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Then she glances both ways before crossing the deserted street.
“Hi,” she murmurs as she nears my hiding spot.
I don’t know what else to do, so I step back, further into the shadows. “Hello.”
Dani quickly looks over her shoulder, as if checking to see if the guard is watching her. Then she joins me behind the tree’s trunk.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, and though the words could be accusatory, her tone seems only curious, if not slightly tinged with concern. “Did Silvia send you? Is everything okay?”
“No, she did not send me. Everything is fine… or it was when I finished my shift for the evening….” My words trail off as I fail to come up with a reasonable excuse.
I can’t tell her the truth—that my feet just carried me here. Even if she did believe me, that doesn’t explain why I stopped to watch her. I shake my head, at a loss for what to say. Then my eyes drop to the grass at her sandal-clad feet.
I shouldn’t be here.“I should go.” I take another step back, turning to leave at the same time.
“Wait.” Delicate fingers find the crook of my elbow as Dani stops me.
And electric tingles crackle across my skin at her touch. My eyes flash to the point of contact, and Dani withdraws her hand as if from the top of a hot stove.
“Did you just get off work?” she asks, stepping closer, though she doesn’t try to touch me again.
“Yes, I was on my way home.” That sounds reasonable enough—and is still mostly true.
“You work long hours,” she observes.
“We are still looking for members to fill the security team. Good help is hard to find these days, and Mr. Veles does not trust easily. Especially when it comes to his wife and daughter’s safety.”
Dani’s knowing affection warms her blue eyes. They’re nearly the color of midnight in the dark. When her mouth twitches into a delicate smile, my eyes drop to it. I want nothing more than to run my thumb over her full lips.
“Do you always pass my house on your way home?” Dani asks, recapturing my gaze and taking the conversation back into dangerous territory.
“Ah, no,” I confess, combing my hair back from my face before scratching the nape of my neck uncomfortably.
A painstaking silence stretches between us. And I find it almost impossible to maintain eye contact.
When Dani speaks again, her voice comes out as a hushed whisper that raises the hair on my arms. “And you stopped to watch me?”
I don’t answer because she knows. Instead, I study her face, trying to decide how that fact makes her feel. Yes, I was watching her. I can’t seem to stop watching her.
A shiver ripples visibly through Dani, and I wonder if it’s because she’s cold or if she finds the thought of me watching her unsettling.
“You should go back inside,” I observe. Because I’m dangerously close to using my body heat to warm her if she does not.
“I’m fine. Really,” she insists, then pauses. “Efrem…” she starts again, her tone hesitant.
Even in the dim lighting of the streetlamp that filters through the tree’s leaves, I can see color staining her tan cheeks.
“Do you… find me attractive? I’ve… noticed you watching me more lately, and I just thought….”
My jaw clenches, and I ball my fists as I fight the urge to touch her. Find her attractive? Is she fucking kidding? I should be embarrassed that my ogling is blatant enough for her to notice, but I find I’m too consumed by her presence to care. It’s taking all my focus to maintain proper boundaries right now.
“Thought what?” My voice is hoarse from the strain of controlling myself.
I shouldn’t have asked because Dani’s clearly more perceptive than I had given her credit for. She sees the effect she has on me, and now that she’s broached the topic of my attraction toward her, I can’t back out without leaving her in an awkward position.
But suddenly, her tentative expression turns shy. She bites the soft pad of her lower lip, and her chin tucks defensively toward her chest as if she’s worried I might lash out at her. The thought that she might fear me releases a deep, hollow ache in my chest.
“I am sorry. I shouldn’t have come here,” I state, my stomach knotting because I’ve put Dani in a compromised position.
