I like it

ELENA'S POV

“You heard me” he repeated, his large body obscuring the view behind him as he leaned against my door frame at 7 in the morning.

My hair stuck out around me and I was aware of the appraising look he gave me. This was the second time he had seen me like this and he didn't seem to hate the look. There was almost a look of envy in his eyes.

“But umm…you didn't tell me that yesterday,” I said groggily.

His eyes dimmed and he looked at me with dead blue eyes that never seemed to brighten.

“I make plans anytime I want. Your job is to follow them. That was the deal” he reminded.

I frowned at his attitude this morning. “That was not part of the deal. The deal was that I pretend to be your wife in public”

“Well not public precisely. I'm not asking you to be affectionate in public with me…” he paused then muttered a “doesn't work In this world” under his breath before looking back at me.

“I get that but at least give me some notice. I'm stressed out today and I need some time to get used to the world around me. Which means this house first” I retorted, feeling brave.

His eyes darkened clearly not being used to being told off. “Elena…” his voice was a low growl and my heart skipped a beat in sheer fear.

I matched his gaze and kept staring at him. “What?”

He pushed himself off the doorframe and into the room, my feet scrambling back out of reflex while he stalked towards me, a twisted look on his face.

“Whose house is this?” He asked, his voice a low rumble.

I had reached the edge of my bed and I knew that if I took a step back, I would tip back and fall backward so I stood my ground, the cool bedpost doing nothing to reduce my fear and nervousness.

Thankfully he didn't push further and just stayed right in front of me.

“You haven't answered me”, he reminded me, his voice a sultry whisper as he reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

“Yours”, I replied, feeling conscious of how close we were.

He was basically towering over my much smaller frame and staring down at me while I matched his gaze.

“Exactly. Whose wife are you?” He asked yet again.

“Yours” I whispered, knowing where he was going with this.

“Exactly” he whispered, his eyes flashing briefly with sardonic pleasure. He was getting off on this.

“What does that have to do with any of this?” I asked, my tone softer now.

He seemed to mull something over as he leaned back, his muscles stretching taut in the black compressed t-shirt he was wearing.

“Everything, Elena. As you know I admire your fiery attitude but you're gonna have to tone it down, can't have you behaving like this in public, can I? I don't want to hurt you, that was why I made you this deal, you agreed to it, stick to your end. I saved your life…no, I spared your life first then I saved you from the men you stole from, didn't I? I kept my end of the deal. It would cost me nothing to throw you to the wolves. If you value your life as I think, you would do your best in this. You're safe under me, don't screw it” he said.

He wasn't warning me or threatening me, he had stated facts. I guess what was beginning to bother me was staying in the same place with nothing to do. I did value my life and I knew the only way to keep my life was to follow him about. No one would dare to touch me but I was beginning to get restless because of my condition.

“It's not my fault, you know?” I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.

He noticed my change in demeanor and he sighed. “You can't stay too long in a place without getting tensed or restless. I know how it works. You're getting tired of being in your room and I totally get it even if you try to deny it and I'm trying to help. Why do you think I'm asking you to go out with me?” He asked in an exasperated tone.

I raised a brow. “That's not my point. My point is that you can't just make a random plan one morning and expect me to just jump at the idea”

He gave a low chuckle which was unusual and said. “look, I know it's not your ideal news this early in the morning and I'm sorry, okay?”

My heart caught in my throat and I looked down at my feet. “It's fine”

He noticed my reaction and nodded, a smirk on his face. “So you'll come?” He asked calmly this time, his eyes roving over my disheveled appearance.

“Not like I have a choice” I muttered as a joke but he frowned.

“Elena, don't let my words fool you. You can get out of anything you don't want, I won't force you. Forgive my dominating presence but you have a choice in what I say” he said, his eyes resting on my red face.

I said nothing and he flicked his nose in thoughts before speaking again. “Is this how you usually look every morning?” He suddenly blurted out, his hands waving over my appearance.

“Yes, why?” I asked.

“I like it” he muttered.

“What's there to like about it?” I muttered back with a slight frown.

He smirked and chuckled. “It looks normal. Normal is rare in this world”, he said then he turned and walked back to the door.

“See you downstairs,” he said over his back before walking out and closing the door gently behind him.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and sank back on the soft bed that made a slight creaking noise.

He was hot and angry one minute then calm and understanding the next. What the hell?