Page 21 of Devilish

I shook my head, heat blooming on my cheeks at how naïve I must seem to him. But I didn’t want him to think he’d done anything wrong. After all, he wasn’t the problem here—I was. He’d taken me in, fed me, given me somewhere to sleep. He’d been nothing but kind.

How could I possibly repay him?

Hell, I couldn’t even have an engaging conversation with the man because I had literally nothing to contribute.

“No. I’m just tired, that’s all.”

Lucien’s features softened as he reluctantly let go of my hand. “Are you sure? That doesn’t seem like that’s all.”

I pushed to my feet and stared down into eyes dark with concern. “I don’t know, it’s just I don’t have any stories of treks along the Great Wall.”

“So what? I don’t want stories about that. I’ve already done it. I want to know about you. Your life. The places you’ve seen.”

I shrugged, doing my best to brush off just how desperately I wanted to believe him. How much I craved someone to care about me.

“It’s not half as exciting as your life.” Lucien frowned, and I gestured toward the food. “Would you like some help putting this away?”

“No, I’ve got it. I’m sure you’re still a little tired after everything that’s happened.”

“Right.” I nodded and headed to my room, and once again took in the piles of clothes inside.

Pick one outfit, pick ten. Keep them all—doesn’t matter to me.

I stepped inside and turned to see Lucien was still seated on the floor of his living room, not chasing after me. He was giving me space, something I suspected was more difficult than hewas letting on. But also something I appreciated more than the clothes covering the bed inside.

“Lucien?”

He glanced over his shoulder, and I offered up the best smile I could muster.

“My favorite place I’ve ever been is your library. Sleep well.”

I barely caught his smile as I closed the door and locked it, but it was enough to help me drift off not long after—and have the best night’s sleep I’d had in years.

9

LUCIEN

CLICK.

CLICK.

CLICK.

It went on like that for the next few nights. Dinner, quiet conversation, some reading, then Kai would disappear into his room and I’d hear the click of the lock.

I could understand why he felt the need to make sure he was safe. From the little I’d gleaned about him—and it was mostly just inference on my part—Kai was in survival mode. I just didn’t know how long that had been the case. All I could do, all Iwantedto do, was give him the time he needed to begin to heal.

As it was, I was enjoying having him around. It’d been a long time since I’d had someone in my personal space. My last dom/sub relationship had existed solely at the club, a situation that had worked out for the both of us, until it had run its course. But I had to admit, having Kai around had brought my dominant nature roaring back to the surface. The need to take care of and provide for someone was so intrinsically ingrained in my psyche that when I saw that beautiful boy in need, I hadn’t thought twice about providing him somewhere to stay.

Hell, I’d even rearranged my schedule to have Malcolm cover the evenings I usually spent at The Veil, not wanting to leave Kai alone.

We’d fallen into a routine of sorts, with Kai attempting to help wash up after dinner and my refusing and suggesting he do something more enjoyable. Curling up on the couch with a newer reproduction ofThe Canterbury Taleswas his go-to, since he refused to put his hands on the first edition again. Explaining that books were meant to be read and appreciated did nothing to dissuade him, so I’d ordered the newer copy so he could continue his enjoyment of the tales.

With my work hours temporarily flipped, I found myself joining him every night and indulging in a classic of my own from my library. The silence between us during that time was comfortable, Kai on one end of the couch, me on the other.

But every now and then I’d feel his eyes on me. He watched when he thought I wasn’t looking, and shyly glanced away when I did.

It was there, a spark, asomething, but it would have to simmer for now. Kai was the one in control here, whether he ever wanted to make it more between us or not.

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