Page 58 of When The Night Falls

His head tilted while he studied me with a sense of wonder in his eyes. ‘Honestly, where have you been all my life?’

Snorting, I closed the instructions and left them on the floor. William had unfortunately been correct.

‘In hiding,’ I said. ‘And I’m still not happy about being found, because I was never lost.’

He tittered. ‘Love, you’re so lost you don’t even realise it.’ He leaned past me to fetch the screwdriver. He lingered there for a second, and his closeness caused a bolt of ferocious electricity to course through my heart. Mindful of the memories his scent was likely to provoke, I held my breath and leaned slightly away.

‘Am not,’ I said, but didn’t object when he began to remove the screws, because the sight of his beautiful hands distracted me. Steadily and patiently, they removed one screw after the other, and I thought at that moment that I must be going insane, because the view was oddly arousing. They moved so capably, so confident in their work. Those hands could make anything come undone.

In the dim light, his dark brown hair glistened faintly. My eyes journeyed along the tidy waves of it, down to where their darkness gently kissed his paler skin as they cradled his ears and neck.

As my gaze strayed further to admire the rest of him, that alien feeling crowded my chest again. It made me feel so full, like I hadn’t sufficient space to contain it. It was dense and heavy, yet I felt lighter than air.

Transfixed, I studied his beauty as though it were the most impressive constellation ever to have fallen into place. Indeed, he seemed out of this world. Like stars upon the sky, each gorgeous feature of his body connected to form a celestial masterpiece.

He was undoubtedly a work of art, and I marvelled at how many secrets each detail veiled. I wondered what his thoughts were, how far the alleys of his mind stretched, how vast their content. Could they be endless? He seemed like the embodiment of the entire cosmos – the skin of the night.

‘The Devil’s in the detail, darling,’ he suddenly said and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. ‘Something to bear in mind, especially if you mean to practise law.’

Since I was still mortified at my display of incompetence, I folded my arms and looked away. ‘I’m just tired after revising all day. I’ve never encountered this problem before, and I’m a veteran when it comes to assembling IKEA furniture.’

It seemed like he was just about to respond when somebody unlocked the front door. Shooting up, I panicked at the thought of Jason discovering his brother in my room. A moment later, I remembered that the scene he would come upon was entirely innocent, so in the end, there was no cause for concern.

‘Hello?’ Jason called as I heard a bag land on the floor.

‘Hi, Jason,’ I greeted, but I didn’t sound half as calm as I had intended.

‘We’re in here,’ William said.

Hearing Jason’s footsteps, I took a deep breath and begged myself to remain composed. I had never been around the two of them at the same time before, and the reality of it was straining my conscience, because it intensified the notion that I was keeping Jason in the dark about my sensual history with his brother.

When he appeared in the doorway, I forced a smile.

‘What’s happening here?’ he asked as he observed the mess on the floor.

‘I’m just teaching your brother how to assemble a wardrobe,’ I said.

William froze, a blend of amusement and astonishment on his face.

‘Yes,’ William said and looked at Jason. ‘You see, I put the wrong screws in the wrong holes. I’d say it’s because I’m tired after work, but the truth is that I was just too stupid and stubborn to realise it.’

My mouth fell agape at his playful insult, but before I could reply, Jason chuckled and said, ‘Sounds like you,’ to which William responded with an underwhelmed expression.

Speaking over each other, I said to Jason, ‘I love you,’ just as William replied, ‘No, you halfwit.’

In perfect synchrony, we turned toward each other, but I was the first to speak. ‘I win.’

A chuckle slipped out of him and he shook his head. ‘Fake it till you make it, I suppose.’

‘Glad you seem to get on,’ Jason said, grinning, and crossed his arms.

William returned his focus to my wardrobe. ‘You’re late.’

‘Yeah, I know. Chaos at the hospital today. Fridays, you know. I’ve been keeping track of the match on my phone, though. Doesn’t look like I’ve missed out on much.’

‘You haven’t,’ William said. ‘Anyway, have you had dinner?’

‘No, I’m starving.’

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