Stripped Love (Guys Next Door #1) - Baylin Crow Page 0,33
the siren queen's ears that many of her kin had been captured and were detained in chained tanks aboard the ship, she'd gathered her army and set off to not only rescue them, but leave a trail of carnage in her wake. The revenge plot was heavy on both sides, and the expressions on both the sirens’ and pirates’ faces were etched with pure hate.
The story was quickly approaching the climax, and I huffed in frustration. It wasn't often I got worked up, but there was something off with the storyline, or maybe it was that I still hadn't decided what came next. Months of work stared back at me, and I refused to turn the page to a blank sheet when I had no idea where the story was going.
A flashback to another story that sat unfinished in a box somewhere, or maybe the trash for all I knew, interrupted my thoughts.
My mother once saw a book I had started, years ago. She'd showed it to my stepdad. He'd already made it abundantly clear that he disapproved of me, simply because I wasn’t his biological child. The twisted circus theme had only fueled his decision to send me to a college out of state. A request I'd happily agreed to. I never saw them anymore. Rarely talked to them. Didn't want to.
I sighed and tapped my colored pencil against the page, weighing the possible outcomes. My gaze drifted to Phoenix's house, unlit, and wondered if he'd be off work and home soon. Things had been off between us too, and that was probably my fault. But I'd taken what CJ and Caleb had said to heart. I wanted to be sure I had no issue with Phoenix stripping. The truth was that, no, I wouldn't like it if we became more serious. But then I realized if things were to progress and we dated, it would be because I already trusted him. So, liking it was a moot point.
There was another thing that had been niggling at my brain. He hadn't tried anything else with me other than kissing—a lot. And when I'd try to tempt him to go further, he'd pull back.
Before I could obsess over it as I’d done many times, the smooth sound of an engine approached, and though I couldn't see his driveway from where I sat, I saw the swing of headlights over the mowed grass as Phoenix pulled in and the engine cut off.
Only a few minutes passed before I heard the swish of his patio door sliding open and found myself staring down at him, half blended with the shadows. With an unlit cigarette between his lips, the moonlight glinted off his rings as he raised the lighter, pausing halfway in the air when his eyes caught mine. He tossed both onto the glass table and stepped out onto the lawn.
"Hey." I gave him a tentative smile.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and tilted his head. "I thought you'd be asleep. What are you doing up so late?"
"I don't even know what time it is." I shrugged. "This book." I frowned down at the page before looking back to Phoenix. "I don't know what happens next."
He chewed on his lip and then started forward. "I'm coming up," he warned just before he scaled the fence and then pulled himself over the railing, landing on light feet.
My jaw dropped at how easy it had been for him.
He grinned down at me. "Want me to take a look?"
Over the last week he had been my sounding board to my frustrations, and we had bounced ideas off each other. But I was just over it for the night.
"I've been working on it for hours." I sighed and closed the book. "I think I need a break from it. Be right back."
I stood and quickly carried it inside to put on my desk and then went back outside where I found Phoenix sitting on the concrete with his back against the wall and legs drawn up with his elbows lazily braced on his knees.
Ignoring the chair, I slid down next to him and sat cross-legged. He tilted his head back against the wall and stared up at the sky.
My brow furrowed and my stomach fluttered with anxiety, wondering if this was it. Where we parted ways. "What's wrong?"
He blew out a deep breath before rolling his head to the side and paused, just staring at me. "Things between us have been weird,