As if summoned, Phantom suddenly appears. He puts his hand on Dorian’s shoulder, and tells him, “I’m so close to kicking you out right now.”
Phantom! I see him, and my heart suddenly lights up in my chest. He looks fresh, recently shaved, in a black button up shirt. Whatever devious schemes and plans I had when I entered the door suddenly go out the window.
All I want right now is to behis.
I watch his eyes scan our group. He spots Trinity, and I hyper-analyzed every single movement of his body. Will his eyebrows hike up with surprise? Will his lips twitch upward in a smile? Will his nostrils flare with that telltale sign of arousal?
I get nothing from him. He simply sweeps his gaze passed her until his eyes meet mine. Only then does his expression light up. He closes the distance between us and says, simply, “You came.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I tell him.
And then he cups my cheek in his hand and draws me in, claiming my mouth with a kiss. Claimingme.
I find myself gripping his shirt, tugging him in.
Closer. Deeper.
More.
Mine.
He doesn’t rush. He takes his time sealing the kiss. Instead of pulling away, he winds his arms around me, pulling my back to his front. Cradling me against him. The sweet possessiveness in his arms makes my heart beat faster.
He greets the group from here. Finally, he says simply: “Trinity.”
“Phantom.”
“How are you?”
“Living the dream,” she says airily. Her voice is tight. A little annoyed. This is not how she expected her reunion to go. A very petty part of me is thrilled.
“Good,” Phantom says. And…that’s that. His attention is back on me. He drops his voice, speaking only to me now. “Have you eaten?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“I’ll make you a plate.”
But he doesn’t leave right away. He lingers. He pulls me in tighter and buries his face in the crook between my neck and my shoulder. I can hear him inhaling deeply.
“Why do you smell so good?” he murmurs. His voice has gone quiet, dark.
Oh,fuck. My Phantom-pheromones. It’s come back to bite me in the ass. I wanted to make him crazy with desire for me, but now the thought of him having an erection with his ex in the room makes my stomach tight. For the next couple of hours, I want him to be purer than a priest. I want him to be a virgin. I want him to never have had a sexual thought even enter his head.
I wiggle out of his arms. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be? Getting me food?”
His eyebrows hike up his forehead. His stern “you want to rephrase that?” expression.
I add, “Please, Sir.”
He gives me a confused look, but backs off.
“We’re starting in five,” he tells the group.
“Thank you, five,” I hear myself say. Can’t help it. It’s like a tic.
I watch him go. I realize—I’m not the only one.
Trinity is watching, too.
