Chapter 16
16
“Do you really need to stay here while I shower?”
Sebastian leaned against the wall near the bathroom, looking bored. “Are you not worried for your life anymore?” He tilted his head. “You do forget quickly.”
“It’s daylight. The vampires aren’t coming for me.”
One corner of his mouth curled. “And what about the angelics?”
I crossed my arms, mirroring his stance. “Yeah, what about them?” I gave him a pointed look.
He lifted one hand, examining his nail beds.
“Fine,” I huffed.
At least I was getting a shower. The bath last night had been nice, but I needed proper hair products and a blowdryer.
Wherever Sebastian wanted to take me, we weren’t going until nightfall. Which was a whole other worry. Maybe he was just handing me over to the vampires .
I looked at Ringo perched on the arm of the sofa. “Keep an eye on him.”
Instead of cowering, Ringo sat up a little straighter and gave me a tiny, curt nod.
I couldn’t help my grin as I went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. But as soon as I was in, I realized I had forgotten to grab clean clothing, and I sure wasn’t going back out there now. I peeled off my stained camisole and black jeans, leaving them in a heap on the bathroom floor, then started the water.
Once it was hot, I stepped in, letting the stream soothe my tired and sore muscles. I wasn’t in bad shape, but I had been doing a lot of running around. Not to mention being manhandled by Gabriel.
And by Mistral, but in a much more appealing way.
Thinking of the high goblin in spite of myself, I stayed in the shower until my skin started pruning. I wasn’t sure exactly when I would see him again, but I was sure it would be soon. Hopefully after tonight, I would have better questions to ask him. And I wasn’t above using my womanly wiles to actually get him to answer.
I reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wringing the excess moisture from my hair. I looked down at my dirty clothing and quickly dismissed it as an option, even just to get me to my bedroom. Instead, I wrapped a fluffy white towel around me. Glancing at all of my bare skin in the dripping mirror, I took Braxton’s towel too, wrapping it around my shoulders.
I started the blow dryer, stealing some of Braxton’s pomade to help with the frizz. Once my hair was gleaming in a dark curtain around my shoulders, I called it good, not wanting to waste any more time. I didn’t like the idea of leaving Sebastian alone in my apartment for too long. Hopefully he was just sitting on the couch and not pawing through my underwear drawer.
I stepped out to find not just Sebastian, but Braxton seated on the sofa. I hadn’t heard him come in. He gave me a wave, his eyes full of questions—questions he didn’t ask since Sebastian was sitting right next to him.
Later , I mouthed, then headed for my bedroom. I had my hand on the knob when I realized Sebastian was standing directly behind me, close enough for me to inhale his scent and catch a brush of his dark magic. Even though I had bundled up in multiple towels, the fact that I was damp and naked underneath made his closeness feel somehow intimate.
I gave him a wary look. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to protect you. Wouldn’t do to have you snatched out your bedroom window.”
“I think I’ll be fine.”
I sensed a hint of his compulsion wrapping around my hand, making it turn the knob to my room.
I shifted slightly, breaking his hold. “You’re a pushy bastard, you know that?” I finished opening the door on my own and went inside.
“And you are a liability. I won’t have you spirited away before our bargain is fulfilled.” He followed me into my bedroom.
Shaking my head, I went to my closet to find something to wear, and he was once again suddenly standing behind me. I glanced across the room to see that he had closed the bedroom door.
I looked at him over my shoulder. “Once again, I must ask, can I help you ?”
He gave me that infuriating smile. “You’ll want to wear something nicer than your usual attire.”
“I don’t have anything nicer.” It was mostly true. I rarely needed to dress up. I had a few silky numbers that Dawn had made me buy for meetings with high profile clients, but there was no way I was touching any of those. Sebastian might get the wrong idea.
He looked over my shoulder into the closet as I went through the hanging clothes. It didn’t take him long to reach over me and snatch one of the silky dresses. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was emerald green, thin straps with a cowl neck, and way too short for anything practical. “This will do.”
I held the towel around my shoulders a little tighter. “I don’t think so.”
“I thought once I agreed to triple your fee, you would stop arguing with me. ”
“That was just for the last job. For this one you’re paying me double the last one.”
He extended the dress toward me. “Would you like to find out why those angelics tried to kill you, or not?”
I lifted a brow and stood up a little straighter. “Will I be finding that out tonight?”
He held out the dress in front of me, giving it a little shake. “It’s a possibility.”
“You are the most irritating person I’ve ever met.” I snatched the dress. “Now get out so I can change.”
With a smirk, he walked toward the bedroom door, but instead of going out, he just turned his back toward me.
“I said out .”
He didn’t turn around. “Do you not remember that bad people are after you?”
Frickin’ devils, man. I grabbed some undergarments from my dresser, then shoved myself into my closet. It was a tight fit in the little cube, but I made it work. At least the dress didn’t have a whole lot of fabric to slip over my head. I honestly couldn’t tell if Sebastian was messing with me, or if he was actually worried that his employee would be snatched out from under him. I had previously thought devils didn’t really have to worry about anything, but maybe I was wrong.
He turned as I stepped out of the closet, looking me up and down. His dark eyes lingered a little too long on my bare legs. “Please tell me you have shoes other than the muddy boots by the door. ”
I lowered my chin and gave him a scathing look. “I have shoes other than the muddy boots by the door.”
I went back into the closet, settling on black ankle boots with three inch heels. They would look good with the dress, but I could still run in them. With how things had been going, I was sure I would be doing at least a little bit of running.
Fully ready, I stepped out of the closet and held out my arms. “What now?”
He smiled. “Now we go to the Circus.”
I threw my head back and groaned, “Great, now Braxton is going to want more cotton candy.”
“I most certainly do!” the werewolf in question called out from our living room.
Sebastian extended his arm, gesturing for me to walk out of my bedroom. It seemed it was time to go. Back to the Circus, where it had all begun.