I don’t think I sleep at all. I just lie here, watching the dawn creep across the sky. His view is better than mine, including a breathtaking snippet of the skyline amid a backdrop of buildings and skyscrapers.
Gradually, he stirs beneath me, flexing the grip he has on my waist. His eyes are closed, his breathing easy. The noise creates a low, muted soundtrack to this moment, and it’s the strangest thing…
It’s like nothing else can intrude on this. Not the reality looming beyond this building. Not Branden. Not anyone.
After years of craving freedom, it almost feels ironic that I would find it on a narrow leather couch in the arms of a man who made his intentions clear from the start. This is all he wants. Moments. Sex, a cuddle, and then a hasty goodbye, and the ability to use this escapade the next time he needs to boast about his prowess to some punk.
I’m frowning as I picture it while my finger traces a featherlight path across his chest. Out loud, I find myself musing, “Is this the part where you kick me out?”
“Yes.” He answers me with his eyes still closed. When he finally opens them, they’re cold and resigned. While I couldn’t sleep, I suspect he did, reaching some internal conclusion during the night.
My finger freezes over his pec, and I slowly withdraw it. “So now we’re done?”
He holds my gaze for so long that I’m dizzy when he finally turns away. “We’re done.” He sits up, shrugging me off him. I gape as he stands and pads down the hall into the infamous bedroom.
“I left my skirt downstairs,” I croak.
He reemerges, dressed in a black shirt and jeans. Without acknowledging me at all, he opens the door and starts down the stairs. I have no choice but to follow him down into that narrow hallway. The larger room must be a storeroom in addition to his drawing space. He tosses me my skirt and shoes, and I find my bag in a corner behind a box of assorted supplies, along with a small, ombre lighter that I take as well.
I’m slipping on my last sandal when I notice a slender object peeking from beneath the table—a book. Recognition sears through me before I even step forward to read the title printed across the cover.
It’s the one he stole from the bookshop—he kept it. I’m dumbstruck by the realization that a man like him has a stashed copy of Emily Dickinson, despite the bloodstains marring the pages.
“You should go before I open,” he grunts from behind me, and I turn in time to catch him round the corner.
“You kept it,” I say, knowing he can still hear me. “The book you took from the bookstore.”
His steps falter until he stops entirely. “Take it.” I’m starting to recognize the way his tone shifts like this, leveled like a dare.
“Have… Have you read it?” My gaze cuts back to the book, and my fingers twitch, aching to grab it—but only to discern as much for myself. Has he read it, something that looks so out of place in his world?
“I can read,” he snaps, taking the question as an insult. “Like you. Though your comprehension must be a million times better given the shit you have to read—” He whirls on his heel, nodding to my bag. “Will you fucking shut that up?”
My cell phone. I fumble through my bag for the device, but rather than withdraw it, I turn it off.
The act doesn’t placate him. If anything, it seems to infuriate him more. With a scoff, he turns his back on me, his shoulders rigid. “Get out, rabbit. Go scamper back to your boyfriend. I’m sure you’re eager to ride his dick after riding mine—”
“You’re being an asshole.”
“I am an asshole.”
“I can see that.” My eyes burn as I push past him to the main storefront. “Have a nice—”
“Fuck!” He grabs my hand, dragging me behind him into the hall. At the same moment, I hear the bell above the door chime.
“Hello?” a woman calls.
I stiffen at the soft, sensual voice. Mara? I crane my neck as far as I dare to peek beyond the doorway. Sure enough, she stands before the counter, a breath of fresh air against the muted backdrop in a baby-pink top and skintight jeans.
“Rafe?” She cranes her neck back to eye the drawings on the wall. “You in here?”
“Fuck.” Hissing under his breath, he pulls away from