The Death of a Bachelor

Chapter Sixty-two

Elena slinked into Kieran’s bed-chamber the next morning, and frowned when she saw no sign of him.

“Kieran?” she called, walking around the empty chamber. His bed was made and the windows were open, letting in the bright sunlight. She opened the door to the bathhouse, but he wasn’t there.

Why did she peep in there? What if she’d walked in on him?

Elena shut the door and headed to his walk in closet that almost matched the size of his room. Two wardrobes were embedded on either side and divided into four parts; the part for shirts, the part for trousers, the part for doublets and the part for coats. When she walked further in, she also saw a rack for his boots and a stand for his belts, plus a large comfortable satin stool and a full-length mirror at the extreme end.

She wondered how they would rearrange it to make room for her clothes as well. Would he be comfortable changing up his style for her?

She opened up one of the drawers in the wide dresser along the wall and found his socks, folded in neat piles. She closed it up and looked around the chamber one more time, particularly at the intricate designs in the ceiling.

She gasped when she felt a pair of hands on her hips and promptly turned around, her hands meeting Kieran’s hard bare chest a second before he kissed her on the lips. She smiled against his lips and leaned into the kiss.

“Good morning.” He grinned once he pulled back.

What a splendid way to be greeted in the morning.

“You are…” Elena’s hazy mind was a bit slow from the kiss, and her sense of touch ahead of it. Her fingers felt up his chest. “You aren’t wearing a shirt.”

“Like what you see?” he teased, quirking an eyebrow.

Elena stepped back and let her eyes observe his chest. She noticed a scar running across his pectoral muscles. It was narrow, but looked like the wound had been a deep gash from the slightly bumped skin.

“Battle of Guttery a couple of years ago,” Kieran explained. “Lukas was being reckless and would have lost an arm if I hadn’t jumped in.”

It sounded just like Kieran to do something like that.

Elena traced the scar with her finger and didn’t miss how he tensed under her touch. Her eyes lowered south to his abdominal muscles. Very defined, and very attractive.

Her finger traced another scar; this one on his left side.

“That was either because of a fall from a tree or a sword duel in J’bel. I can’t remember.”

She glanced up at him, and his gaze was dark as he looked back at her. Her finger travelled further south, onto that deep line just above the pelvis that curved even further south. She was in a trance as she let her finger trace it downwards.

“Elena,” Kieran warned.

She retracted her hand right before it touched the belt in his pants and peeped at him with what she hoped was an innocent apologetic look.

He smirked. “Done exploring me?”

She couldn’t tell whether his tone indicated a dare or not. She decided to go with the former.

“No,” she replied and placed a palm on his abdomen, spreading her fingers out.
He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth as his muscles rippled under her touch. She liked that.

Kieran was sure whatever Elena was up to was on purpose. Previously, she may have been oblivious but at the moment, she knew her effect.

She walked around him, leaving her fingers to trail on his skin as she did.