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I turn my attention to Veronika as I step out the door. Surelyshe will mumble something about my relationship as usual, but something else happens instead.
Veronika's heavy tobacco-stained lips part to say goodbye, her cigarette dangles between the creased skin and then she gasps.
She does because, rather than set one foot safely on the sidewalk, I feel my body collide with a hard form. The impact has my hands lurching forward to find stability. My jaw collides with his chest, and momentarily, an iron taste fills my mouth. My fingers reach out to grab the air as I struggle to steady myself, and the cakefalls to the ground, the chocolate forming a puddle of brown on the concrete.
"Shit. Are you alright, Smithson?" Veronika sounds worried. She must see the blood on my lip. I wipe it clean and allow my vision to clear before I attempt to swivel around to take in the human who has ruined my gift for Mike. For us.
To make tonight different.
Strong hands hold me in place. I am pulled further into a fury of warmth.
A coat, I note, one that smells of musk and earth. There is the slightest hint of tobacco too, which blends well with his scent. Nothing too heady or dizzying. It is pure male and comforting. The type of comfort I experience from sitting beside a fire while reading a historical romance novel, sipping a cup of tea.
I feel hard muscles stretch around me. For a moment I imagine fingers reaching into my hair, but the sensation stills almost as it happens.
It's odd how I am frozen in time when I should be yelling or throwing tantrums over the cake and the injury that I have sustained. Veronika is speaking rapidly, uttering curse words in succession, but her words remain unclear to me. There is a strange feeling rising from the soles of my feet to the roots of my hair. The stranger's body, hands, his scent—I think I am thrilled to be in such athreatening situation for the first time. This elicits another feeling in me. One that is dark, dirty, not the least prudish.
I am baffled at my body's reaction. I am slowly melting away, revealing myself in just a single embrace.
"I didn't see you there. I won't let you fall."
He only offers those sentences. No apology, nothing else.
Only a sentence from a voice laced with dark secrets. It's icy, and crude. It sounds like a brazen invitation for me to make myself comfortable in his arms. Then I realize that my knees are knocking together. I am still shaky from the impact. Indeed, I need him to maintain my balance. If he lets go, the cake won't be the only thing decorating the ground. He is too close to be considered cautious. I can sense it in the way his breath fans my ears. His breathing is strangely silent; I don't hear even the slightest sound as he breathes, but I can feel the push of warm air. "Let her go, you animal!" Veronika shrieks pointing her lighter his way.
I hear a low groan of disappointment. Veronika ruins the moment.
No, wrong. Veronika is only saving me from the stranger!
Whatever had him in too much of a hurry to notice me standing there must still be bugging his mind. Somehow, it feels strangely satisfying to have been a temporary distraction to the faceless man behind me.
Slowly, his body's heat vanishes, and I feel the chill evening air hitting my back again. The spell is broken, I see the cake on the ground, and I feel a slight pain in my gums. I rub my lip. It stings but it will subside soon. Successfully turning around to face him on my second try, I finally take in the stranger that has made me feeleverything I have never let myself feel with anyone else in all my life. He stands about 6 feet tall or more, blocking the lights from the streetlamp facing the alley. I can't make out his facial features, but his physical form gives promises of a man with an attractive build. He is dressed entirely in black. No form of color…nothing.
His silhouette reveals his hands are digging into his pockets, and I imagine him watching me with identical scrutiny. I know he can see me because the lights flood my way from his angle.
The realization has me concealing the look of awe I suspect I must have been wearing all along, and I frown at him. "You ruined it." I am alarmed.
It's simple. I have every right to be angry. Displaying that should have been my first reaction, not burying my body against his. Who does that?
I imagine sharp brows raising to question my delayed outburst. I must sound stupid to him. I need to hear him apologize, because if he has, I never heard him, not while my backwas tohis face.
Oh, and I truly wish I could see his face to note sincerity when he speaks again.
He says nothing. I am annoyed at his lack of remorse, but somehow, I know nothing he says can reverse the situation unless he finds me a better piece of cake to take to Mike.
I calm my racing pulse. Panic is suppressed with control mastered over years. "You truly think that saying that makes it all okay?" I demand.
Veronika resumes her sidekick role. She scoffs, "Told you men are stupid."
The stranger doesn't speak to either of us. His head is turned my way, and I begin to wonder if he had been heading toward the back door of the restaurant before the collision. If not, what else would he be doing here?
Is he some new staff member? Only staff are allowed entry from the back door. He remains silent even at Veronika's abuse.
Fear pickles over my skin. Veronika and I might very well be in danger with this man.
We are in a dark alley. His face is perfectly masked by the shadows, but he can see Veronika and I clearly.
"Look at that, he doesn't even say anything. Oh, shit, fucking dimwit.
