You woke up feeling sore and nauseated again, however the heavy presence of warmth beside you put you at ease. You knew if you rolled over, you'd see him laying there looking back at you, that sleepy little smirk on his face and a light blush powdering his cheeks. "You ok?" he mumbled into your ear, soothing you as you rolled over to look at him.
"Better now that you're here." you mumbled, nuzzling further into his chest. He placed a gentle kiss atop your forehead, wishing to ease your pain. He had to get back to work, yet laying here with you for a few blissful moments could be excused. "You know..." he spoke into your skin, pressing his lips against your forehead. "It does get lonely in there. I wouldn't mind some company today, love."
"Really?" you looked up at him hopefully. He grinned slightly and kissed your forehead once more. "Of course." He knew you were too stubborn to stay away from him all day while he worked, figuring it best to let you come along, lest you get lost in the maze by yourself.
"Come on now, I have work to do." Miah said, lifting the silk covers off your bodies and allowing the crisp morning air to wash over you. Shivering as your feet touched the floor, you quickly got dressed and followed Miah to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee before leaving for his office.
Twisting and turning through the maze, Jeremiah lead you behind him with his hand clasped tightly around yours, like a parent holding their child's hand crossing a busy street. "Here." Miah said as you arrived at the door to his office, handing you his cup of coffee to unlock the door.
Inside, the walls were lined with numerous blueprints and scribbled notes, a large table in the centre of the room strewn with more papers and writings. A bookcase sat in one of the far corners of the room, a lonely chair sat beside it. You walked towards the chair, setting your coffee down of the floor beside it as you scanned the bookcase for something to read.
Of course, there were mainly just documents and such crowding the shelves, but the top shelf was lined with classical works from the likes of William Shakespeare and Ernest Hemingway. You finally decided on Macbeth, a childhood favourite. Fond memories of your father lulling you to sleep with its complex verses when you were little rushed back to you, a wave of nostalgia washing over you as your fingertips brushed over the brown leather cover, bold letters cut into its flesh stating the title.
For a while, the two of you sat in silence, consumed by your respective activities. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, not in the slightest. Yet you couldn't help but feel uneasy. Something was... off. You were unsure if Jeremiah knew something he wasn't telling you or if it was just paranoia from Jerome's escape, but something definitely wasn't right.
That's when you saw it. In the corner of the room, pressed up against the wall behind Jeremiah's desk, sat a crate. A very large, seemingly metal crate. Built to hold the likes of a large dog such as a retriever. But Jeremiah didn't have a dog. He never did. Unless it was a... fetish crate? What the fuck, Y/n?! You shook that thought quickly out of your head.
"You ok, Y/n?" Jeremiah asked, noticing your gaze locked on the crate. "What's that for?" you asked, nodding towards the crate. Jeremiah simply shrugged his shoulders. "It belongs to Ecco, mentioned she was getting a dog so she's keeping it here until everything is approved." Duh, of course. "Oh, ok." you mumbled, returning your attention to your book.
Silence swallowed the two of you again, your attention slowly switching from the book to Jeremiah. You watched as he worked, scribbling notes and skimming through pages, endlessly consumed by his passion. Fuck, he's beautiful. You thought to yourself, a smile creeping into the corners of your mouth. The way he pursed his lips deep in thought, nudging his glasses up when they slipped down. How he tiresomely ran a hand through his hair, a few loose strands falling down in front of his eyes.
It wasn't long before you found yourself undressing him with your eyes, biting your lip as you did. He seemed so polite and innocent on the surface, however you knew better. You knew what made him tick. What you didn't notice was how his gaze had now shifted from his work onto you. You appeared simply lost in thought.
He gazed over your form, sitting with legs curled up in his armchair, book snug in your lap, chin resting in your palm as you stared at what he thought was his desk. He was trying to understand why you stayed as long as you did. Hours spent huddled away in his office, if not nose buried in a novel, oftentimes dismissing your presence, yet you still stayed, even when he was at his coldest towards you in earlier years. Why?
The beeping of Jeremiah's security camera's alerted the two of you, snapping you out of your thoughts and back to reality. "It's just Ecco." Jeremiah said, a brief sigh of relief escaping his lips as he gave Ecco entry and went back to working. You only now noticed his tense nature, the slight tremble in his hands as he wrote and the muffled breathing. "Miah, you ok?" you asked, getting up and walking towards him. You sat on the edge of the desk, looking up at him as you rest a hand on his cheek. "I'm fine, just nerves love. Don't worry." Jeremiah reassured you, kissing your hand in comfort. You smiled at him, leaning in as the door opened and Ecco stepped in.
"Oh-" Ecco stopped, looking between you and Jeremiah. "I'll come back later..." she spoke, however Jeremiah pulled back, collecting himself before speaking. "No, it's ok. What did you need?" Ecco pointed at the crate. "I just came to collect the crate. I'm picking up the dog tonight." Jeremiah nodded, stepping back as she came in and grabbed the crate. "Thank you." she mumbled, swiftly making an exit, the door closing behind her.
You raised a brow at Jeremiah, however he had already returned his attention to the papers in front of him. You sighed, looking back at the door. You'd always found Ecco... odd. By the way she looked at Jeremiah, she looked like she'd take a bullet for him- literally. It disturbed you ever so slightly, but you didn't think much else of it. She never gave you any trouble and she was always polite enough around you. Though she never really spoke to you either. She seemed... emotionless, almost.
"Are you hungry?" Jeremiah asked, looking up from his papers to you. "I suppose I could do with something to eat." you replied, hopping down off the desk and walking towards the door. As it opened, Jeremiah grabbed your hand once more, entangling your fingers as he lead you back through the maze. You took one last look at the study where the crate had been, before shaking your head and following Jeremiah.