Chapter Five #2
“What, you didn’t like the show?” Roque teased. “I would’ve thought you’re used to watching people in various stages of undress by now.”
“I am, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I dislike breaching people’s privacy, even though it’s necessary.”
And that was one of the reasons Roque liked Dimri so much.
He took his job seriously, but he understood that parts of it weren’t great.
He was willing to compromise because it meant keeping Berith safe, but he didn’t use his position to get more power over people. He was the right demon for the job.
Since Roque knew that he wouldn’t be changing Dimri’s mind, he slipped into bed after visiting the bathroom. Dimri had settled on a chair he’d dragged by the window, and he didn’t look back at Roque. He stared out the window, his attention firmly on Abath and whatever he was doing.
*
ROQUE WAS SURPRISED but relieved at how easily he fell asleep.
He should have known it was too good to be true, but it still annoyed him when he was woken up by the sound of someone whimpering several hours later.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.
The room was dark, and while there was some moonlight coming in through the windows, it wasn’t enough to fully illuminate the place.
It was enough to show him that Dimri had fallen asleep, though.
He was still sitting on his chair by the window, leaning against the wall. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly parted, and as Roque watched, he whimpered again.
It sounded like Dimri was in pain or maybe scared.
Roque was curious, but he didn’t dare wake up the spymaster.
There was no way to know how he’d react to being startled out of his dreams, especially in a place he wasn’t familiar with.
Roque wasn’t willing to sacrifice himself, which only left one thing for him to do.
He got out of bed and crept closer to the window.
He was careful when he grabbed the second chair from the tiny dining area and placed it on the other side of the window, facing Dimri.
He might not feel like he should wake him up, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t get to work.
Dimri would have his ass if he didn’t, and not in a nice way.
So Roque would do what he did best. He would stand guard and wait for something to happen.
* * * *
DIMRI WAS STARTLED awake. For a second, he was disoriented and didn’t recognize the room he was in. It wasn’t the first time something like that happened, though, so he breathed in and out, giving himself time.
That went right out the window when he saw Roque sitting in front of him. Why was he awake? Dimri hadn’t woken him up like they’d agreed he would. He’d thought he could do this on his own the way he had several times before.
Clearly, he’d been wrong.
“You should go to bed,” Roque murmured.
Dimri cleared his throat. He’d been dreaming of Jessamyn’s attack. He was used to blood and violence, but the fight with Lucifer’s sister had been atrocious. He still saw the dead sometimes, especially in his sleep.
He wasn’t sure why he’d fallen asleep. Normally, he wouldn’t have. He never felt safe enough while he was working outside the palace on his own. He always waited for daylight to take naps, and he would’ve done the same in this situation, too. He could sleep when Abath went to work.
But Roque made him feel safe. Dimri wasn’t sure he’d ever felt that way while working outside the palace.
Roque was Berith’s bodyguard, and he’d promised Berith that he would keep Dimri safe.
It wasn’t something Dimri was used to, and he hadn’t realized it was something he might need.
He didn’t want to rely on anyone else, especially when it came to his work, but he supposed that if he had to, Roque would be the best person to feel that way with.
He was a good fighter, and Dimri trusted him. He couldn’t say that about many people.
“Or you could go back to bed,” he offered.
Roque shook his head. “I’m fine. I had enough sleep.”
“Why did you wake up?”
Roque hesitated and finally turned to look at Dimri. “I think you had a bad dream.”
Dimri sucked in a breath and waited for Roque to ask him what he’d been dreaming about. If he’d woken up Roque, it meant he’d been making noise. Gosh, this was so embarrassing. Dimri wanted Roque to think of him as strong and capable, but here he was, freaking out over a dream.
“I did,” he confirmed.
Roque nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
That was it. He didn’t add anything or ask questions. He just turned back to the window and squinted in a way that shouldn’t be endearing or make Dimri want to grab his face and kiss him.
Well, shit. Dimri hadn’t expected his collaboration with Roque to end up with possibly developing feelings for the bodyguard.
Being stuck in this room together wasn’t going to help with that, but they couldn’t afford to start anything, not right now.
Their focus should be on stopping the war and Ramiel.
They couldn’t do that if they couldn’t stop thinking about each other.
There wasn’t much to do to prevent that, unfortunately. Even though Dimri was planning on keeping his developing feelings a secret from Roque, it wasn’t like he could stop himself from thinking about the demon. He’d do that whether he liked it or not.
As infuriating as Roque was, he was also easy to like.
He was protective and sweet, especially with Berith’s daughter.
He cared about people. He was fierce about his job, and Dimri knew he’d sacrifice himself without hesitation if it meant protecting someone.
The fact that he was handsome didn’t help, either. How was Dimri supposed to resist?
He was going to find a way to do that. They couldn’t afford to be distracted right now.
He cleared his throat. “Has anything happened?”
“No. The lights are off, and I haven’t seen any movement. I think it’s safe to say that he’s asleep and won’t be leaving the house until tomorrow morning.”
Dimri nodded. It was tempting to get out of this chair and slide into bed, but instead, he leaned against the wall again and turned his attention to the house. It was better than keeping it on Roque, even though that was what he wanted to do.
The way Roque made Dimri feel was dangerous. He felt safe enough to fall asleep on the job. That had never happened before.
Dimri was in trouble, wasn’t he?