Somehow, a giant piano just didn’t seem to fit with Scarlet’s perception of Tristan.
She imagined him lurking in the basement with a few gargoyles and maybe lifting weights while he listened to angry music. Not tickling the ivories while holding a snifter of brandy after reading a classic novel.
“This is all Tristan’s, down here,” Gabriel said. “I’d show you his room, but he’s been moody today and I’d rather not piss him off.”
Scarlet nodded. She didn’t want to see Tristan’s room anyway.
Right?
Right.
She followed Gabriel back up the stairs, her eyes lingering on what she assumed was Tristan’s bedroom door.
She shook herself.
No, I do not want to see Tristan’s bedroom.
When she and Gabriel reached the main floor, Gabriel turned to her. “And that’s the cabin. Feel free to poke around and use whatever you’d like.” He kissed Scarlet’s cheek. “Okay. I gotta go.”
Scarlet’s mouth dropped open. “What?” she nearly shouted. “Right now?”
Gabriel nodded. “I can’t wait around, Scarlet. We don’t have any time to waste. I have to find Nate. The sooner the better.” Gabriel kissed her again. “Don’t worry, I’ll probably be back tomorrow. And it’s fall break, remember? There’s no school or anything, so you can just kick back and relax until I get home.”
Kick back?
Relax?
Was he crazy? Some weirdo broke into her house while she was sleeping and now she was being forced to hang out with a guy who hated her in the middle of nowhere.
How was she supposed to relax?
Scarlet watched his eyes fill with reassurance and she let the fight drain out of her. There was no convincing him to stay. He was trying to help her—to save her. And she should let him.
So, why did she feel like Gabriel was giving her over to the wolves?
Probably because big bad Tristan lives downstairs.
After saying goodbye, Gabriel left Scarlet standing barefoot and alone in the cabin’s big entryway. His car faded down the driveway until all that was left was a trail of dust and an empty cabin.
Well, empty save for the two people inside.
Scarlet looked around for a minute.
She hated that she was, essentially, trapped in the woods with Tristan.
Sure, he was beautiful and enticing in an inexplicable way.
But he was also a jerk.
Scarlet sighed to herself, sucked it up, and headed upstairs to Gabriel’s bedroom.
She needed to find a way to make her time in the cabin not suck.
Starting with a shower.
50
Tristan gathered his arrows from the bull’s-eye for the fifth time that morning.
Target practice wasn’t helping.
It should. It usually did. But something was off.
And Tristan knew exactly what it was.
The cold morning wind whipped around his head as he walked back to his aiming point. He could stay outside all day, if necessary. And he would, if that would keep him away from Scarlet.
Gabriel was a fool.
The more Scarlet was around Tristan, the faster his blood would break her heart.
He just needed to keep his distance for the next twenty-four hours and pray her heart didn’t weaken anymore than necessary.
Whoosh.
Bull’s-eye.
Whoosh.
Another bull’s-eye.
He heard the upstairs shower turn on—Gabriel’s shower.
Scarlet was in Gabriel’s shower.
Tristan swallowed and drew back another arrow.
Whoosh.
Miss.
He hung his head.
The next twenty-four hours were going to be harder than he thought.
51
Scarlet roamed around Gabriel’s room for a few hours, trying to keep herself occupied. Her heart was still thrumming away relentlessly inside her, but she’d almost gotten used to its nonstop jumping.
Almost.
After her shower, she put on some of Gabriel’s clean clothes, but they were too big and felt…wrong.
So, she put on her pajama pants and T-shirt from the night before instead.
Gabriel had a few books on his dresser that she flipped through, but they were all about gourmet food and sporting events and the stock market.
Bor-ing.
His schoolbooks were on a desk in the corner and Scarlet briefly entertained the idea of studying, but quickly dismissed it.
She wasn’t that bored.
She did, however, grab a notebook and a pen from his schoolbook pile and start doodling.
She sketched the symbol burned in her brain over and over until she’d filled up two pages with its design. It was weird she remembered the design so clearly, yet Gabriel—who’d known her for five hundred years—hadn’t recognized it.
Scarlet thought for a moment.
Or…had he?
He’d been interested in it at the beginning of the year, before he’d told her their history, so maybe he knew what it was and hadn’t told her yet.
When Gabriel got home, she was going to ask him again about the symbol’s meaning.
Scarlet stopped doodling and started making a list of things she needed from her house.
Clothes.
Shoes.
Makeup….
Why do I need makeup? Who am I trying to impress, Tristan?
Not in this lifetime.
She scratched out makeup and replaced it with new phone.
Scarlet shook her head as she thought about how casually Tristan had thrown away her phone—her lifeline.
She set the notebook down and left Gabriel’s room.
Tristan owed her a new phone. Today.
Her bare feet padded down the stairs and wandered around the living room and kitchen in search of Tristan.
When the kitchen and living room proved empty, Scarlet made her way down the hallway. She passed the flight of stairs leading to the basement and immediately rejected any idea of venturing down into Tristan’s turf. She could wait him out upstairs all day if she had to. She wasn’t going into the Archer dungeon.
In front of her, the office door was cracked open. Scarlet peeked through.
Tristan sat at the large desk, his eyes scanning a computer screen.
She tapped on the door, chastised herself for being so meek—especially considering she’d known Tristan for centuries—and let herself in like she belonged there.
She wasn’t going to act like a scared mouse around him.
“You owe me a new phone,” Scarlet said, demanding Tristan’s attention. “Today.”
He glanced at her before looking back to the computer. “Not gonna happen.”
Scarlet plopped down on a chair across from the desk and leaned forward. “Listen, I understand that you couldn’t care less about me, but I’m stuck here and I’d like a way to communicate with the outside world.”
Tristan closed his laptop screen and met her gaze. “The ‘outside world’ is trying to hurt you. So, forgive me, if I’m not jumping to accommodate your request for a new phone.”
Scarlet squared her jaw and stood up. “You will get me a new phone. And also, I need to run home and get clothes. I didn’t exactly get to pack a suitcase last night.”
Tristan looked her over.
He was probably just making a note of what clothes she did have, but it felt more personal than that.
His eyes ran down her pajamed body. Slowly. Intimately.