Black as Coal | ✓

15

I walked around the quiet house as the sun rose, shining brightly through the windows. I normally would have been at peace, but I couldn't relax when Fen was fast asleep on my couch—again.

It shouldn't have felt strange, given that he'd spent the night multiple times before, but maybe it was because he hadn't been living here. Before, he would wake up and be gone within the next hour, but that wasn't the case anymore.

My eyes shifted to him and I noticed how peaceful he looked. It was a dramatic change from last night when he was trying to get me to discuss the rules I'd mentioned with him. I planned to of course, but I wanted to wait until the morning.

I moved closer to the couch against my better judgment. That would be one of the first issues to tackle: what room to give Fen. There were four bedrooms in the house, two on the bottom floor and two on the top. I typically slept in one of the bottom rooms, so I could have given Fen one of the second-level rooms, but the issue with that was Reed. Reed typically slept upstairs whenever he came over and the last thing I needed was for them to somehow run into each other when Reed inevitably decided he wanted to visit again.

The bottom bedroom was the better, safer alternative—I could admit it—but the issue was the room was right across from mine and even if we didn't act on it, the mate bond was still there. I wasn't sure such proximity would do us any good.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?"

I blinked and refocused my gaze on the man in front of me. He stared at me with this half-asleep, half-awake hybrid expression that should've made me smile at the very least, but it didn't. Instead, I grabbed one of the pillows and chucked it at him.

"I wasn't staring at you."

"Right," Fen said, but the small smile on his face told me he didn't believe me, much to my annoyance. "Good morning by the way."

I studied him. His relaxed demeanor confused me. I wasn't sure why, but it hadn't been what I was expecting. Then again, Fen never seemed to truly get worked up over anything. Sure, I'd seen him annoyed at times or maybe a little jealous, but for the most part, he seemed to go with the flow. I was both envious and annoyed by his skill in that regard.

"What? Do you have something on your mind?" Fen asked me.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. Now that you're awake, I'd like to continue our conversation from yesterday."

"Straight to the point, aren't you?" He sat up as I made my way around to take a seat.

"No reason to push it off. The sooner we get it out of the way, the sooner we can move on to more important matters."

He hummed. "Alright, tell me about these rules."

"Rule one is an obvious one: don't go around telling people that we're living together. I don't need the unnecessary drama in my life and neither for you."

He nodded. "I wasn't planning to."

"Good. Two is easy. You aren't the only one living here so be respectful. If you use the last of something then tell me or replace it, don't play obnoxiously loud music or come in at ridiculously late hours making a lot of noise. Things like that."

"Simple enough. Three?"

"Another easy one. I don't mind if you walk around the house but stay out of my room. It's off limits."

That was the last place I needed him to be. Getting used to his presence would be a task in itself. I didn't need to worry about him snooping around as well.

Fen nodded. "Understood. Anything else?"

"Yes, and this is a big one. This is a house, not an arena or anything of the sort, so don't go bringing unnecessary trouble here. That means no shady deals, no old enemies showing up, nothing like that."

An offended expression broke out on his face. "I wouldn't do that to you."

"Still," I pressed. "It needs to be said."

He nodded a little stiffer than before. "Is that all?"

"For now," I told him. "If there's anything else, I'll let you know. If you have no objections then I'll take you to your room."

"And here I thought the couch was my room," he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not that cruel."

I stood up and despite my worries, I led him to the room across from mine. It realistically seemed to make the most sense in the long run. The room wasn't anything special. The only items inside were a king-sized bed Callie had given me when I first moved to Oakwood and an empty dresser.

"It's not much, but it's better than a crumbling cabin."

Fen shot me a doubtful look. "You aren't going to let that go, are you?"

"It's second only to the night you got drunk," I promised.

He grimaced. "Great."

"I'll let you get settled," I told him and turned to leave.

"Cronan?" I paused and spun around. "Thanks for this."

"Just don't make me regret it."

"I won't. You can trust me on that."

I didn't respond. At this point, I trusted Fen to not physically hurt me in any way, but that was as far as my trust extended. There was still too much I didn't know about him—too much baggage. I couldn't say in good faith that I trusted him to not make me regret this decision because I didn't. Not that it mattered.

Fen's presence was temporary. I didn't invite him here to play house and become best friends, he was here so I could watch him—analyze him—and when he messed up, which he inevitably would, he'd be out of my life for good. That was all. The mate bond may have been a powerful influence, but there wouldn't be any love between us. I was sure of it.