Page 86 of Us Dark Few

“Okay.”

“I can take you back to your cell, and you can sleep there tonight. I promise no one will bother you again,” he stated forebodingly.

“And the second option?” She held her breath.

Silence descended for a few moments.

“The second option is to stay here…just for the night to rest. I would give you the bed, and I can sleep on the floor,” he explained with a guarded expression.

She wrung her fingers together.

Takeshi’s words were like physical lines of energy, prickling up the sides of her arms, lighting her on fire from the inside out.

Khalani knew the answer shewantedto say.The words were on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be set free. But they swallowed tight inside her.

If they were both no longer themselves and anxiety was another meaningless thing, the truth would burst from her mouth like the first breath of air after drowning.

But they were a living contrast, marked and bound as enemies. And yet, at this moment, it felt like every chain constraining them receded in the background. As if they were in a bubble, separate from prison, displaced from Apollo.

For this one night, he was giving her a choice, the freedom to decide what she wanted, something long stolen from her.

She glanced up at his steely eyes, hoping to find a hidden solution, but he had the perfect poker face. The only indication of his inner thoughts was the breath he seemed to hold along with her.

She should go back to her cell.

It was the logical thing to do. They’d already crossed too many boundaries.

But despite his rough exterior, Takeshi came to her with compassion when she needed it the most. Around him, she didn’t feel like Number 317. She was a human being again, in every good and painful way.

When she was near Takeshi, that was when she felt mostalive.

Khalani readied herself. Logic could take a long walk off a short bridge.“I’ll stay with you tonight.”

“You sure?” Takeshi’s voice went a couple octaves lower.

She didn’t trust herself with words, so she just nodded.

“Alright. As I said, the bed is yours, and I’ll take the floor.” His brows furrowed. “I’m just going to change out of my uniform, okay?”

He waited until she nodded, and he started to untie his boots. She surveyed his every movement intensely. Barefoot, he walked over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of grey sweats and a T-shirt.

For some odd reason, it surprised her that he owned different clothing. And she realized how stupid that was. He wasn’t born wearing a uniform.

Takeshi reached behind his head to pull off his fitted garment.

Khalani’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She’d seen him without his shirt in training, but not this close, where every tendon was visible.

His back muscles shifted as he pulled a softer black t-shirt over his head. He turned, and she quickly drew her attention to the other wall as if it was the most riveting thing she’d ever seen in her life. The clanging of a belt being taken off echoed in her ears.

Don’t look.

Don’t look.

Don’t. You. Do. It.

She pinched her fingers together, trying to focus on something,anythingelse.

The disgusting food she’d have for lunch tomorrow. Yeah. That was a safe topic. The meal would definitely smell foul too. But you know what doesn’t smell bad? Takeshi’s white sheets. That she was currently sitting on. That he sleeps in every night.

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