Page 267 of Vicious Temptation

“You better.” She yawns again. “Have fun, baby. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

My phone vibrates before I can set it down, and the name on the screen instantly warms my cheeks.

Thiago: Hey, beautiful. I’ll be there in about an hour.

My stomach flutters as I type a reply.

Me: I can’t wait for tonight. Thank you for doing this.

The typing bubbles appear, disappear, and then appear again.

I frown at the screen. He usually doesn’t take this long to figure out what he wants to say.

Thiago: I’m looking forward to it.

I stare at his reply for another second until the time at the top of the screen catches my eye.

“An hour? Shit!”

I spring into action and grab the black dress with the high slit from the pile. By the time I finish my makeup and curl my hair, I still have thirty minutes to spare.

On my way down the hall, I stop to visit Hannibal and Clarice. My boy is coiled beneath his heat lamp, fast asleep, while Clarice rests in the corner of her enclosure, her patterned body pressed against the glass.

“Hey, girl. You’re wired too, huh?” I rest my elbows on her enclosure. “Must be because tonight’s the night. Maybe you don’t know this, but this whole meeting-the-parents thing is a big deal, especially in our family. Not just anyone impresses them or earns their trust, but I think Thiago has a pretty good shot. What do you think?”

Clarice stares back at me, completely unimpressed.

“Okay, maybe he threatened to shoot you, but to be fair, there was the whole escaped-venomous-snake situation. You get it. Nothing personal.”

I laugh just as my phone alerts me that someone is requesting access to the building.

“He’s early.” I grant access, then look back at Clarice. “Don’t wait up.”

I cut across the living room, and a minute later, the doorbell rings. Pulling up the camera just to fuck with him a little, the smile drops from my face the second I see who’s on the other side.

Thiago’s boss.

“What the hell is she doing here? How does she even know where I live?”

The doorbell rings again, and I ignore it. Whatever she wants, she can take it elsewhere. Her showing up at my apartment makes no sense, and after what happened at Sloane’s, every instinct I have is telling me not to trust this.

I turn away from the door, but another possibility stops me.

What if something happened to Thiago? I grab my phone and open our messages.

Me: Baby, are you okay?

I wait, watching the screen for the typing bubbles that never appear.

“Fuck.”

I call him instead, but it rings until his voicemail picks up. That’s enough to send me back toward the door.

I yank it open. “Where’s Thiago?”

Her expression is cool and unreadable as she steps closer, but I stay planted in the doorway, blocking her from coming inside.