Shadow of Doubt - Hailey Edwards Page 0,56
frustrated tone convinced me he wasn’t going to rip out my throat if I took my eyes off him, and when I did, I goggled at the transformation my apartment had undergone since I left it in shambles.
“You fixed it.” I got to my feet and ran a hand along the walls, draped in the same material and colors. “Where did you find so many top sheets?”
“You’re not the only franchise in the city.”
“You bought from a competitor?” Clutching the material, I gasped out, “How dare you?”
A smile twisted the right side of his mouth, but he kept his eyes shut. “You were closed.”
I wandered through the space he had so carefully reconstructed without ever having been my guest.
The sewing machine, new with a user manual pinned underneath, almost brought tears to my eyes.
This was why he called Bishop. He was piecing my life back together after it had been shattered on his watch. Maybe that’s all it was, just professional courtesy. Or, like Ford said, part of the Faraday package. When I spotted the TV on the wall, the screen a few inches bigger, the fancy mount capable of hiding the DVD player I saw peeking out from behind it, I couldn’t stop my eyes from leaking. He even hid the cords in the walls, something I had been too cheap to do at the time I had the original installed and had regretted not doing ever since.
New futon, new dining room table, new dishes, new…everything.
“You got it all right.” Afraid of giving him too much credit, I had to ask. “How?”
“Bishop.”
Who knew his routine checks on my living space would serve a purpose down the line?
After I completed a dazzled circuit of the room, I found myself standing in front of Midas again, subject to the full weight of his stare.
I hadn’t owned much to start with, so he didn’t have to source but a few things to set my apartment back to rights. Even for him, the biggest investment had been time. That still didn’t explain why he did it.
“Thank you.” I wiped my face dry with the back of my hands. “You don’t strike me as a hugger, so that’s all I’ve got.” I laughed wetly. “I don’t know what else to say. Just, thank you.”
Slowly, slowly, as I had done, he leaned forward, eyes never leaving my face. “You’re welcome.”
We remained that way for a long moment, him in a submissive pose, me in a dominant position, before he exhaled through his teeth, unable to stand it any longer. “There’s something we need to get out of the way.”
Unsure where this was heading, I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “Ford and Bonnie are in the hall.”
“I’m aware.”
I swallowed once to wet my throat. “You’re not going to bite me, are you?”
“Hadley,” he said on a sigh, a wrinkle gathering across his forehead. “Kneel.”
“I just got off my knees,” I pointed out, but lowered myself without hesitation, which made me question what the heck I was doing taking orders from him. “Now what?”
“Look in my—” He sighed. “You’re already looking in my eyes.”
“I can’t help it.” I started to rise, but he caught me gently by the wrist. “Ford told me it was as much your fault as it is mine. That means you’re in as much trouble as I am. So whatever you’re thinking of doing to me, you should do to yourself first.”
“Hadley Whitaker,” he said, smoothing his thumb over my pulse, “you are an equal in my eyes. You may look upon me without fear. You may hold my gaze and not be punished for the offense. You are absolved, here and now, for any prior trespass, and no insult can henceforth be taken.”
A few seconds lapsed where I waited for tingles to spread through my limbs or for magic to caress me. Neither happened, and that left me more confused than ever. “What did that accomplish?”
“His inner beast won’t force you to submit,” Ford said from the doorway. “That’s what it accomplishes. You’re a dominant personality, a predator, and it’s hard for the same to be around you. The oath, for lack of a better word, he swore allows you to look freely upon him, to maintain eye contact with him, and not be punished for either by anyone—including him.”
“That will come in handy.”
Though it would have been less dramatic if he had just told me I won’t growl at you for looking me in the eye from now on.
The tension