Unfortunately for Caspian, ralphing in the toilet didn’t make him feel any better than he had a few minutes ago. He found himself laying on his back on the tiled, bathroom floor with his knees in the air and both arms crossed over his face to block out the light. He wished his friends hadn’t made him take those last two shots when they had been playing their game. There had been no reason for him to get this wasted when he’d only needed to appear hungover enough to make his trip to the club believable. Jay and Miles had just forced him to drink in excess for their own amusement.
“I’m gonna kill them for this,” he mumbled to himself then groaned as his stomach lurched again, and he scrambled upright to get to the toilet before he vomited again. The only good thing was that he’d made it back to his bedroom before his body had revolted against the liquor. At least he could be a mess in solitude.
When his stomach calmed down enough for him to risk venturing away from the bathroom, he changed out of his clothes and crawled into bed, pulling the duvet all the way over his head. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night, but on the bright side, he no longer had to worry about what was going on with Iris. When she had been at the penitentiary, he’d been almost constantly worried about what the soldiers had been doing to her; and when she had been at the hospital, he’d worried about how stable she was and whether the soldiers would come by to take her back to her cell. Now that she was in Miles’ care, he could finally relax, knowing that she was safe from the people who wanted her executed.
Doing his best to focus on that rather than the dizziness and nausea that he’d brought upon himself by overindulging, he eventually managed to drift off into a light and moderately interrupted sleep.
Meanwhile at the Kinders’ house, Miles breathed a sigh of relief that his tone deaf offer hadn’t been poorly received by Iris. “I don’t mind it, really,” he insisted with a shrug. “I can sleep anywhere, but if you’re sure you’d rather be on the sofa then I won’t try to stop you.” Technically, insisting that he would sleep on the couch would have been the more gentlemanly thing to do, but unlike Caspian, he had never been the gentlemanly type. He could show compassion when he needed to, but he didn’t stick to rules and traditions when he didn’t see a reason to do so.
With a nod at her request, he stepped over to pick up the empty water glass and took it into the bathroom to refill from the faucet. The water supply for the entire manor was purified, so even the stuff that came from the sink would taste as good as the source in the kitchen. Bringing the full cup back for her, he handed it off and then grabbed a spare blanket from the closet. It was a particularly fluffy black one that would hopefully be more than enough to keep a person warm overnight.
While he was inside the closet, he also changed into a set of silk pajamas to wear to bed. Usually, he preferred to sleep au naturel, but that would have been completely inappropriate with a platonic female guest staying over, so he tolerated the clothes this time. Once he was dressed again, he stepped back into the bedroom.
“Here you go,” he said as he tossed the blanket on the sofa next to her. “Hope you sleep well, Iris. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?” Ambling over to the edge of the room, he turned out the overhead lights and climbed into his bed to get some rest, doing his best not to think about the fact that he had an attractive woman in the room with him. “Goodnight,” he mumbled to her, nestling comfortably in the soft sheets. Despite his offer to do more for her if she needed anything, it didn’t take long before he passed out, weary from the alcohol that was still in his system.
“I’m gonna kill them for this,” he mumbled to himself then groaned as his stomach lurched again, and he scrambled upright to get to the toilet before he vomited again. The only good thing was that he’d made it back to his bedroom before his body had revolted against the liquor. At least he could be a mess in solitude.
When his stomach calmed down enough for him to risk venturing away from the bathroom, he changed out of his clothes and crawled into bed, pulling the duvet all the way over his head. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night, but on the bright side, he no longer had to worry about what was going on with Iris. When she had been at the penitentiary, he’d been almost constantly worried about what the soldiers had been doing to her; and when she had been at the hospital, he’d worried about how stable she was and whether the soldiers would come by to take her back to her cell. Now that she was in Miles’ care, he could finally relax, knowing that she was safe from the people who wanted her executed.
Doing his best to focus on that rather than the dizziness and nausea that he’d brought upon himself by overindulging, he eventually managed to drift off into a light and moderately interrupted sleep.
Meanwhile at the Kinders’ house, Miles breathed a sigh of relief that his tone deaf offer hadn’t been poorly received by Iris. “I don’t mind it, really,” he insisted with a shrug. “I can sleep anywhere, but if you’re sure you’d rather be on the sofa then I won’t try to stop you.” Technically, insisting that he would sleep on the couch would have been the more gentlemanly thing to do, but unlike Caspian, he had never been the gentlemanly type. He could show compassion when he needed to, but he didn’t stick to rules and traditions when he didn’t see a reason to do so.
With a nod at her request, he stepped over to pick up the empty water glass and took it into the bathroom to refill from the faucet. The water supply for the entire manor was purified, so even the stuff that came from the sink would taste as good as the source in the kitchen. Bringing the full cup back for her, he handed it off and then grabbed a spare blanket from the closet. It was a particularly fluffy black one that would hopefully be more than enough to keep a person warm overnight.
While he was inside the closet, he also changed into a set of silk pajamas to wear to bed. Usually, he preferred to sleep au naturel, but that would have been completely inappropriate with a platonic female guest staying over, so he tolerated the clothes this time. Once he was dressed again, he stepped back into the bedroom.
“Here you go,” he said as he tossed the blanket on the sofa next to her. “Hope you sleep well, Iris. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?” Ambling over to the edge of the room, he turned out the overhead lights and climbed into his bed to get some rest, doing his best not to think about the fact that he had an attractive woman in the room with him. “Goodnight,” he mumbled to her, nestling comfortably in the soft sheets. Despite his offer to do more for her if she needed anything, it didn’t take long before he passed out, weary from the alcohol that was still in his system.