Page 189 of Unbound

"Thistlewood," Raith says, voice completely flat.

Beck sighs to my left. “You guys pick the most boring passwords. You should really put me back in charge of password creation.”

"Let me guess," I say, folding my arms across my chest. "You're here at the water tower because you’re going to stand guard outside my door all night like some kind of overly dramatic sentinel?"

The corner of his mouth lifts in what might almost be a smile. "Something like that."

Mireen glances between us, eyes narrowing with suspicion. "You need sleep too, Hollow."

"I'm fine," he replies, his tone making it clear the subject isn't up for debate.

Beck clears his throat. "Right then. We should all probably get some rest. Big day tomorrow and all that."

"Rest?" Brunhild asks. "Sexy bear asked me to do thing he likes with tongue and dagger. I even brought the rope."

Beck's cheeks go red. "Uh. I'm not even going to try to make something up. Yeah. We're gonna go do some weird shit," He takes Brunhild's hand, leading her up the stairs.

"See you in the morning," Ambrose says, offering a mock salute before heading up the stairs as well.

Mireen gives me a lewd wiggle of her eyebrows, then leaves me alone in the corridor with Raith.

"Come on. You need to get to bed." Raith starts ahead of me, taking the stairs by two as if he's determined to travel in front in case some danger is waiting.

He's waits at the landing for me to catch up, hand resting on the hilt of his newly stolen military-grade sword that he wears across his back. He gives a jerk of his head, indicating he has deemed the empty hallway safe.

I roll my eyes but grin as I follow him toward my room. "You're not seriously planning to stand guard all night, are you?"

He shrugs. "I've gone longer without sleep."

"Don't be ridiculous." I grab his wrist and tug him toward my door. "You need rest as much as I do. Come inside."

“If I come in there, I’m pretty sure both of us are going to get a lot less sleep, Nessa.”

The dark promise of his words lights a thrill in my chest. I bite the corner of my lower lip, softly lifting my shoulders. “Is that a threat, Mr. Hollow?”

He steps closer, invading my space in the most delicious of ways. “Staying apart from you today was the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever done. All I want to do is touch you. Feel you again.” His voice drops several registers, nearly becoming a growl. “Be inside you.”

I swallow, suddenly unsteady on my feet. “Okay. I hear you, and I’m still insisting that you come in.”

For a moment, I think he might resist, but then he follows, closing the door quietly behind him. Neither of us speaks as I move to light a candle on my desk, the small flame casting soft shadows across the walls.

"So," I say finally, turning to face him. Part of me is curious if he’s planning to strip my clothes off and fuck me right away, or if he’s going to continue trying to fight it. Just to tease him, I casually pop a few buttons over my chest, eyes lingering on his. “You came to stand guard over my room. Was there something specific I should worry about? Or were you just feeling overprotective?”

His eyes linger on the place where my breasts meet and he pulls his lower lip between his teeth, eyes finally lifting to mine after a few long seconds. “Whispers,” he says. “Some have worries Malakai may strike against priority targets tonight. Remove threats before the Crucible to improve their odds.”

I frown as my thoughts immediately turn to my friends. "Did you tell Beck, Ambrose, and Mireen this? Are they safe?"

"Their names weren't mentioned as priority targets. Yours was. So I'm going to be here with you all night."

"Who else was a priority target besides me?"

Raith hesitates. "Me."

I can't help smiling, even though the idea of students plotting to kill me tonight shouldn't be something to smile about. "Anyone else?"

He shakes his head. "It was just us."

"So you're protecting me by making sure they can find both the people they want to kill in the same room? I thought you were supposed to be a military strategist, Raith."

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