Page 45 of Guarding the Singer

He shrugged.

It was the truth.

“Good night, Gunny.” Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

"'Night, Cypher."

He walked up the stairs to the top floor of the brownstone, making sure that he was taking stock of surfaces, distances, and potential dangers as he went.

He knew that Badger would bring some clothes for him when he came back. He'd leave the clothes just inside the door to the main level of the house. He could go downstairs and get it later, but he wanted to check in on Selene.

He wanted to make sure that she was safe.

That she was resting.

The stairs barely creaked as he moved. He was light enough on his feet, but a house this old was likely to have some creaks and groans. He'd have to go through and find them, so he'd know.

The second landing he reached was the level with her bedroom.

She'd left the door open, and he was determined not to read anything into it.

She knew that he'd come up eventually.

And while they hadn't talked about where he'd actually sleep, he knew that he'd find a place to put his head down for the night.

Like the space just behind her door.

That was a great place to sleep.

If someone came at her through the bedroom door, he'd literally be in her way.

William stepped inside and stood there for a few moments as he let the light of the moon show the layout of the room.

The moon was half full, giving him plenty of light to see by. He moved around to the windows at the back end of the brownstone.

He could see the surrounding homes both on the sides of the yard and the ones on the other street behind them.

It was a quiet night in the neighborhood.

He was glad to see it. Cypher had already run the neighbors through her microscope. He wasn't worried about any of them being a danger to her.

There weren't any noise complaints for the area. Most of the people seemed to be friendly but not nosy. All in all, a good neighborhood.

Turning his back to the window he looked over at the bed and smiled.

It was a King-sized bed.

In the military he'd been happy to put a pillow under his head and fall into a dead sleep. When he'd gotten his own quarters, he'd kept to a smaller bed. Having something really comfortable under him might just make him lazy. Or at least that's what he thought.

Knowing Selene as much as he did, he knew that she'd save him space so he could sleep.

She trusted him.

That much he knew.

If she didn't, she would have told him to find another place to sleep.

She was generous, but she would draw a line between them if she didn't feel comfortable with him.

---