Chapter 9 - Cillian
Over the next couple of weeks, Amber began to relax around Cillian. He noticed that her shoulders didn’t remain perpetually taut whenever they were in the same room. She still regarded him with caution, but she had softened toward him.
There hadn’t been any word about Eric, though Camden and the others were now helping Cillian hunt.
There had been some murmuring about some of the other members of the Night Pack, but nothing that they could use to help go after them, not yet.
At the moment, things felt as though they lingered in a holding pattern.
It chafed at Cillian. He had never been the type of person to enjoy waiting for more than a few minutes. But at the moment, there was nothing else to do.
He found Amber lounging in the nook in her study, laying against the pillow, book resting against her knees. She stared down at the page, clearly entranced. She flipped a page, not glancing up. When he cleared his throat, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
“You scared me,” she said breathlessly.
“Sorry,” he said, laughing slightly. The chuckle died when she continued glaring at him, and he coughed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Her features softened, and she nodded. “It’s all right,” she said. “Just… maybe be more careful next time. I don’t do great with people startling me like that.”
Comprehension dawned, and he could have kicked himself for being such an absolute idiot.
He thought about everything he knew about her history, especially when it came to men.
Of course, she would be jumpy after everything she had gone through, both with Eric and during her time with the Ironbrand pack.
“Sorry,” he said again.
She sighed and gave him a tight-lipped smile. “It’s all right,” she said. “These things happen.”
An uncomfortable silence fell between them.
It wasn’t the first time it had happened, though their occurrences were growing more infrequent and their duration shorter as they got to know one another.
He wanted to ask what about him had made her so jumpy.
He doubted it was just to do with him surprising her.
He caught sight of the dirt staining her fingers and buried beneath her nails. His lip twitched upward. “Did you come straight here from the nursery?”
Red spread across her face. “Yeah,” she said. “I left the book on a cliffhanger this morning, and I wanted to get back to it as quickly as possible.” Her eyes flicked down to her fingers, and she stiffened as she took in their state. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize.”
He shrugged. “Not sure why that would bother me,” he said dismissively.
A brief flicker of surprise flashed across her face, then was gone. “I just assumed you would be unhappy with me tracking dirt in here.”
“Why? It’s your room.”
She blinked, her brow furrowing deeper. “And you’re not upset that I’m reading instead of doing something more productive?”
There was a strange tone to her words, as if she were waiting for an outburst or some other scolding.
He shrugged. “I mean, I like to relax after work, too. If I’m not doing chores right after work, then I don’t see why I should expect the same out of you.
And even if I did do chores after work, I wouldn’t pester you about yours.
You’re a smart, capable woman. You’re more than able to take care of anything you need to take care of on your own time. I trust you.”
“Oh.” Her voice was quiet, but he could sense the confusion and discomfort in that single syllable. She studied him for a long moment, then glanced away almost self-consciously.
“How was work?” he asked, trying to push the conversation in a different direction, hoping it would put her more at ease.
She shrugged. “Nothing interesting today. Mostly dealt with some wilting gardenias, but beyond that, it’s smooth sailing over there. Now that spring’s turned fully into summer, the early gardening rush is over, which is nice. It’s a bit quieter now.”
“Most of my experience with plants comes from movies,” Cillian said. “And by movies, I mean horror movies where plants eat humans and slowly take over the world.”
Amber laughed. The sound made him grin. She had a pretty laugh. Musical and light, but warm at the same time. Her eyes crinkled at the edges.
“I mean, there are some plants that probably would do exactly that if they had the chance,” she mused. “I can think of a couple at least.”
This time, it was Cillian’s turn to laugh. Amber’s own grin widened, even more of the tension that always seemed to surround her dissipating. Maybe it was that ease that made her ask her next question.
“Is there anything going on this Friday?” she asked.
He tilted his head, brow furrowing. “Not that I can think of. Why?”
“I was thinking of going out with a few friends at the end of the week,” she said. “It’s been a really long time since I’ve gotten the chance to talk with Nikki, and I’ve really missed spending time with her.”
Cillian frowned. “Why can’t she just come here and spend time with you? Or you could go over to hers and Jasper’s house, if you want to go somewhere else.”
“That’s not the same,” Amber argued. “I can’t remember the last time I got to go out to a bar with my friends and just chat and gossip.”
“You can do that here, though.”
Her demeanor shifted. Where she had been relaxed before, now she went on alert. She stared at him with something close to unease, her lips turning into a thin, cautious line.
“Sure,” she conceded, snapping the book shut. “But it’s still not the same. And to be honest, I’ve been cooped up in this place for so long that I need to get out.”
“You’re not cooped up. You go to work nearly every day.”
“Go to work, come back, go to work, come back. That’s all.”
Now she was getting angry. She had straightened and was facing him.
The book rested on her lap, fingers curled tight around the spine.
Her eyes began to burn, and it was everything Cillian could do not to recoil.
Once again, for the briefest of moments, he had to admire that strength that sometimes shone through.
“Nothing else,” she said. “I’m starting to go insane here. You can’t seriously think that holding me here like this is healthy.”
“I’m not holding you here,” he protested.
She raised an eyebrow. “What would you call it, then? You’re stopping me from seeing my friends. I didn’t think you were the type of person to do that.”
There was a bite to the words, as if there was some deeper meaning beyond them, but at the moment, he didn’t care.
“If you want your friends to come here, I think that’s great,” he said. “But I don’t think going out right now is a good idea. We’re still trying to figure out what’s going on with the Night Pack, and until I know for certain that Eric isn’t coming after you again, I think you need to stay home.”
“That’s a flimsy excuse,” she scoffed.
“It’s not flimsy at all. I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he repeated, his voice sterner this time. “It’s dangerous.”
“How is going to a bar dangerous?”
“We don’t know where Eric is right now,” he said.
“But I’ve heard that some of his colleagues, ones who were part of the Night Pack I was telling you about, might be in the area.
It isn’t too much of a stretch to think that Eric might be nearby, too.
If he sees you or catches your scent, I don’t want him hunting you. ”
“Wasn’t that the whole point of marrying me?” she asked icily. “To stop him from hunting me?”
“It was a precaution. It doesn’t mean he won’t try.”
“Cillian, you’re being ridiculous,” she said. “I appreciate the concern, but you need to see reason here. You can’t keep me locked in here forever.”
Her voice cracked a little. Guilt rippled through his stomach, but he wasn’t going to back down. Not on this.
“Listen,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
“It’ll be two, three hours max,” she said. “I spend more time out at the nursery.”
Cillian marched over until he loomed over her. She shrank back in her seat, her back pressing against the cushions. The sun streaked across her hair, making it gleam almost gold.
“It’s not an option,” he snarled.
Amber didn’t recoil, but he didn’t miss the flicker of unease in her eyes.
“I’m not going to let you go.”
She stared up at him, her eyes blazing. Cillian expected her to argue, to fight back.
He could still see that anger radiating off her, and he wouldn’t have blamed her for it, even if he knew he was in the right.
He waited for her to retort, for her to get angry and stand up for herself.
They kept glaring at one another, neither backing down.
Time stood still as their gazes remained locked.
Then her shoulders slumped, and she glanced away.
The spell broke. The fight he had seen spark behind her eyes was nowhere to be found, so absent that he wondered if he had imagined it in the first place.
She pinched the bridge of her nose for the briefest of moments before her hand flopped down to her side. She sighed.
“All right,” she muttered.
Cillian blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift. “You’re not going to argue anymore?”
She shrugged. “It isn’t going to change your mind,” she pointed out. “Why waste my breath?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. How the hell was he supposed to respond to that?
Something about that lack of fight unsettled him, as if he had done something wrong, even though he was only trying to keep her safe.
He frowned, bobbing back and forth on the balls of his feet as he tried to figure out something to say.
A kernel of guilt formed in his stomach like a tiny pebble, and he couldn’t figure out where it had come from.
Before he could figure out what to say next, something that might smooth over the situation, Amber stood. She looked smaller than she had earlier, more fragile. And, to his alarm, she looked defeated.
“I’m going to my room,” she muttered, brushing past him.