“Home.” I swallow, suddenly nervous. I’m afraid if I say anything more, she’ll see through the lie I’ve concocted about Gray and call me out. “I was running late.”
“Probably for the best then, huh?” Jill pushes at her dark hair with long red nails and a scowl that could kill a man. “Ugh. Fuck Ronnie. She’s lucky I didn’t curse her after everything she put you through.”
I laugh for a long minute and then pull her into a hug. It catches her off-guard, but she returns it anyway. “I appreciate you looking out for me. Thank you.”
“Duh,” she says dramatically, patting my back. A second later, Emma is calling for her and she hurries off, leaving me to the racks of clothing and my own thoughts.
Ronnie showing up again is the least of my worries right now. Outside of the obvious vampire in the room, I’m seeing things. This morning at Dax’s place was alarming, but now, just minutes ago, I felt it all the same again. I want to chalk it up to fear, like a late response to everything that has happened to me in the last twenty-four hours. It’s the most reasonable explanation, but part of me wants to question it. Maybe I am being followed, or maybe something is following Gray.
He did say there were other vampires.At least, it was implied.
A sudden headache, followed by a bout of dizziness, takes me by the throat. I have to steady myself against a display to keep from falling over. I close my eyes and guide myself through a breathing exercise. It takes more than a few tries, but I finally feel grounded enough to stand up straight. I dry the tears I didn’t stave off, wiping them away on my jacket. Just as my hands hit the fabric, my phone vibrates in my pocket with a text. Pulling it out, I see Dax’s name pop up.
DAX: Snuck out I see?
I did. He fell asleep during a rerun episode ofLaw & Order. I only woke up because the theme song startled me awake. Not him, though. Dax was snoring away, half-clothed and spotted with melted whipped cream. It was so silly the way he was sprawled out that I snapped a picture before I left. Blackmail for later.
ME: Sorry! Had to get going.
DAX: Could have woke me up.
ME: Nah! You were beat.
After it sends, I tap out a quick ‘guess I wore you out’ with a winky face. A little smile pulls at my lips. It feels nice to have a normal conversation.
DAX: Ha ha. Where u at?
ME: Black Box. Shopping and catching up.
DAX: Cool. Tell Jill and Emma I say hey.
ME: Will do!
Even if they won’t admit it, I can still tell that they care about each other. It’s evident in the way they continue to ask about the other, since I’m the one that links them together these days. I don’t even know the last time that Jill and Dax were in the same room, but when the other talks about them, it’s so heavy that they might as well be there in the flesh, anyway.
So, maybe I do understand why Jill doesn’t like the idea of us together. I cringe at the thought. The idea of being a bad friend over a guy doesn’t sit well with me.
DAX: When you're done, you should come back. Make good on that deal.
ME: Which deal?
I have clearly been making far too many deals lately. Time to slow it down.
DAX: Staying the night.
I bite my bottom lip and roll it gently between my teeth. He’s tempting me, but I can't fall prey to a booty calleverytime. And besides, I’m babysitting a vampire.
ME: Not tonight.
He sends me a frowny face.
ME: Poor baby.
A second later, an image pops in and I blush. There he is, jeans unzipped, dick laid out flat against his stomach. The lighting is dim, yet I can just make out the edge of his desk and beat up chair. He’s in his office, working. Below it, a message comes through.
DAX: I want your mouth wrapped around my cock.
So, so tempting. Still, this will only go on until I cave or turn him off completely. With a smirk, I tap out ‘only if I get to keepthe black lipstick on.’ A big paragraph of frowny faces pops in, followed by his next text.
