Fire & Brimstone (Neighbor from Hell #8) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,44

he was going to be able to do that with Rebecca around. He should let her go, keep his hands to himself and focus on what really mattered, but even as he told himself that it was for the best, he found himself thinking about how much he wanted to go upstairs and put his arms around her.

Letting her go wasn’t an option, he realized, not until he’d let this thing between them run its course. He had no idea if she was the one or just the one that his body wanted right now, but either way he wasn’t giving her up just yet. But, letting her take over every waking moment like this wasn’t going to work either.

He needed to get his mind off her and back where it belonged and in order to do that, he was going to have to start treating Rebecca like he would any other woman and hope that she didn’t lose her fucking mind like the rest of them had.

*-*-*-*

“Why is Lucifer glaring at you?” Melanie asked from where she sat, perched at the edge of her seat with a fresh chocolate milkshake on one side, her computer in front of her and a half-eaten cheeseburger on the other.

She chuckled as she placed Melanie’s bill on the table. “He’s always glaring,” she said, wondering why Melanie was suddenly unnerved by Lucifer’s favorite pastime.

“True,” Melanie readily agreed with a nod as she continued to watch Lucifer with a perplexed expression on her face, “but normally he likes to diversify his glares to include everyone in the general facility.”

“Maybe he’s glaring at you?” Rebecca suggested even as she glanced over her shoulder to find Lucifer not quite glaring at her as much as he was staring at her as though he was trying to figure something out.

“No, he’s definitely looking at you,” Melanie said with a thoughtful expression as she took a sip of her milkshake. “Any idea why?”

“Not a clue,” she said, honestly having absolutely no clue what was wrong with him.

It had been an entire week since that amazing day they’d spent together doing, umm, things. She’d hoped that it would lead to something, at least an attempt at something, but as soon as she’d woken up the next morning she’d realized that she probably shouldn’t get her hopes up.

After waking up and finding herself in her own bed, she’d realized that she’d missed her shift. Cursing Lucifer for exhausting her with amazing sex, she threw her clothes on, ran downstairs, only slightly looking forward to seeing him so that he could wrap his arms around her while worshiping the very ground that she walked on. Instead, she’d managed to make it downstairs in time to sneak into the morning meeting where Lucifer pretended that he hadn’t noticed her.

That hadn’t bothered her since they were at work and needed to maintain a professional relationship. What had bothered her was when the meeting was over and they were the last two people in the room. He’d barely acknowledged her when she said hello and before she could get a chance to talk to him, he was walking out the door.

By the end of the day she’d realized two things, she might not have to quit after all and Lucifer wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. Since then he’d all but ignored her, acknowledging her when he needed something and only then if he couldn’t find someone else to do it for him. She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t disappointed that it had been just a one-time thing. When that didn’t work, she tried to convince herself that the two of them together was a really bad idea.

It had taken a few days and several trips to Dixon’s Gluten Free Bakery, but she was eventually able to get over it. She would probably never forget just how good it felt to be in his arms, but she was surprisingly okay with that. She also realized that she would probably never meet another man that could make her feel the way that he did, which had the power to depress her so she tried not to think about it.

“What happened between the two of you anyway?” Melanie asked.

She’d ruined him for all other women.

But, she couldn’t say that, because it would give away too much and Melanie would never leave her alone. So, instead she settled for a shrug and a lie.

“He professed his undying love for me, but alas, I just