The Bird in a Cage
Summary: Howl, a wealthy CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, is threatened by anonymous letters. Bodyguards are all the rage and Howl hires only the best… ending up saddled with the infamous Mad Hatter. Sophie and Howl, AU.
WARNING: Nudity and masculinity… and it's short.
Chapter Eleven
You ca'n't take less
Taking the guest room across the hall, Sophie curled up under the covers, dressed in one of Howl's old shirts and shorts, though they didn't fit and made her look like she was a little girl playing dress up with her Mam's clothes. Swathed in masculinity and the scent of clean clothes, Sophie fell asleep pretty easily, though her mind troubled her sleep with nightmares. The most haunting ones were of what could have happened had she not reacted in time. By morning, she was more exhausted than before and she crawled into the bathroom, tip toeing by Howl's room. The man was a light sleeper, despite his love for dreaming his days away.
As she bathed, a shrill alarm sounded, startling her. It sounded several times before she stepped out of the bath, though it finally went quiet just as she pulled one of the large towels hung in the rack around herself. She began to dry her hair with one of Howl's smaller, pastel blue towels. Unannounced, the door that led directly to Howl's room creaked open, and the blonde stumbled inside for a brief moment until he spotted feet and puddles. His nose twitched, catching the smell of his shampoo in the air and looked up. Comically, Sophie reacted first, blushing to the roots and shoving him out the door with hurried exclamations of "it's occupied" and "get out!"
The blonde stood outside having just been exiled, a hand over his mouth as his own blush spread. He was no virgin, but he was also very much aware of the boundaries of his and Sophie's relationship. That flash of flawless skin and silky hair turned his world topsy-turvy, obliterating the careful balance he'd sought to keep and he knew he'd just taken more than he could chew.
To be Continued…
It's almost like a shoujo manga, is it not? Howl is by no means a little boy, he's nearly thirty and fully grown, but I think a man who loves women would need to construct a careful boundary in order to keep away from his terrible yet wonderful bodyguard.
Keeping things civil between a man and a woman in a contained environment can be pretty difficult. They managed well enough, until the breaking point arrived.
Midnight is somewhere, but it would have been excessive to include him when it was not strictly necessary.
Words: 300
