Page 50 of The Monster and the Masochist

If we were fake married, she would have to fake live with me–to keep up appearances, of course.

It would be much more difficult for her to disappear on me again if she lived here.

My lip curled up at the thought of living with Theo again.

As much as I’d made a fuss about living in her guest house, she had never been the problem. Her lack of closet space had been the biggest ick for me.

My poor shoes had lived in such squalor.

Aside from the fact that my belongings had suffered heinous storage conditions, it had actually been nice to have someone to share a space with for once.

After spending weeks with Theo’s easy smiles and infuriatingly thoughtful acts of service, I hadn’t realized just how lonely living alone could be until I’d moved back into my condo.

It would be even better if we were living together in a space that I actually felt comfortable in.

Yeah.

Maybe this wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, after all.

I’d warned the doorman that Theo would be coming and instructed him to let her up when she arrived.

This weird, jittery feeling coursed through me the entire time I waited for her to show up. I found I couldn’t sit still and kept adjusting random things in my condo in micro-increments. I was refolding my throw blanket for the fifteenth time when the elevator dinged, signaling Theo’s arrival.

I turned just in time to watch the doors slide open to reveal the woman herself, and my breath caught.

She was just so…so… Theo.

Even just standing there with her hands in the pockets of her usual men’s dry-fit shorts and t-shirt combo, it was clear that every inch of her body was carved in muscle. Her deep brown hair was in its adorable little man-bun, and as soon as her dark eyes found mine, her full lips quirked up at the corner in that sly smirk that was uniquely hers.

She stepped out of the elevator, and even the way she moved was just so… cool. I didn’t know how else to describe it. It was like she was never in a hurry to get anywhere, yet there was so much control and strength in each step that you knew she could strike without warning.

Like a rattlesnake.

Though, as I watched her carefully step out of her black Nikes and place them neatly on the mat I had by the doors, I thought maybe a rattlesnake might be too cold a comparison for Theo.

As dangerous as I knew she was, there was a softness to her, too.

A softness she didn’t allow many to see… but it was there.

Maybe she was more of a mongoose.

Cute. Cuddly… but badass enough to take on a cobra.

I almost smiled at my own internal ramblings, but stopped myself just in time.

Theo had straightened from putting her shoes away, and now she was looking around my condo with mild curiosity.

“Nice place. I see now why you hated living with me so much. Must have been rough slumming it with me when you’re used to all this.”

She gestured vaguely to my 4,000 square foot luxury penthouse.

“I didn’t hate living with you, Theodora,” I found myself saying, my voice softer than I’d ever heard it.

Her eyes snapped to mine, and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

The shock was short-lived, and her lips quickly curved back into that easy smirk.

“Yes you did, Cass. You told me you felt like you were living in a closet.”