to go and sleep in another man’s bed. I just want to make sure you still dream of me,” he grinned, and I laughed.

“You have a rather high opinion of yourself, don’t you? Thinking I'm going to dream about you just because of a kiss.”

Tristan’s grin took on a different tone, and he turned me, pinning me against the wall, his hands sliding up my arms to pin them above my head, and I sucked in my breath as he leaned closer. His knee slid between my legs, nudging them apart as he bent to kiss me again.

His lips were insistent, fierce and all-consuming. I closed my eyes, surrendering to the intoxicating sensation. My heart pounded in my chest like a wild drum as Tristan broke the kiss.

“Sleep well,” he murmured, his breath fanning over my flushed cheek before he let me go with a teasing wink and disappeared down the corridor.

I was left panting against the wall, a slow smile pulling at my lips. Shaking off the dizzying aftermath of Tristan’s kiss, I turned to face Nate's door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked.

“Come in.”

I opened the door slowly and stepped inside. It was dark inside, the only light coming from a lamp on a large desk against one wall. I was hit with a wave of Nate’s scent; a mix of sandalwood and something headier that I couldn't quite place. I looked around, taking in the sparse but neat room. It mirrored its owner – everything in its place – no clutter or unnecessary items; simple and self-contained with a heavy undertow of understated luxury. A desk, chest of drawers and a large black velvet armchair. A tall bookcase stood on the far wall, and I was surprised to see it stocked with paperbacks. I would not have thought Nate was the type of guy to spend time reading, but clearly I had misjudged him. My eyes landed on the king-sized bed in the middle, and my heart skipped a beat at the thought of sharing that space.

Nate came out of a door on the left that I guessed led to a bathroom. He walked over and held out a white T-shirt.

“Here. Something to sleep in until your things get here.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded towards the bed. “You take the bed. I’ll sleep in the chair.”

“Oh.”

“Is that ok?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, but I mean, it’s a big bed, if you wanted to…”

His eyes dropped down my body, and for a moment I wish I’d changed out of Tristan’s hoodie and the spare sweatpants he’d found me. I wasn’t exactly alluring in this outfit. Clearly, not, as Nate looked back up to my face and shook his head.

“No. I’ll take the chair. I’ll leave you to get changed.”

The rejection hit like a blow to my stomach, but I bit my lip and tried not to show it as he walked out of the room. I changed quickly, sliding under the covers before he came back in. I realised as I did that the sheets were fresh - he must have come up and changed them after dinner. It had been thoughtful of him, and they felt lovely, but I privately admitted I would have liked to have fallen asleep surrounded by his scent.

I waited a few minutes to see if he would come back. It was probably too early for him to come to bed. When he didn’t, I slipped out of bed and through the door into his bathroom. It was dark, with slate tiles and soft lighting flooding out from under the units along one wall. I glanced around but couldn’t find what I wanted, so I opened the cupboards in the unit. One held a pull out basket, and I dragged it out, sifting through the contents before pulling out a long sleeved black T-shirt he’d worn. I raised it to my face to breathe in his scent, but another smell hit me and I looked closer at the fabric. It was wet and shiny. I ran my fingers over it and stared at the red stain in shock. I’d known his knuckles had dried blood on, but the T-shirt was damp with it. That was a lot of blood.

I swallowed, and reached deeper into the basket for a dry tank top, before replacing the damp one and sliding the basket back inside the cupboard. I washed my hands then headed back to bed, feeling a little on autopilot, as my mind turned over and over. Kate and her friends had told me these guys were dangerous, but I’d ignored her. They were rich trust fund kids of billionaires who ran businesses. How dangerous could they really be? Dangerous enough to spill blood apparently. That wasn’t blood from a nosebleed, or a split lip. Nate had really hurt that guy because he’d put me in danger. I should report him or tell him he was way, way out of order. Yes, I should, I thought, as I snuggled down into the huge bed, Nate’s tank top hugged to my chest, and fell asleep.

Chapter Nine

NATE

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