What a cruel twist of fate that the annoying, arrogant, asshole, prick should turn out to be …
So. Damn. Lovable.
Who was she kidding? She knew why she’d admitted to those things. It was the safe move, the smart move. She’d done it to stop the falling before it was too late, before she got in too deep.
There was no chance after tonight. If there’d ever been one to begin with.
She gazed out at the passing landscape. The trees looked black, as though they’d been carved out of the dark sky.
“It’s cold,” he muttered.
“Sorry.” She hastily rolled up the window.
“How much farther do we have to go?”
“I don’t know. I can ask the driver.”
He shook his head. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter.”
His head lolled to the side, stopping when it hit her shoulder. He made no attempt to lift it, and they rode the rest of the way in silence.
Nico struggled getting him out of the cab and guiding him up the steps and into the lobby. Once there, she managed to steer him to the elevator, although it took some time given they didn’t travel as the crow flies. The same was true as they stumbled out of the elevator and headed to his door.
“Do you have your key card?” she asked.
His only response was to stagger backward and use the wall to prop himself up.
“You have it, right?”
He leaned toward her. “Have what, sweetheart? Just tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you. I’m good at that.”
She chuckled. “You need to be wearing a fedora to talk like that.”
He grinned. “Like what?”
“Like you’re a character in a dime-store novel.”
“You could have at least said Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t include Bogie.”
“Him too. Why not?”
“Well, then you’d need a Bacall.”
“You’ll do.”
His eyes slipped like silky fingers, tracing every inch of her all the way down to her toes. “I’ll give you the key card if you tell me one thing.”
Her heart was pounding. “What?”
He stared into her eyes, and she felt as though his eyes, like hands, held her there. Maybe because she couldn’t read them.
“Are you going commando now?”
Those words had the force of a hot wind, sweeping over every inch of her.
She swallowed. “No,” she managed to say.
