but they flicker away the second I fully refocus on my surroundings.
Quick, gloved hands skilfully slice through his food using the fancy cutlery. I notice how he only eats the food on his plate, not even touching the ribs or the chicken wings. How odd. I don’t comment, though, I just eat as much as my stomach will allow. The way he eats is none of my business, although I can’t deny that it fascinates me as much as a grieving person can be fascinated.
“So, where am I sleeping?” I ask after washing my hands and face. There is only one bed and a large couch. I wonder why we didn’t get separate rooms but I figure money might be a bit tighter now that I’m living with him and he’s paying for my private healthcare. “I don’t mind taking the couch.”
He frowns and leads me over to the bed. “You sleep here. I’ll take the couch. I’m going to have a shower, so use this time to get ready.”
“In what? I have no clothes here.”
He hands me an empty plastic bag. “Put your clothes in here. I’ll send them to be washed and dried with my own.”
“Okay,” I say and take the bag from his hands. “What about for the night?”
“Here,” he says and I almost stumble backwards when he starts removing his jacket and shirt.
“I could just sleep in the gown…” He turns his back towards me, pulls his white vest over his head and passes it to me. I take it. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine,” he says and pads into the bathroom, still only half dressed. I should cover my eyes or look away but I can’t. He has a very nice back. Very nice. I find myself tracing the patterns and lines of his sculpted muscles and golden skin in my mind. I can’t help myself, regardless of the fact that it makes me hate myself. I’m human and I appreciate things that I find pleasant to look at. Nathan’s back just happens to be on that list.
During the time he showers, I call down to reception and ask them to bring up some bed sheets and a blanket. They do so in record time and I manage to set up his bed for the night before he exits the bathroom. I also manage to strip off and pull his vest on, which would probably reach to mid-thigh if I didn’t have a huge bump in the way.
I bag up my clothes and place them by the bathroom door before climbing into bed.
Nathan leaves the bathroom but I feign sleep to give him the privacy he deserves. Okay so I’m a liar. I peek through one eye and I’m shocked to see him in nothing but a towel, his golden skin damp and glistening in the dim light from the lamp by the couch. My eye quickly shuts again and I mentally scream, “OH MY GOD!”
I’ve never been this close to a naked man other than Caleb and it’s making my heart race. I try to steady my breathing but my constricting lungs are making it difficult.
I peek again and almost gasp when I realise he’s looking at me over his shoulder. He’s checking to see if I’m looking.
I’m not. Totally not.
His tongue peeks out and runs over his lower lip. I almost copy his action but fortunately refrain as he’s still looking at me. The muscles on his back tense as he pads over to the door, opens it and grabs something from outside after placing the bag of our discarded clothing in the hall. He walks back towards the couch, pulling a cotton, white robe on and tying it at the front. The towel drops to the floor. I can’t see anything because of the robe, but my heart lurches again at the thought of his nudity. My mouth goes dry, as do my lips. I wish I’d moistened them moments earlier when I had the chance.
To make my sleeping state more believable, I snuggle further into the bed and tighten my legs around the pillow between them, careful to keep my features lax. He seems to freeze and look over at me. I close my eyes completely as being a creeper is making me feel like a… well a creep.
I finally begin to doze not long after he turns the TV on low and pours himself a drink from the mini fridge. Of course he did all of this after putting