Arcanum Hominem (#1)

Chapter 35

"That was quick." Killian was the first to speak, taking a step forward.

"I've been tracking them all day, hoping to get a lead by tonight," Cleo responded, sitting down in the chair in front of the computer.

"We can't do anything regarding that target until we guarantee the safety of Killian and Scarlett," Levi spoke, getting nods from everyone. 

"We need to find out who's tracking us so that we can eliminate them. I'm tired of running. That's not in my nature." Killian added, looking at each one of them.

"Okay then. After that, we can train for the next target and be able to take our time. We can start everything tomorrow. I'll spend some time tonight seeing if I can get any leads on who was after you two." Levi made eye contact with Killian and then me. I nodded at him since that's the gesture that seemed to be done by everyone here. They all murmured and Killian turned to me. 

"Let's go."

"Where are we going?" I asked as he started walking, with me following close behind. 

"We're going to sleep and start fresh in the morning," he answered simply. We made it to a door that was next to mine and he opened it, revealing a room almost identical to mine. 

"Is this your room?" I asked him as we stepped into the room. He yawned and nodded, pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the side. I tried my best not to stare at him for too long. He went to the bed and got on it, leaning back against the headboard.

"Come join me." He patted the space next to him without looking my way. I hesitated for a second before climbing on the king-sized bed, sitting up against the headboard. Killian grabbed a remote and turned on the television, scrolling through the channels before choosing a movie.

"Don't fuck Row."

I scrunched my brows together at his words and then started to laugh. Was he serious right now? I turned to face him and tilted my head, trying to read the expression on his face. 

"I can fuck whoever I want. Especially since I'm not fucking anyone else at the moment." I gave him a pointed look and his jaw ticked, hands clenching into fists. He turned his head and looked at me. 

"Row will mess with your feelings-"

"Let me stop you right there. I'm not looking for a relationship. I'm just looking for someone to dust off these cobwebs." I made a swiping motion with my hands near my lower region. 

"You could've had that with me, but you turned me down." He raised a brow and a wicked smirk grew on his delicious face. I tried my best not to bite my lip and scoffed at him instead.

"You gave me two choices, a foolish decision on your part by the way, and I just chose the one that would let us stay connected to each other. You obviously don't want both for some reason, and the other option would eventually stop, and then what? All of this for nothing? Tell me I'm wrong." 

He didn't answer me and sighed heavily. Exactly. It was quiet for a long minute before I decided to speak again. 

"Will I be joining you while you hunt the people down who were after us?" 

He chuckled and shook his head. "Absolutely not. You'll be right here, safe and sound."

I furrowed my brow. "I want to feel like I'm contributing and not just sit here being a burden."

"You are contributing by not being a distraction in the field and getting us killed. You'll stay here." His tone was final and I huffed and faced forward, glaring at the television. I didn't want to just sit here, wondering what was happening out there, not knowing whether he was safe or not. I sat up straighter. I had an idea.

"Why don't you train me then so that I wouldn't be a burden and I could be beneficial in the future," I suggested excitingly and Killian paused at my words, staring at me in thought. But then he shook his head. 

"No, I don't want you involved in this life. When it's deemed safe for you to return back to your normal life, that's what's going to happen." 

"What about us? Will you just toss me to the side like we never met? That's not what friends do." I tried to catch his eyes, but he wouldn't look at me. Instead, he just shook his head again and got out of the bed and turned the light off, now the only source of light coming from the television. I growled in frustration and muttered "You annoy me," when he came back to the bed, this time lying on his side, facing me. His head was propped up in his hand which was propped by his elbow. 

"I know I do, but it's for your own safety." His green eyes were sincere and it made me drop my attitude just a bit. 

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone? Will I be all alone in this house?" I asked him as I pulled my legs to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Killian sat back up and faced me.

"No, you won't be alone. One of the others will stay behind, but we'll discuss that tomorrow. Let's just watch this movie so it can help take your mind off of everything."

I sighed and nodded. I tried my best to pay attention to the movie, but it was so hard when I was so close to him in his bed in the dark...well mostly dark. It didn't help that at one point he pulled his comforter from under us and covered himself, which in turn covered me. I dropped my legs to fit under the sheets and ended up closer to Killian. Our legs were touching and that was all it took for a slow burn to start flowing through my body. Focusing on this random action movie was the last thing I wanted to do, my body was on fire.

I peeked up at Killian to see that his eyes were closed, his head leaned back against the headboard. His lips were parted a little bit, making me smile at how innocent he looked. My eyes wandered to his beard that was growing and I reached up, caressing his cheek before I could stop myself. He grunted and opened his eyes, lazily looking around. When his eyes landed on me, he raised a brow.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked, clearing his throat. 

"Yeah, you did." I smiled softly at his confusion and he passed a hand down his face.

"Ah, shit. Sorry." He turned his head and stared me in the eyes, showing me how sorry he was. 

"It's okay, I know how tired you must be." I continued to stare at him and he didn't look away either, tired eyes taking in my face before he slid down in bed, head hitting the pillow. He was on his side facing me with his eyes closed, the sheets tucked right underneath his arm. I slid down as well, putting my whole body under the covers, and faced him. He slowly opened his eyes and I smiled at how tired he was.

"If you come any closer, I might end up kissing you." Killian's voice was low but strong, his words throwing me off guard.