off the bike, his muscled ass. When I finally dragged my gaze back to his, his grin had eased into something a little more private—almost sultry. I’d been obviously checking him out. And he seemed to like it.
A thrill ran through me.
“Hey,” I said, raising my phone demonstratively. “I was just about to call you.”
“Yeah?” Priest asked. “Must’ve gotten the psychic message. I was hoping to run into you, too.”
“I wanted to talk,” I said.
“Me too.” Priest climbed the stairs onto the porch, then placed a hand on my shoulder. The contact made my blood run hotter. “Come inside, we’ll talk somewhere privately.”
Blade caught my eye as Priest and I ascended the stairs, and he gave me a quick approving nod. He kept the rest of the members in the kitchen, busy with coffee and barbeque sandwiches, so that we’d have at least some privacy.
I led Priest down the hallway toward the door to my apartment, anticipation building in my gut. I know we’d said we weren’t going to do anything about our attraction, and I didn’t know where this conversation would take us, but I knew I was tired of living in the nebulous fog of the ‘maybe’.
As I turned the corner toward my apartment, I saw the door was slightly ajar.
I paused. That was strange. I always locked my apartment door when I left—an old habit. Muscle memory, at this point, I never even noticed when I did it.
Had I forgotten to lock it this morning?
Well… forgetting to lock it was one thing. Leaving it open? That wasn’t like me. The anticipatory thrill of talking with Priest—or maybe more—dissipated like steam, replaced with a dark sense of dread creeping through me.
“What is it?” Priest said from behind me.
“My door shouldn’t be open,” I said.
Before Priest could say anything, I stepped forward and pushed the door open, heart in my throat.
The room was empty—I was equal parts relieved and irritated, like part of me was hoping I’d find the culprit and it’d turn out to be a club member playing a trick on me. Or that I’d find who I suspected had actually done it in the act, so I could beat his ass the way he deserved.
My sheets were rumpled.
Disgust rose in my throat, sharp like bile.
Priest placed his hand gently at my lower back. “Something different?”
“I always make my bed,” I said. God, I was uncomfortable here—my skin crawled like I could still feel Xavier’s phantom presence. I knew it was him. There was no one else it would have been.
He’d been in my bed. What had he been doing? Lying in my sheets?
Jerking off?
I wanted to burn my whole fucking mattress.
“He was in my bed,” I said coldly, and then cast my eyes around the room a little desperately, looking for other things that were different, or out of place. My gaze landed on the laundry hamper outside of the bathroom—the top of the wicker basket was tossed carelessly aside. I always kept it closed. Couldn’t have my unwashed riding gear stinking up my bedroom. But now it was open.
I paced over.
Things were missing.
Nausea turned my stomach again. The clothes I’d worn yesterday—the t-shirt, the boxers, even the socks—were missing from the top of the laundry pile.
“He stole my fucking clothes.” I whirled around and met Priest’s eyes. He was pale with comprehension.
Priest leaned out of the bedroom door just enough to shout for Siren and Coop, and then approached me slowly. I was still standing over my laundry hamper, grimacing.
Priest gently wrapped his arms around my shoulders, tugging me flush against him, so my back was pressed against his chest. He took slow, deliberate breaths, and only then did I realize that my breaths were short and shallow with anxiety.
“I know it was him,” I said. “I know it was Xavier.”
“Yeah,” Priest agreed, and his voice sounded low and dangerous in my ear. “We’ll figure this out. I’ve got you.”
The enforcers thundered up the stairs. I’d have to face the reality of this—explain what had happened right under our noses—in a few seconds, but I took a moment to close my eyes and lean heavily against the strength of Priest behind me. Only then did I realize how badly I needed it.
12
Priest
I held Mal close to my chest, intentionally breathing deeply in an attempt to get him to do the same. He was trembling, just enough that it was noticeable when he was pressed up against me like this.