Chapter 10: My Husband Isn't a Pervert...

Nathan froze for a beat.

Did I hear that right?

But his feet were already carrying him toward the bathroom before he'd finished the thought.

Lily's lashes trembled as she watched him cross the room, his hand closing around the doorknob.

He pushed it open.

Inside, the bathroom was empty a window cracked for fresh air, spotless, nothing out of place.

He scanned the room once, confirmed there was no one there, and stepped back out.

He turned to find Lily watching him with an unreadable, almost mocking smile.

He lifted a hand to sign something.

Before he could finish, she cut in. "You live under the same roof as Melissa, and I'm the one you suspect of hiding a man?"

[Lily, that's not it at all. I was just worried about you.]

Her mouth curved, thin and sardonic.

She lay back down, pulled Toby into her arms, closed her eyes, and said, "Shut the door on your way out."

Nathan lingered a moment.

Then turned and strode out.

He pulled a cigarette case from his pocket and slid one between his fingers, unlit.

A passing nurse caught sight of him. "Sir, no smoking in this wing. There's a designated area outside otherwise there's a fine."

Nathan's mouth curved into an easy, charming smile. He rolled the unlit cigarette between his fingers. "I'm not lighting it. Just holding it takes the edge off."

The nurse flushed and murmured, "Oh that's good, then," before hurrying off.

Once she was gone, Nathan's expression darkened. He stared hard at the closed door for a long moment before finally turning and walking away.

Lily stood by the window and watched, with her own eyes, as his car pulled out and disappeared down the road.

The instant it was gone, she crossed to the wardrobe and pulled the door open.

The first thing she saw was a pair of dark, heavy-lidded eyes staring back at her.

Heat rushed to her face, awkward and mortified.

Of course he's furious.A man like Adrian always surrounded by an entourage, the sun everyone else orbited folded into a cramped hospital wardrobe like some kind of stowaway. Of course this stung his pride.

"Mr. Sterling," she said quickly, extending a hand, "please, come out."

He didn't move. Didn't respond at all, frozen exactly as he'd been when he first climbed in.

"Mr. Sterling?" She reached in a little further. "Nathan's gone. You can come out now."

Something shifted immediately.

She caught it a half second too late some current of danger sparking in the air, her body already trying to pull back on instinct.

Too slow.

A hand veins standing out along the back of it shot out like something feral in the dark, closing around her wrist in an iron grip.

"Mr. Sterling"

The world tilted.

An overwhelming force yanked her forward, and she stumbled hard into the cramped wardrobe.

The door slammed shut behind her on a gust of displaced air, swallowing the last sliver of light whole.

The space was tight, airless, saturated with the overwhelming presence of a man far too close. Lily's whole body shook as she scrambled for the door, desperate to get out.

But her back met the wall instead.

His frame closed around her entirely, blocking every inch of space.

"Mr. Sterling, what's wrong? Are you unwell? Please, let me out, I'll get a doctor"

Her voice cracked apart mid-sentence.

Adrian pressed closer, his breath hot against her throat.

She tilted her head back on reflex.

An instant later, his mouth crushed against the most vulnerable curve of her neck.

Not a kiss.

A bite.

"ah"

Pain tore a sob from her throat, tears spilling freely, the space too small and too suffocating to even scream properly.

Only broken, helpless whimpers came out.

He looks so composed normally. Why does he bite like this?

She was terrified, genuinely terrified, that he might not stop.

Her sobs came faster, fragile and shaking, like flower petals caught in a storm.

Something in Adrian seemed to catch.

He went still.

Feeling the pressure ease, Lily shoved him back with everything she had and he staggered, off-balance, crashing into the wardrobe door hard enough to throw it open.

Light flooded in.

Tears still streaming, Lily looked past his shoulder and froze at the sight of the man standing in the doorway.

It was Trevor.

He'd dropped off Adrian and Toby earlier and been waiting downstairs the entire time, meaning to head home once his employer was settled.

Except something had been nagging at him all night.

He'd finally given in and come up to check.

The room had looked empty when he first walked in just Toby, alone.

He'd been about to go find a nurse and ask when he heard a faint rustling near the wardrobe.

He'd barely reached the door when it swung open on its own.

And there was Lily eyes red and swollen, body still trembling, an unmistakable mark blooming bright red against the pale skin of her neck.

And Adrian, dazed, disoriented.

Trevor's pupils contracted sharply.

He rushed forward and hauled Adrian upright. "Sir!"

Adrian didn't resist, but his body stayed rigid, his bloodshot eyes clouded with something caught between confusion and struggle, unfocused entirely.

Trevor guided him carefully toward the door.

He needs his therapist. Now.

Just before they reached it, Trevor stopped.

He glanced back at Lily, who'd stepped out of the wardrobe and now stood frozen in place, one hand pressed to her neck, her face bloodless.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Ashford," Trevor said, guilt thick in his voice. "I know that must have been terrifying. But please my employer isn't some kind of predator. He didn't mean to hurt you."

Lily said nothing, biting down hard on her lip.

Her lips, already pale, bled where her teeth had broken skin a small, stark blossom of red against the white of her face.

Trevor kept going, apologetic and rushed. "He has severe claustrophobia. He needs to see his doctor immediately. He'll come apologize to you himself tomorrow, I promise."

With that, he hurried Adrian out of the room without waiting for a response.

Lily slowly lowered her hand from her neck.

She pulled a tissue from the box on the nightstand and pressed it gently against the damp, faintly bleeding mark.

Claustrophobia. That explains it.

She felt a small pang of guilt now, remembering the strange, complicated look on his face right before she'd shut him into that wardrobe.

And still, he'd gone in without a word of protest.

She let out a quiet sigh and sank down onto the edge of the bed.

She was still irritated he'd bitten her out of nowhere but she couldn't pretend she hadn't played some part in putting him there in the first place.

Lily saw Adrian again early the next morning.

Or more precisely Toby saw him first.

Still lying in his hospital bed, Toby pointed toward the door. "It's Uncle!"

Lily turned.

There he was, standing in the doorway, silent.

He didn't look well.

She startled, taking an involuntary step back, her hand gripping the doorframe tight, unease written plainly across her face.

She must have been terrified last night.

Adrian let out a breath, barely audible, and broke the silence first. "Miss Ashford. I'm truly sorry about last night.”