Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1]

04

Thelonious hated nothing more than cleaning up after other people. That's why he hired people to do the cleaning for him at the hotel. But here he was now, cleaning up after a bunch of teenagers on a weekend. He was just thankful that he was alone.

Having unnecessary eyes on him was not something that he savoured nor desired. They all judged him for being a cleaner, looking down on him for the lowly status that his job provided. But none of them knew the truth and he preferred it that way.

This is quite the social life, he thought to himself. Between spending all his time at the hotel and now this cleaning job taking up time that he didn't have, he was sure that he was every young woman's dream companion.

A snort sounded from him at the thought.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, his eyes trailed up, lingering on a figure that he could just about make out from behind a shelf of old, dusty history books. This was the last part of the library he had left to clean but his mind dwelled on other things.

Leaning his broom against a desk chair, Thelonious ran a hand through his hair in attempt to neaten it as he walked towards the familiar fiery vixen that had plagued his mind, thoughts and very being from the first moment he had laid eyes on her that fateful week before summer.

His breath hitched as he finally saw all of her. She was even more beautiful in person than the vixen that he had spent so many weeks dreaming about.

Darcy sat in an old, orange bean bag that was placed in the corner of the history section, her laptop open and resting on her crossed legs. Headphones sat atop her head as she focused on the screen in front of her, her fingers animatedly typing away at the keyboard as she enjoyed the light breeze that came in through the low, open window to her left despite the chilly autumn air.

He briefly allowed himself to wander what else those fingers of hers could do.

Thelonious wasn't sure how long he was stood there, leaning against one of the shelves as he watched her, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes dazed.

He had never felt such peace before.

Suddenly, a frustrated groan passed her lips before she slammed shut her laptop and cast it away to the ground by her feet. The sound immediately went to his groin.

Even in her anger she was gentle with it. Her eyes trailed up as she sighed and stretched her arms above her head, her eyes finally landing on him.

Instead of surprise clouding her stormy grey orbs as he had expected, she merely pushed back her headphones so here ears were revealed and quirked a questioning brow in his direction.

Darcy watched the stranger for a few minutes, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. His hair was dark as night, curling over his forehead and the tops of his ears, otherwise wavy in texture. Thick, luscious lips rested below a straight nose and a sharp, angular jaw. He was tall, much taller than her. Definitely at least a head taller than her cheating ex-boyfriend too. His body was well defined and muscular from what she could make out through the t-shirt he was wearing, and she couldn't help but appreciate the way the muscles in his arms bulged as they remained crossed against his chest. His skin was a medium tan, giving him an exotic look. She couldn't quite place where he was from, but plain old Caucasian was definitely not in the mix.

Despite all of that, his best feature in her opinion was his eyes. A blue paler than the sky and softer than the clouds. It didn't sound like it matched the rest of his dark, brooding exterior but on him, they were beautiful.

A beautiful contrast for a beautiful man.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked, a teasing smirk playing on her lips.