Chapter 5

"Would you quit staring at it like a blithering idiot and just walk inside already? It's freezing out here." I shot Jace a glare.

We walked under the open gate and into a hallway where a man in a tux was waiting for us. He was a lanky man, tall and thin. Old enough to be my grandfather as well.

"May I take your coat, madam," he asked, approaching me.

I looked at Adam, who stood next to me, as I took off my coat and scarf and handed it to the old man.

"Thank you," he said taking them.

Jace handed him his coat as well and left us, walking down the hallway towards two huge, oak doors. As he opened one of them. I could see an illuminated stone courtyard on the other side.

"Come with me," Adam said to me as the old man took his coat.

I followed him down the dimly lit hallway.

 Three small chandeliers hung over our heads and reflected light off of the marble flooring beneath them. The walls were a glossy stained wood, each side decorated with wide, elaborate tapestries.

I followed Adam towards the oak doors, but he took a turn at the end of the hallway down a set of stairs that I hadn't noticed before.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"It's almost two in the morning, are you not tired?" He asked.

As soon as he said the word.

I felt it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was tired. In fact.

I was exhausted.

He didn't say anything as we came to the bottom of the staircase and to a threshold for a very large corridor.

The ceilings must have been one-hundred feet high.

They were painted too, but I couldn't tell what of because of the lack of light coming from the three unbelievably large chandeliers that trailed along the ceiling towards the other end of the room.

A few dozen windows lined the walls on each side, all of them stretched from the hardwood floor almost to the ceiling.

There were large paintings in between the windows. Their depictions were unclear as well. The corridor, painted a soft blue, seemed to stretch on for days

before we finally reached the dark doors on the other side. Wordlessly, Adam opened one of the doors and held it for me as I passed through.

We entered into a circular foyer that had a large staircase crawling up one wall and multiple doorways into other rooms attached to it.

"Are you coming?"

I looked over to see Adam already on the staircase, waiting for me to follow him. I placed my hand on the wide, marble railing as we ascended the stairs and I wondered where on earth he got the kind of money needed to live in a place like this. The molding on the walls was lined in gold, for God's sake.

By the time we had reached the top of the staircase, I was trying not to seem as out of breath as I really was. Adam led me through another set of double doors and down several more hallways.

"I'll never remember my way around this place." I said as we turned another corner.

Adam spoke as he continued walking.

"If you place your hand on the left side of the hallway and follow it, you'll reach a staircase that will lead you out of this floor."

"Exactly how many floors are there?" I asked.

"It depends on where you are in the castle, but here, in the main section where we stand, there are six."

This place is huge.

He turned down yet another hall, except this one was a dead end. A set of oak doors at the very end were the only things on this hallway. I could hear our footsteps echoing back at us as we walked up to the doors. Adam turned both handles and pushed both doors open, letting me in first. I had to put effort into not letting myself gasp.

"Is this your room?" I asked.

I thought I saw Adam smile briefly before he nodded.

"It is."

The room was one very large circle. The walls were painted a deep, crimson red with a dark trim trailing along the bottom of each wall. The ceiling, which was about fifty feet high was built like a dome with a monstrous chandelier hanging from it. The contrast of the white crystals against a dark ceiling made it one of the centerpieces of the room.

A large, circular rug almost completely covered the hardwood flooring. There was a set of windows against one wall, accompanied by French doors that no doubt led out to a balcony. Furniture was scattered around the room  methodically.

There was a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, shelves lined with books, and the bed. The bed was the largest piece in the room. The four-cornered bed sat against the far wall. A flowing burgundy canopy hung from the ceiling, falling towards each corner of the bed and skimming the carpet.

A sheer black curtain hid the mattress from the rest of the room. It was a gorgeous room. A suite made for royalty, no doubt. Somehow it fit Adam perfectly.

It was dark and regal, but private and secluded from the rest of the castle. Adam crossed the room casually, as I'm sure the splendor of the room had escaped him a long time ago.

"The bath is in here," he said opening a door I hadn't noticed.

"You're free to wash up before you go to sleep, if you'd like."

I looked down and noticed the overnight bag in my hands. I had forgotten I was even still carrying it. I crossed the vast bedroom and went inside the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

It was far more than just a bath, as Adam had referred to it. The circular bath, which resembled more of a hot tub, was set in marble in the middle of the room. A large double shower was in one corner, only glass to shield it away from the rest of the room.

Two vanities sat on opposite sides of the room, each adorned by a large mirror, sink, and one of them with a desk and chair. A stack of towels sat on a stool next to the double shower entrance and I walked over to it.

I stared at the glass surrounding it warily.

If he comes in here, there's nothing here to shield my naked body, I thought. I felt disgusting though. I was dirty and I knew I had to take a shower. I turned on the hot water and placed two of the towels over the top of the glass, hoping those would at least make it difficult to see me if Adam happened to stroll in.

Just make this quick, I reminded myself as I undressed.

I stepped under the hot water and instantly felt my body relax. I stood there for a few moments before reaching for the bottle of soap that was perched on a shelf inside the shower.

I washed myself quickly with a washcloth and rinsed my hair under the water, running my fingers through it and trying to untangle it the best I could.

Once the shower was off, I dried myself with a towel and put on my pajamas that I packed: a t-shirt that belonged to my dad while he was in law school and shorts. I towel-dried my hair and hung both towels up to dry on a hook.

Grabbing my bag, I stuffed my dirty clothes in it as I walked across the bathroom and opened the door.

Adam was sitting on the couch, waiting for me.

"I'm going to shower too," he said.

"I smell wretched."

As he passed me going into the bathroom, I caught the strong smell of whiskey that still coated him.

I felt guilty for a few seconds, and that was soon replaced by embarrassment.

Why did he have to see my dad like that?

I'm the only one who is supposed to know he does those things.

I wished I had made Adam stay in the car while I packed my room. I wondered briefly if it had hurt when the bottle hit him. It should've hit me.

I shook the thought away and put my bag down.

That's when it occurred to me: Am I sleeping in here with him?

I couldn't tell for sure, so I sat down on the couch where Adam had been sitting and waited for him to get out of the shower. One thing I was certain of, however, was that he was either shameless or completely comfortable with his body because the bathroom door stayed open the entire time he showered.

I, however, was sitting at an angle in the room that prevented me from getting a glimpse of any skin.

I was picking at the seam on my shirt when the shower turned off.

"I thought you were tired?"

I looked up to see Adam standing in the doorway of the bathroom. He was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, his left hand holding it together. In all the beauty of his naked chest, I completely forgot to respond and just stared at him.

I had never seen a man whose body looked like his without photoshop or plastic surgery.

Merry Christmas to me, I thought as I took in the sight of his protruding muscles. There wasn't an inch of him that looked like it wasn't bought by hours in a gym. I wasn't a huge fan of chest hair either, but he made it look pretty damn sexy.

It became clearer the longer I sat there gawking that he was waiting on an answer to a question I'd already forgotten. This man's body is going to make this smart girl stupid.

"Um.…. I forgot what I was going to say," I admitted.

"I asked you if you were tired."

"Yes I am," I said rubbing my eyes.

I definitely didn't do this to tattoo the image of him in nothing but a towel to the back of my eyelids so I could stare at it as I slept.

"Well, you're more than welcome to go ahead and get in the bed."

Oh.

"Am I sleeping in here?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Yes."

"Are you sleeping in here?"

Adam gave me a look that told me he thought that was a stupid question.

"Of course."

I stood there awkwardly.

"Do you not want me to?" He asked crossing his arms.

Sweet baby Jesus, don't let that towel fall, I prayed.

"I mean... we've known each other just over twenty-four hours," I said, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

"And...?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"Of course... I forgot that we're mates," I said.

It came out more distastefully than I meant it to, however, and Adam noticed it.

"I think that bed is big enough for the both of us, don't you?" He asked, striding towards me.

I had to look up at the ceiling to avoid staring a hole through his abs.

His hand gently grabbed my face so that we were looking directly at each other.

"Do you not wish to sleep in my bed, Evelyn?" Adam asked in a deep voice that highlighted his accent.

Well when you put it like that...

I couldn't do anything but stare at him for a few moments before our eye contact began to make me feel flustered.

"Fine... fine! It's fine!" I said, backing away from him and giving up on my stance that we sleep separately.

I could've sworn I saw a mischievous smirk cross his face before his features turned serious.

"What is that smell?" Adam asked.

He stepped forward and began to sniff my hair.

"I thought after you showered it would be gone," he said with a SCOW.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" I asked.

I very suddenly became self-conscious about how I smelt.

He tugged the hem of my shirt up to his nose to smell it. The cold draft of air that hit my skin reminded me very quickly that I didn't have on a bra. I grabbed his hand and pushed it away.

"It's not you," he said.

"It's the shirt. Take it off."

"Excuse me?" I repeated.

"I don't have anything to change into. All my luggage is somewhere else."

Adam quickly walked over to his chest of drawers and pulled out a gray t-shirt.

"Here," he said, crossing the room and handing the t-shirt to me

"I ‘Il trade you. Now change."

I took the shirt from him and stood there staring at him. He just stared back.

"Can you turn around?" I asked, annoyed.

He rolled his eyes before turning around slowly. I kept my eyes glued to him as I pulled my shirt from over my head and slid his on.

"What's the big deal with this shirt anyways? I did laundry last week," I stated.

"It's not dirty."

"No, that's not it," he said taking it from me.

"It smells like your father."

"Well I did live with him my entire life," I said sarcastically.

"Why does it matter if it smells like him?"

"Because he reeks of alcohol, sweat, and a total lack of masculinity," he stated.

"Excuse you," I said.

"He might be an asshole, but he's still my dad. Can I have the shirt back?"

"No," Adam replied.

"I don't want to smell another man on you, especially while you sleep in my bed."

I rolled my eyes. "That's a bit dramatic."

Adam's face remained completely serious as he took the shirt and walked back over to his chest of drawers. I slowly made my way over to his bed as I watched him pull out a pair of black boxer briefs.

However, I wasn't bold enough to keep looking as he dropped the towel and changed into them. I pulled back the sheer curtain that concealed his bed to see a large bed made up with a few decorative pillows.

I guessed that Adam probably had a maid or housekeeper because he didn't peg me as the type of guy to deal with decorative pillows every morning when he made his bed.

I pulled the pillows off the bed and stacked them on the ground in front of the nightstand. Once I pulled away the duvet and coverlet and saw the black satin sheets, I decided that I was going to sleep very comfortably that night; whether Adam was beside me or not.

I'd always wanted to sleep on satin sheets instead of my cheap linen ones at home.

I pulled back the top sheet and slid into the bed, pulling the duvet up to my chin. As soon as I'd done so, the lights in the room were turned off. I heard Adam pull back the curtain and I regretted my inability to see in the dark. I felt it as he climbed up on the bed, and got under the covers himself.

Once his bare arm had touched mine, I knew he had only changed into the boxer briefs. We both took a deep breath and I rolled over to face away from him.

Hearing Adam do the same was the last thing I remembered before falling asleep.

I slept right through the night and on into the late morning. I knew this because when I woke up I saw that curtains had been drawn over the windows, however the clock on the nightstand said it was well past breakfast.

I sat up as I heard the door at the other end of the room open and close. I couldn't see much through the curtain so I pulled it back to reveal Adam walking across the room.

He was dressed in gym clothes with a towel and water bottle in one hand. This led me to assume he'd been somewhere this morning working out.

Not a word was spoken between us as we looked at each other. Adam walked over to his nightstand and pulled out a wallet. Removing a black card from it, he handed it to me.

"This is yours," he said, putting the wallet back into the drawer as I took the card from him.

"Is it a debit card?"

He nodded. "Go into town today and buy yourself anything you think you'll need here. Make sure to get some new clothes as well. You didn't pack much to wear in those boxes."

"How much is on here?" I asked, referring to the card.

"However much you'll need," he said walking over to the wardrobe.

This is going to be fun.