He still hadn’t figured out what to do about their situation. How he would fix things with her.
As he laid there with Nef and the other woman, Vesper squeezed his eyes shut and wished he were somewhere else. Wishedhewas someone else. Wished he could insert himself into another life, even just for a day.
“Get back here!”
The urgency in Callias’s voice startled Vesper. He hadn’t heard Cal return from his ride. Usually, from his window, he could hear the stable doors bang closed, but maybe he’d been too distracted.
A knock on his door followed: three thin raps, likely small knuckles.
Not Cal then.
Panic spilled through his gut like ice water. Briar couldn’t be back already, could she?
“Go away,” Vesper hollered at the closed door. He eyed his old drawing tacked to the wood with a knife. The deer bathing its young in the stream seemed to stare back at him with condescension. “I’m busy.”
Another knock rattled the door. With a disgruntled sigh, he rose from the bed and stepped into his shorts.
Emmery burst into the room. Her cheeks turned a regretful crimson as she saw … welleverything, including his semi-hard cock and a spectacular view of his ass.
Fucking Hollow.
She shielded her eyes while he tugged his shorts up with one hand and threw his quilt over Nef and her friend with the other,though they didn’t seem the least bit concerned about their exposed bodies.
As he yanked his legs through his trousers, he hissed, “I said I wasbusy.”
“Clearly,” she grumbled from behind her hand. “Oh. My. Gods.”
She shifted her weight between her feet, like she attempted to shake the images from her mind. It was lucky she hadn’t shown up ten minutes prior, or shereallywould’ve been scarred.
He fastened the button on his pants, strode to the door, shoved her out, and snicked it closed behind him. “Emmery, uhm, why are you here?”
“I’m here for my book,” she snarled. “The one youkeptfrom me.”
A pang of guilt hit him full force. He’d forgotten about her book.
She glowered at him but didn’t flinch from his naked chest. How someone so small could glare with such ferocity was beyond him. Between her flushed cheeks and fists ready to strike, she should have looked insane, yet she resembled a goddess, like Kahlia herself stood before him. She made his breath catch.
Her silver hair flowed loosely down her back instead of woven into her usual braid. She wore snug black trousers tucked into knee-high boots and a tunic a touch too long in her favourite shade of green. Her golden eyes fixed on him, and he withered beneath her stare, though he’d never admit as much. Strangely, her vestige was muted, barely there. Only a gold dusting like—
Vesper eyed the multicoloured markings on each of her hands and fury blazed his veins. “That fucking bastard has you bound?”
Before he could reach for her hand, she dug her pointer finger into his abdomen and barked, “Don’tchange the subject.”
His chest tightened. This was his fault. Gods, what else had Destonne done to her? Rage rippled inside him as he grasped her shoulders and scanned for injuries. “Is he hurting you?”
“What?” She struggled out of his hold and stepped back from him. “No, he’s not hurting me. And why do you care anyway?”
He gritted his teeth against her sharp words. “Of course I care.”
She huffed a humourless laugh then crossed her arms over her chest, creating division between them. That’s when he noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes. Had she been sleeping? Likely not. Which, in hindsight, made sense because neither had he.
“You look tired.” The words tumbled from his mouth, and he wished he could inhale them back in.
She tapped her foot and looked anywhere but at him. Her lips pulled to the side as she chewed her cheek and that familiar crease formed between her brows. What was she thinking? Or maybe he didn’t want to know. He could only imagine the heinous things she thought about him. Maybe she contemplated the best way to rip through those restraints and scorch his ass.
“It’s rude to tell someone they look tired.” She stared at the closed door. “Can you get my book? I don’t want to go back in there.”
“Uhm, yes.” He opened the door a sliver and held up a finger. “Just a second.”