By the time I reached the study, I already knew I would not leave it the same way.
The door closed behind me with a soft click, and Darius finally looked up from the desk. He had a paper in his hand, but he wasn't reading it. The moment his eyes settled on me, the room changed. It was a small thing, impossible to explain to anyone who had never stood in front of him, but I felt it immediately. His attention always had weight. Tonight it felt heavier.
I walked in without waiting for him to call me closer and stopped in front of the desk.
He did not ask where I had been, did not ask how it went, because he already knew.
"Mary moved sooner than expected," he said.
"She didn't want me comfortable."
"No."
I watched him set the paper aside. The movement was neat, controlled, almost careless in how exact it was. He came around the desk and stopped in front of me, close enough that I could smell the faint trace of cedar and clean linen on him.
