“I have a bed,” I told him, and giggled again. Where the hell was this giggling school girl thing coming from?
“Good to know, but I was thinking more like a couch, dining table, all the mod cons.”
“It’s fine. I doubt I’ll be here long. Why would anyone rent that apartment so cheaply? I’m sure that the landlord will come to their senses and kick me out any day.”
“I’m sure your lease prevents that,” Khan said, setting me down on the bed.
“How do you know that? Rich landlords can do whatever they want,” I muttered, turning into my covers, as Khan’s hands slipped my shoes off my feet.
“This one won’t. I promise,” he said quietly. I squinted at him through the darkness.
“How can you promise? Is it you?” I asked. It was meant to be a joke, and yet, the look in Khan’s eyes sank through even my drunken brain. “Is it?” I pressed, my voice rising with surprise and disbelief. He was tucking me in at this point, his hands respectful and gentle.
“It’s time to rest that clever mind, buttercup,” Khan said.
“Buttercup. Princess Buttercup. That movie is my favourite, you know,” I muttered, my surprise at Khan’s admission fading as sleep crowded in.
“I know,” Khan murmured. My eyes drifted closed and I could feel his fingers stroking the hair back off my forehead. I felt so completely happy and whole right then, safe, and loved and protected against the world. This man made me feel that way, and soon, now that I’d quit, I’d never feel it again.
“How do you know?”
“I know everything about you, Eden. Come and ask me about it tomorrow, and I’ll tell you it all, from start to finish. I don’t want secrets between us.”
The last was whispered, as I fell backward down a dark tunnel, and slipped under, letting the dark river of sleep carry me away.