Mortified, I shifted my gaze his way. “Oh no, I’m sorry. What did he tell you to do?”

“Hang on.” Tudor slid off the bed and went into the front room. He came back with a pink, laminated sheet of A4 paper. “He left me this.”

I cringed.

Clearing his throat to disguise his laughter, he handed me the sheet, which I saw was entitled:

‘Mission: Keep Tash Alive’

“When did he do this?” I asked, shaking my head lightly.

“Before he left. He had it printed out already and stuck to the fridge, but he laminated it about an hour ago in case I ruined it with my clumsy sausage hands and forgot what to do, thus causing me to fail in my task. Who has a laminator in their bedroom anyway?”

I grimaced. “He can be a tad dramatic. And the boy does love his stationery; he’ll find any excuse to laminate. You should see the take-away menu drawer… he has shares in Staples!” I tried to explain, but hey, it’s Tink, and he beats to the sound of his own drum.

“It’s no problem. I’ve noticed he is very protective of you, so I’m not surprised.”

He pulled the sheet aside and climbed back onto his side of the bed. His side? At that point, I suddenly remembered the scarf that he had left with me was tucked under my pillow, which I realised may make me look like a slightly crazy obsessed fan, rather than the detached and independent woman that I clearly was.

Had he seen it? I surreptitiously ran my gaze over where I had been lying – phew, out of sight.

“Yeah, he is. He just doesn’t like me being hurt,” I explained, shifting my body to the side to make it easier to talk.

Tudor mirrored my position so we were facing each other about two feet apart. “Have you been hurt badly before?” he inquired.

“In what sense? I’m clumsy as all hell and have had a few bouts of illness, if that’s what you’re asking?”

He nodded and began to rub his lips together. He looked up guiltily. “What about with men?”

Well that’s a bit personal.

“Erm… well, my ex-boyfriend was a huge arsehole who cheated on me in a spectacular fashion. I had been with him for a few years and no-one serious before that. I figured if he could do that to me then he wasn’t worth it.”

I looked down to the pillow avoiding his eyes. “That’s the reason why Tink is protective of me; he was my rock during that fallout. My God, he moved continents for me,” I let out a single laugh.

Tudor nodded silently. “He seems to like Tate,” he said, moving the conversation to slightly safer territory.

“Yeah. A lot I think. I’ve never seen him react to anyone like this before. I’m happy for them. Who knows? It could be love at first sight. Like Romeo and, well, Romeo!” I teased.

Tudor grinned at my joke. “I think Tate is smitten too; he doesn’t really talk much about what’s going on in his head but I can tell. He’s a total introvert. I think Tink will be good for him, he might be able to bring him out of his shell. I’m glad. He copes with a lot working for me and never gets to meet anyone on a long term basis. Luckily, I’m here for a few months before pre-production starts on my next film. It may be the perfect time for him to meet Mr. Right.”

“Yeah I’m glad too, but then they have only just met. Can something that profound really happen in twenty-four hours? Enough for that person to impact your life to such an extent?” I mused sceptically, expecting him to agree with me.

The muscled-demigod turned and fixed his hooded dark green eyes directly on mine and pierced me with a look. “I believe so.”

Holy mackerel, Batman! What do I do with that titbit of information?!

Tudor suddenly changed the subject again, breaking the moment. His muscular back tensed. “Tink doesn’t like me much does he?” he asked quietly, avoiding my eyes.

How do I answer that? ‘No, he thinks you could potentially screw me over, shatter my soul and never let me in that Helms Deep fortress you call a heart.’

“He doesn’t know you, that’s all. I don’t either really, and you don’t know really know me. I only met you last night, for goodness sake!”

Tudor flinched at my words and rubbed my calf that was resting on top of my quilt. “I would like to know you. I don't understand it but I feel like I already kind of do. It’s... weird.”

Well that is a surprise.

He laid back once more and I patted his huge arm. “You have to understand a few things with Tink. He has very little family and the bit he does have are deeply religious and believe that he is an abomination who will burn in hell for eternity for being born attracted to men. When he was fourteen he came out to his parents, I thought he was so brave and encouraged it. Anyway, they freaked on an epic scale and sent him to a summer ‘retreat’ in back-country Alabama for teens who were sexually ‘possessed by the devil’. It was horrific for him. Obviously it didn’t work and he was made to leave his home and live with his uncle until he moved out to live with me.”