I grimaced. “Sorry, Van. Did we even thank you?”

She waved us off. “All in a day’s work around here. Good night, you two. I’ll shut down the room.”

I led the way to Trick’s room, listening to Van as she moved around turning off the lights and flipping over the locks. The door to Trick’s room was open, so I slipped in quietly to put Dammit in his nighttime cage, settling him in to a nest of adult phoenix feathers. They were one of the few soft materials he could nest in without setting them on fire. When I had clipped the cage shut, I turned to see Declan tucking in Trick. We both tiptoed out and shut off the lights. It felt a little bit like we were the parents of very weird children.

It was strangely intimate to brush my teeth next to Declan. Trick had his own bathroom, so I was used to sharing the space with Van and even Declan, but we didn’t usually brush at the same time. Declan and I both shared the bathroom as we went through our various routines. I wasn’t sure about him, but I was desperately trying to not think about the rest of the night. But whether I wanted to think about it or not, I couldn’t dawdle forever, and eventually we were both in my room.

“I’ll sleep on the outside,” Declan said, pulling his shirt over his head.

“You don’t have to—”

He paused with his shirt in hands. “The closer the better, right?”

“I know, but…” I waved at him. “You could sleep on the floor or something if that makes you feel better. Or I can.” In that moment, if I’d owned a tent, I would have been setting it up in the middle of my room. As it was, I’d locked down our bond on my end, because I was afraid of what kind of feedback he might be getting from me. Half-naked Declan was a lot. A smattering of hair dusted his chest, and I couldn’t keep myself from following a trail of that hair as it disappeared into his jeans.

He cleared his throat and my head snapped back up. Busted.

Declan didn’t call me out, but his brown eyes were warm when he dipped his head and caught my gaze. “Which would be better for the bond—one of us on the floor, or sleeping how we did last night?”

I could lie. I was so, so tempted to lie, even though I suck at it. But that wouldn’t be good for either of us in the end. I sighed. “Like last night.”

He folded his shirt and set it on my desk, then went for his jeans.

“Don’t you at least have pajamas? Preferably something Victorian that covers you from chin to toes? Some chainmail, maybe?”

He fought a smile. “I can buy some if you like.” His hands hesitated at the waist of his jeans. “If it’s a problem….”