Chapter 11. Blaise #2
“It’s just full of old furniture and bits and bobs left behind by the families before me,” Caitlyn said.
“Creep won’t let me down there anymore, though.
I once hauled up this incredible old gothic dresser to upcycle, and the moment she saw the paint color I’d chosen, she magicked it straight back down.
I woke up the next morning to find she’d painted me duck-egg blue in my sleep. ”
A light chuckle escaped me, and Caitlyn grinned in response.
“Laugh all you want,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what she has planned for you when you annoy her.” Her tone was bright and amused, like this outcome was inevitable.
The remainder of the downstairs consisted of the living room, a snug that was essentially the living room again but half the size, a cavernous dining room, and a room entirely devoid of anything—save for a suspicious dark brown stain in the center of the floor.
Caitlyn rounded the stairway, one delicate hand trailing along the carved, sweeping balustrade. Dust glittered with every step she took, catching the candlelight and lending her an almost ethereal glow, despite the overalls, as she climbed.
The landing above was dressed in the same grimy gothic style as the rest of the house—taxidermy animals, half-dead plants, and dirt-obscured paintings lining the walls. Eight doors in total dotted the cavernous space.
“This one’s the bathroom,” Caitlyn said, opening the door to a dark room lined from floor to ceiling in forest-green subway tiles.
They contrasted beautifully with the black-and-white mosaic tiles underfoot.
The clawfoot bath, toilet, and sink all suited the Victorian style, complete with high cisterns and decorative—if heavily limescaled—fittings.
Before I could properly take it all in, Caitlyn was already moving on.
“And this is the attic,” she said, not even reaching for the handle. “It’s where Creep lives. She keeps it sealed shut.” She shrugged. “She’s never let me up there, so Gods only know what she’s stashed away. My guess? It’s where she hides the bodies.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
From what little I knew about Creep, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“The rest of the rooms are bedrooms,” Caitlyn continued. She hesitated, chewing her lip. “Which brings me to the, um... other thing we need to discuss.”
Where you’re going to sleep, my mind helpfully supplied.
Caitlyn chewed her bottom lip, clearly trying to work out how to broach the subject.
After a painfully long moment, she finally said, “I, um... well, I guess it’s up to you.
I know neither of us were expecting”—she gestured vaguely between us—“this. But we can’t really turn back time.
” She let out a nervous giggle, and Gods above, it was adorable.
“I’m happy to move at whatever pace you want.
So, if you’d rather use one of the spare bedrooms, that’s fine.
.. or if you want to bunk with me, that’s fine too. ”
Her babbling tugged a grin from me. “You want to sleep top to toe, Caitlyn?”
“Whatever position you’re comfortable with,” she replied earnestly.
I stepped closer, bracing one arm against the wall above her head. Her breath hitched, her eyes widening as her bottom lip caught between her teeth, like she was fighting the instinct to rise onto her toes and close the gap between us.
“I’m comfortable with all positions,” I said softly.
Even with my abilities dampened, the scent of her desire curled toward me—honeysuckle on a warm summer’s day.
It slid straight under my skin, setting off a visceral chain reaction.
My body responded instantly, heat pooling low as instinct urged me closer, begging me to take what Fate had put in front of me and devour it.
Ambrose’s name crashed through my mind like a bucket of ice water thrown over my head.
And just as quickly as I’d stepped in, I pulled back, leaving the air between us thick, charged, and unbearably awkward.
I swallowed. “Sorry, Caitlyn. I know I’m not acting it, but I really do want to take things slow until I, um... process—”
“Yeah! No! I totally get it!” she said quickly, her voice going a little squeaky.
“But,” I added, heart thudding, “I really would like to sleep next to you, if that’s still okay?”
“Absolutely!” she said. “I—yeah. I’m looking forward to it.
” She gestured vaguely toward the bathroom.
“Anyway, it’s been a long day, and I need a cold shower—I mean, a regular shower.
Just a normal, non-cold shower. And an early night.
Because of all the traveling, y’know.” Her nervous giggle was impossibly adorable as she hurried toward the bathroom.
“So, y’know,” she added over her shoulder, “make yourself at home. Stay out of the greenhouse. And if you need anything, don’t ask Creep—it’s honestly quicker to just look for it yourself. ”
The bathroom door shut behind her.
A second later, even over the sound of the bath filling, I heard her let out a long, mortified groan.
***
I did not join Caitlyn in her ridiculously early bedtime.
While she was my fated mate, she’d also hired me for a job.
And while I was technically no longer working for her—I certainly wasn’t about to charge my mate for protection—I still intended to protect her, her intellectual property, and her house.
That left me with only Creep for company between perimeter walks.
She spent the first hour pitter-pattering about the place, making things creak and groan, and offering cheap, half-hearted attempts at jump scares. Eventually, she gave up and settled on the couch opposite me, watching with unnerving intensity and that eerie, fixed smile.
I’d spent the past hour trying to break her statuesque glare with an incessant barrage of questions. She hadn’t acknowledged a single one.
“So,” I said into the silence, “you can just materialize anywhere?”
No reaction.
“You don’t need foundations or anything? Like... if you materialized on a sand dune, would you just stay upright? Or would you sink?”
Nothing.
“Can you change the layout of the rooms at will? Or are you stuck like this forever? Because if you ever decided to go open-plan, that wall could just—” I snapped my fingers.
“—disappear. And what if Caitlyn and I had a troupe of children and needed more space?” I pressed on. “Could you just magic up an extension?
Still nothing.
“And how do new sentient houses come about, anyway? Do you find another house, compliment its shutters, and make little house babies? Do they start out as sheds and grow? Or do they just pop out fully furnished?”
I could’ve sworn her eye twitched.
Before I could continue my how-long-until-Creep-snaps-and-stabs-me experiment, she shot to her feet and darted out of the room. I glanced at the clock. Morning wasn’t far off, and while I might be a creature of the shadows, I still needed sleep.
Yawning, I rubbed my thighs before getting to my feet, ready for one final perimeter lap. I grabbed the bag I’d retrieved from my van on the last round and started upstairs.
When I reached Caitlyn’s room—our room, I reminded myself—I crept inside, set my bag down at the foot of the bed, and allowed myself a couple of minutes to watch her sleep.
The bed itself was a humongous four-poster, easily large enough to sleep at least three people.
Caitlyn, however, had somehow managed to claim it diagonally, stretching from one corner to the other with impressive efficiency.
More impressive were the sounds coming from her, which were akin to a chainsaw at full throttle.
Smiling, I wondered if it was just the traveling that had her snoring like that, or if this was a nightly occurrence.
As I headed back onto the landing to check the empty bedrooms, I slipped my phone from my pocket and opened the Witchmart app, searching for the only brand of magical earbuds I knew: Hushbuds.
The standard version promised to dampen spellwork and active magic—an essential, according to the description, for students trying to focus in shared spaces. They filtered out magical interference while still allowing ambient sound and conversation through.
Unfortunately, that last part ruled them out.
Caitlyn’s snoring—superhuman though it sounded—was not a result of magical enhancement.
I was just about to abandon the search when my eyes caught on the Hushbuds+.
I nearly laughed.
Not only did they offer all the protections of the standard version, but the plus model also canceled out snoring. Perfect, according to the description, for spellcraft students who valued their focus... and long-suffering partners of chronic snorers.
And perfect for an incubus who desperately needed sleep but was still overprotective enough to want to wake at the slightest bump in the night.
I placed the order immediately, opting for the Teleport to these coordinates option at checkout before continuing my rounds.
All was quiet downstairs. I found Creep perched on the kitchen windowsill, staring wistfully out into the night.
“Searching for a house hubby?” I asked.
Her head snapped toward me, menace somehow radiating from a face permanently fixed in porcelain cheer.
I raised my hands quickly. “Okay, okay—no more jokes. I promise. For tonight, anyway,” I added, grinning despite myself.
The cupboards began to rattle. Knives in the block quivered, metal whispering against wood. I took that as my cue to leave.
Last on my list was a quick check outside, which shouldn’t have taken long given we were standing in the middle of a barren field. I stepped onto the porch, the crisp morning air biting at my skin, carrying with it the unmistakable scent of ocean spray despite us being ten miles inland.
My skin prickled. Something felt off, but as I narrowed my eyes across the field, nothing looked amiss. I allowed my senses to unfurl.
Caitlyn’s honeysuckle scent drifted from upstairs, threaded with the soft chamomile of a peaceful sleep. Still safely snoring.