Aysel
The moment I hung up, I let out a long breath that seemed to carry the weight of the entire conversation with it.
Finally, some peace and silence.
Then the silence made a very offended noise.
“Mmph.”
My eyes widened as the sound registered.
“Oh goddess.”
I slapped my hand harder over Magnus’s mouth before he could make another sound as I shot a panicked look toward the phone still warm in my other hand.
Yep, I had cut the call.
He blinked at me innocently with those ridiculous black eyes.
We stared at each other, frozen in the weirdness of the situation he had put us in.
I removed my hand like he was in fire and looked away.
He took a dramatic gulp of air, “I was beginning to think suffocation was part of your conflict-resolution strategy.”
“It almost became one,” I said flatly.
“I noticed.”
“What are you even doing standing so close to me?” I demanded, stepping back and nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste to put distance between us.
“You told me to be quiet.”
“I didn’t tell you to breathe down my neck!” I could still feel the warmth of his presence, the impossible closeness that had made my skin prickle with awareness.
“You seemed stressed.” He shrugged, utterly unapologetic.
“I was offering emotional support.”
“You were eavesdropping.”
“I prefer the term accidentally overhearing.” The ghost of a smile played at his lips.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut against the headache forming behind them.
Somehow…
Somehow, in less than twenty-four hours, this ridiculously handsome, mentally unstable man had become the biggest problem in my life.
And considering my family existed…
That was saying something.
After his proposal he’d shamelessly insisted on coming with me to my cramped city apartment and now here we were.
He glanced around with an expression I couldn’t quite read, his gaze traveling over every corner and crack as if cataloging the space.
It wasn’t exactly glamorous.
There was a bedroom with a stuck door, one tiny bathroom where the sink dripped constantly no matter how many times I tightened the faucet.
A dining table that leaned slightly to the left because I’d fixed one broken leg with folded magazines, a solution I was oddly proud of despite its obvious patheticness.
“It’s…” Magnus looked around thoughtfully, his head tilting as he took in the room.
I folded my arms across my chest, my chin lifting in defiance.
Go on.
I dare you to say it.
“It’s cozy.”
Cozy?
I blinked, caught completely off guard.
“You mean tiny.”
“I mean cozy.” His voice held no mockery or pity.
He touched the edge of the crooked table, his fingers tracing the magazine stack beneath it.
“I’ve seen worse.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“No, you haven’t.”
“I have lived in the wilderness once.”
“You mean while camping?” I asked, my voice dripping with skepticism.
He looked at me with something I couldn’t quite decipher and shrugged, “I suppose you could call it that.”
That was a very weird answer.
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to read between the lines of his cryptic answers.
“You know what?
It’s none of my business.”
“It isn’t.”
“Excellent.
Since we’ve established that, it’s time for you to leave.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“I know but I’m not leaving because I’m moving in.”
I actually looked around my apartment to see if he’d somehow mistaken it for someone else’s.
“In case you haven’t noticed, this is not a hotel.”
“I know.”
I glared at Magnus, hoping he could read the violence there.
“You cannot just decide to live here.”
“I already have.
I wasn’t sure how long you’d take to fall in love with me.
And what better way for love to happen if not by living together?”
I stared at him.
He looked completely serious.
Mia.
Yes?
Do wolves eat other wolves?
Unfortunately, no.
I sighed dramatically, throwing my head back in exasperation.
“Look!” I pointed around the apartment.
“This place is old.”
“I noticed.”
“The pipes scream every morning.” I mimed the sound, my hands flying to my ears.
“I can fix them.”
“The heater barely works.” I gestured toward the old looking radiator.
“I’ll repair it.”
“The bills are expensive, there is light bills,water bills, electricity bills and….”
Magnus suddenly reached into his jacket, pulled out a thick stack of cash and dropped it on the table.
I think my brain actually stopped functioning.
“If you had this much money, why not just lodge into a hotel?
Why are you so hell bent on….”
“I also cook.” He said, cutting me off.
“What?” My mouth hung open.
“I cook.
Quite well, if I might add.
I would provide you with breakfast in bed.
The tastiest dinner….”
“Can you please stop talking?” I pressed my fingers to my temples.
He tilted his head at me
“You look overwhelmed.”
“I am overwhelmed.” My voice came out strangled.
“I can tell.”
I looked around desperately, searching for any argument that would make him see reason.
Think, Aysel.
“There!” I pointed triumphantly toward my bedroom, the door hanging slightly ajar.
“I only have one bed.”
“I don’t mind sharing.” His eyes lit up with wicked mischief.
“I do!” My voice loud with indignation.
He walked into my bedroom before I could stop him.
“This is comfortable.” He sat on the edge of my bed, bouncing slightly to test the springs.
“It is for one person!”
“I’m only one person.” He spread his hands innocently.
“You are six-foot-ssomething!”
“Six-four.” He corrected me with a smirk.
“Exactly!”
He turned, his eyes finding mine and then the shameless man actually lifted his shirt.
Just enough to reveal hard muscle that seemed to have been sculpted by some divine, cruel hand.
His skin was warm and golden, the muscles shifting as he moved.
“I don’t think sharing a bed with me would be much of a sacrifice.”
My brain went completely blank.
He had abs.
Very unfair sexy abs.
I looked away so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.
“Put your shirt down!”
“I thought it might strengthen my argument.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“It absolutely does not.”
It absolutely did.
Then Mia stirred inside me.
His smell calms us, you know.
What?
Remember that time we nearly went wild during that rogue attack, his smell calmed us.
Maybe there is some bond between us.
I didn’t want to dwell on that because the last bonds I had left me broken.
Magnus watched me carefully, “If it helps…”
“It won’t.”
“My mother died when I was young and my household now consists of a stepmother who dislike me and an uncle.”
“Oh.” The word came out inadequate.
“So technically…”
He spread his hands, and the gesture was somehow vulnerable rather than theatrical.
“I’m homeless.”
I stared at him, my heart doing something strange in my chest, then narrowed my eyes when a thought occured to mind.
“Wait.”
“Yes?” He looked at me.
“Isn’t that just Cinderella?”
“Who the heck is Cinderella?” He asked, looking so genuinely confused that I bursted into a laugh.
“You’re serious?” I managed between laughs.
“You’ve never heard of Cinderella?”
Magnus didn’t answer.
He just…
watched me and laughter slowly died in my throat.
I looked up, expecting to find him annoyed or offended.
Instead, he was staring at me with an intensity that made my smile falter.
My throat suddenly felt dry.
I cleared it awkwardly and looked away first.
“What?” I muttered.
“You laugh beautifully.”
Heat rushed to my face so quickly it was almost painful and the apartment suddenly felt much smaller.
“Fine, you can stay.
But you sleep on the couch.” I gestured toward the furniture.
He looked toward the tiny couch, “I don’t fit.”
“That’s sounds like a you problem.” I replied, walking back into the living room.
“Thank you, Aysel.”
There was something about the way he said it that made me stop in my tracks.
“This doesn’t mean I like you.”
“I know.”
Mia yawned.
Liar.
Unfortunately…
I had a feeling she wasn’t talking about him.