Page 56 of The Defiant Curse

“It’s a pleasure, Mom. Sweet dreams, and we’ll see you in the morning.”

That worked for her.

Holding out his hand, Michael offered to escort her upstairs.

“Gabby left some things here,” he said. “Sometimes, she and Finn stick around for dinner, board games, and a sleepover. That mountain down to the town is treacherous in the fog or bad weather.”

Oh, she bet.

“Maybe there’s something you can sleep in until we go shopping tomorrow.”

She wasn’t above sleeping naked. A girl had to do what a girl had to do.

“All I want is a hot shower and bed,” she admitted. “I feel like I haven’t had either in so long that I can’t even recall the last time I went horizontal. Vertical sleeping is for the birds.

Well, they had both of those things, and she was definitely going to be able to utilize all the luxuries that Callen and Chris had done here with Elizabeth in mind.

Heading up the tower stairs, they got to the doorway that was marked ‘Master’s Quarters’, and she came to a stop to read the metal plate on the wall beside it.

Immediately, she laughed.

“Let me guess. Callen?” she asked. “Because he’s absolutely going there in a very old castle who once had a master.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Not.

Even.

Close.

“How did you know? That seems so unlike him,” Michael joked. “He’s always of pure mind and intent.”

That was funny since he was absolutely the most perverted, and lecherous of them all. Once you got him going, he was an out-of-control ride to kinky bedlam.

Yeah…

She missed him too.

Pushing the door in, he made sure Elizabeth knew where he’d be in case she needed him at all during the night—no matter what the reason.

“Graham and I will be over there,” he said, pointing to the next doorway over. “You know, in case something comes up. Security will lock the place down, and alarms will go off if anyone opens the doors or windows. Maybe don’t do that, so I don’t have a heart attack.”

She snorted.

“I can do that. Do I get to know the code?” she asked, “or am I locked down like at home in this gilded cage?”

He didn’t hesitate to tell her. If she was running from being a prisoner, she deserved to have some freedom—and trust.

“It’s your anniversary with Chris, the one in Colombia, not in the US. He insisted you’d know that, and since it’s not public knowledge, it wasn’t easily hacked.”

Oh, she knew what it was. On top of that, she wasn’t planning on going anywhere.

That was for damn sure.

“Thanks, Saint Michael. I love you,” she said, checking out the room. There was a fire going, and the MASSIVE bed looked so inviting.

He didn’t hesitate to share his feelings, too.