DEFENDER [hs]

Chapter 33

He reached over to my side and used his fingers to lightly push my knees away to open up the dashboard. The touch somehow made a heartbeat rise. His touch was soft. As he dragged his hand away, his pinky grazed alongside the skin of my thigh. He was doing this on purpose. 

I pretended to not react and looked at my phone to check the time. 10:30 said big white fonts on the screen. Harry let out a sigh as he clicked on the button of the remote of the gate. A second later, both of the silver steel gates opened and Harry drove into the driveway. 

His house was fit for a king. I shamelessly looked outside the window in awe. My gaze rested on the immense oak tree that cut into the landscape, which unfortunately looked like it was withering and dying. Harry drove closer to the house where I got a better look. 

The exterior of the house was astounding. It was a modern home that had designs that had emphasizes clean lines and geometric shapes. It had big glass windows that allowed the moonlight to penetrate through. The windows had Castillian wrought iron, adding a vintage touch to the6 modern household.

The windows looked a little weird because of it and it isn't what people usually combine together. But we're talking about Harry here, I don't think he cares. "Nice house," I said and he nodded. It surprised me how Harry wasn't bragging and telling me why he bought it. If this house was mine, everyone in the world would know. 

Harry parked the car on the stoney brick driveway and I hopped out, clutching my purse in my hands. The weather was way different from Connecticut. It wasn't as chilly at night. I looked up and my eyes fixed to the very few stars that lit up the sky. Back home stars were a once a thing phenomenon. I think they were stars at least. It's New York. City lights looked like stars at night.

Harry led me inside the house with a hand on the small of my back, urging me in. Inside felt like a whole other universe. It's like I got sucked into somewhere else. Somewhere where my wildest dreams looked like.

'The Harry Clone Factory'? 

Maybe. 

The interior of the house is focused around a large central hallway serving as the main avenue of traffic and entrance area to the adjacent rooms. Each room was fully furnished with sofas that could easily hold up more than twenty people. Seriously, it was like Harry was living in a castle all by his own. I traced my fingers against the leather sofa and looked up at Harry who was placing our luggage down and spinning the car keys between his fingers.

"So, you throw parties here?" I asked him with curiosity. "What makes you say that?" He asked me back and I leaned against the couch placing my head in my right arm. "I don't know, you have a big house, and you kind of seem like a party animal."

He let out a chuckle and made his way into the stupidly large kitchen. I was convinced they shot MasterChef here. Again, no one needs a kitchen this big. "Very bold of you to assume I'm a party animal, princess," Harry exclaimed. 

'Princess'

His words caught me so off guard it was getting harder to breathe. It was like a vacuum had been shoved down my throat and sucked all the air out of my lungs. The last time I had heard the word from him was two years ago. He use to call me that pet name all the time. Hearing him say it again made twists in my body. I inhaled deeply when he wasn't looking to contain myself. Why was I reacting to him like this?

"I don't know, big house, big money, surely you will have girls, maybe?" I asked with my chin up using every hint of courage and confidence in me. Even though I tried putting up a bold and unamused face, I was still very much shaking on the inside. Harry found my expressions and body posture very entertaining. "Sure." He replied with a grin leaving me confused but I chose to shrug it off. This man was confusing in many ways. 

"Want anything to eat?" He asked and the respectful human version of me would decline kindly. But I was starving. As in I would happily sacrifice Harry for my hunger. And I would do it with zero guilt. 

"Please, M'starving," I said as I sat down on one of the many kitchen chairs. I watched as Harry made his way to the back room of the kitchen grabbing a pan. My fingers grazed against the wooden table. Although his house was doltishly huge, it was fucking beautiful.

My eyes were heavy and I felt dizzy. Sleep was taking over me as the minutes went by. Harry was still at the back, doing something. My body was drained and all I could think about was sleep. I let my arms fold on the table and placed my head over them. 

You know it is advised to be very aware when you're in a stranger's house. For all I know, Harry could be planning to stab me and dismember my body into tiny pieces then bury them in his garden. The thing is I should be aware but at this point, I'd love to risk it all for sleep. The more I kept my eyes open, the more I could see double of everything. 

So, being foolish like I am. I dozed off.

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My vision soon became aware as I shot up when I felt nugdement against my arm. Stood before me was Harry with plates of pasta in his hands. My body sat up straight and I glanced at the vintage-looking clock above the low cabinets. It was around midnight. 

"Have some, then you can rest sleepyhead," Harry said I nodded midsleep. This situation was very embarrassing but because I was half awake I didn't give a fuck. I wanted to feast up and head straight to bed. Speaking of going straight to bed, where will I be sleeping?

"Where am I  sleeping?" I groaned as I rubbed my tired eyes with the heel of my palm. Harry sat down across me and began eating while staring at me. I looked back down at my food to avoid eye contact.

"The guest room." He said and I replied with an 'oh'. I didn't know why I went with that answer but keep in mind, I was halfdead. "Why would you rather sleep with me?" Harry asked with a smug look and I was unamused. I shot him a glare and said "Dream on," and stuffed my face with pasta.

God damn it, fucking delicious.

"Let's keep ourselves displeased, alright?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

hey! sorry if this was a lil short.

make sure to vote<3

reminder : drink water, it's delicious ;) (see what i did there?;])

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