Page 53 of When The Night Falls

Maybe William had told him after all.

‘I heard you met my brother,’ he said and slowly took off his shoes.

Had William told him that?

To hide from his gaze – and potential wrath – I faced the wall as I untied my coat.

‘I did. Impressive man.’

A short laugh escaped him. ‘Really? You’d call him impressive? Perhaps I should have warned you, but he can be a bit of a dick sometimes. You get used to it, though, and if anyone can hold their own, it’s you.’

‘Good to know.’

‘Anyway, I wasn’t aware you’d been hired for the job as his legal assistant. Dad told me just today.’

So it was John he had spoken to. I found relief in that.

‘Neither was I. Safe to say I was surprised.’

‘Well, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know him before you start. We tend to hang out at the weekends to watch football together. He was actually meant to come over last Friday, but I had to cancel because I was asked to take a shift at the hospital.’

Since I could only imagine the shock that situation would have made for, I counted my blessings. Jason would certainly have learned the truth had it turned out that way, so I thanked the heavens for small mercies, because thus far, he seemed unaware.

‘Right. Looking forward to it.’

‘I actually think you’ll get on really well.’ Far better than he knew. ‘You’re sort of similar in a lot of ways.’

‘Yes, I got the same impression when I met him.’ After hanging up my coat, I grabbed my bag and headed for my bedroom. ‘Anyway, I’m knackered, so I think I’ll go to bed.’

‘Mind if I have a shower first?’

‘Go ahead,’ I said and shut the door between us. I walked straight to my bed and collapsed on top of it. What a day. It was tempting to never leave my room again. At least here, I was safe.

Or was I? With Jason as my best friend, would I ever truly be rid of William?

9 | skin of the night

By Friday, I was no longer anxious about William’s inevitable presence in my life. The process of coming to terms with it had been aided by the fact that I hadn’t heard a word from him since Monday, and Jason hadn’t shown any signs of being aware of our one-night stand either. Clearly, William had kept his word so far. Besides, considering how busy Jason currently was with work at the hospital, I doubted I would be seeing his brother much. Jason barely had time to catch his breath between shifts. The A&E department was clearly no joke. I had never seen him this exhausted.

‘Shit,’ I muttered when I eyed the time. Lifting my head from Aaron’s bare chest, I sat up in his bed and put my phone aside. ‘It’s half six already. I should go.’

‘You might as well sleep over.’

I brushed my hand across his torso, caressing his soft brown skin. ‘No, I didn’t bring my things.’ I climbed out of his bed and picked up my clothes from the floor. ‘Besides, I’ve got to assemble my new wardrobe and desk. I’m in dire need of a quiet place to revise, and I can’t be bothered to head for the library every time, especially with our first exam coming up next Friday. I’d save so much time reading at home.’

‘Course you can’t,’ he said amusedly.

Turning, I caught him admiring my state of undress.

‘What do you mean by that?’ I asked and pulled my blouse over my head.

He met my eyes as a smile climbed to his kiss-swollen mouth. ‘That you’ve always been a devout subscriber to efficiency. I’m sure you’d buy a new microwave if it meant you could save ten seconds heating your meals.’

A laugh snuck out of me. ‘Well, who would want to lie on their deathbed knowing they’d wasted hours that could have been minutes waiting for their meals to cook?’

‘People who don’t permanently live in the future.’

‘I can live in the moment.’

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