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She plopped back down in her seat and tucked the blanket in. “You always do that, you know.”
“What?”
“Fail to take into account how fabulous you are. Maybe he actually likes you.”
I scoffed. “Please. He doesn’t even know me.”
“He knows you’re brave and compassionate, that you refuse to be fucked with, and you stand strong in adversity. Plus, you’re hot, and I bet he enjoyed that sesh you two had, or he’d have disappeared likeyou expected!” She threw a crumpled-up napkin at me, and I batted it away with a laugh.
“I love you too, Ad, but as my oldest friend, you’re obviously biased.”
She groaned. “Are you gonna come watchThe Witcherwith me or what?”
“Nah. I’m just going to get to bed. It’s been a long day.”
She pouted. “Fine. See you tomorrow then.”
“Night…” I shuffled down the hall to my room.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Beneath the Mask
Tess
Thursday morning dawned witha vengeance, the wind howling like a banshee as it hurled garbage cans across the street. I dragged myself out of bed, muscles protesting every movement. En route to the shower, I parted the curtains, greeted by a slate-gray sky that mirrored my mood.
As I nursed my coffee at the kitchen table, my phone screen a lifeline to the outside world, an unexpected knock shattered the morning’s gloomy rhythm. My heart leaped into my throat, its frantic beats drowning out reason. I took a steadying breath, reminding myself it could be anyone—a neighbor, a delivery, a persistent canvasser—as I approached the door onunsteady legs.
I swung the door open, and there he stood—a vision in a black henley that clung to his sculpted torso and faded blue jeans that hugged his hips just so. He was every midnight fantasy made flesh, standing on my doorstep in broad daylight.
His arms extended, offering a vibrant bouquet of wildflowers that stood in stark contrast to the dreary day. His eyes, smoldering with an intensity that made my knees weak, locked onto mine. One corner of his mouth quirked up in that signature half-smile that never failed to set my pulse racing.
Despite my best efforts to maintain composure, genuine delight bloomed across my face at the sight of him. Scrambling to regain control, I schooled my features into what I hoped was a snarky smirk, even as warmth flooded my cheeks.
“Sir, you are early.”
“It’s been exactly a week.” His voice lilted higher toward the end, like it mattered to him what I thought.
I couldn’t deny the little thrill I got from that as I shook my head. “No, not until…” I checked my watch. “Ten am. Three more hours.”
He scoffed, raising an eyebrow, his tone relaxing into our banter. “You’ll be at work by then, and you asked me not to visit you there.” His piercing gaze dared me to contradict him.
Well, wasn’t that infuriatingly thoughtful?
I pressed my lips together and blew a breath out my nose in mocking judgment. “You’resoclingy. You’ve been stalking me all week. That wasn’t the deal.”
He threw his hand over his chest. “Iwas not stalking you.” The way he specified that answer sounded like someone elsewas, but I didn’t have it in me to push that line. I didn’t want to know.
Head, meet hole in the ground.
“I saw you.”
He smirked, pointing at me with a ‘gotcha’ look. “So you did notice me. Even though I was ignoring you.Now,who’s clingy?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. Try scared for my life.”
He snorted. “Baby, you’ve never been safer. So... Dinner?”
Even as my inner self squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down like a tween, I sighed. Raising my shoulders and letting them drop, I pretended to be resigned to having to go spend time with the sinfully hot sex god who couldn’t stop thinking about me all week.
