Page 24 of Heat Lightning

I inhaled and swallowed a wave of calming alpha pheromones. My body immediately relaxed, softening beneath him. My fingers and jaw unclenched, and the shaking ceased. Fuck, I’d forgotten how powerful his scent was. How was he able to do that so effectively? Why did I respond to it so well?

“You canssstop the alpha Xanax now,” I said, words slurred and eyes fluttering. “I’mmcalmmm.”

He chuckled, and I felt it everywhere. We lay there for a moment while I settled, my hands still pinned above my head and my body beneath his.

Just like I remembered, he was covered head to toe in black with a hoodie pulled low over his brow. Underneath, that snarling masked face stared back, eyes bright from exertion.

A feeling bloomed in my belly, sharp and thrilling. It wasn’t entirely fear or excitement, but somewhere in between.

I blamed it on the leftover spaghetti I’d had for lunch.

He shifted my wrists so they were pinned in one hand. “Feeling better?”

I narrowed my eyes, even though I was still slow-blinking at him. “A masked man broke into my apartment. What do you think?”

His jaw shifted under the mask. “I meant to catch you outside, but you came home earlier than I expected. I had to improvise.”

Earlier than he expected? Did that mean he was following me again? Stalking me again? “And the front door didn’t come to mind?”

He coughed a laugh. “Security cameras, sweetheart. Can’t have your boss snooping around now, can we?”

He had a point. I’d never tell him so, but still. I refused to lose my job over a psycho stalker creeping around in a mask. Even if I had no control over the situation, I wouldn’t blame Mr. Marino for kicking me to the curb—not with Enzo to consider.

Rich people don’t take weird shit like that from the staff very well. They’re the only ones allowed to be freaky.

Not that I could imagine Mr. Marino doing anything resembling freaky. The man probably came out of the womb wearing a button-up.

“Plus,” he continued, voice a bit gruff. “Can’t have you answering the door looking like this. Human Resources would have a field day.”

Was that a joke? Too late to stop my blush, I looked down and realized I was still in only a towel, now precariously close to falling off. I glared. “For the last time, get off me, or I’ll bite you again.”

He winked. “Don’t threaten me with a good time. You bite like you mean it.”

He said it like a compliment. The omega deep inside me, the one that’d been dormant for so long, cracked one eye open in interest.

With one more appraising look, he finally obeyed, releasing my hands and sliding off the bed in one smooth motion. My omega harrumphed and promptly closed its eyes again, the little weasel.

Hitching the towel up, I glared some more. "Why are you here?”

“I’m here to talk,” he said with a sigh. “That’s all.”

My eyes darted down to the large knife sheathed at his waist. Was that the same one he’d gutted all those people with? “It doesn’t look like you’re just here to talk.”

Following my gaze, his mask shifted again in a smirk. “Would it make you feel better to hold it?”

I blinked, flabbergasted. “Was that a dick joke?”

He laughed again, raw and raspy like it didn’t happen often, and pulled the knife out. My heartbeat went haywire as warm amber light flashed off the large, serrated blade. It was clean, no blood in sight, and yet all I could picture was the way tissue and viscera had clung between the teeth, wet and thick.

With deft fingers, he spun it around, offering me the handle. “I never joke about my knife.”

Well, I wasn’t stupid. I snatched it and pointed at him with it. “Get out of my room so I can get dressed. After that, maybe we’ll talk.”

His eyes glinted icy blue in the orange light of my bedroom. “Anything you want, sweetheart.”

He swiped my phone off the floor on his way out, making a show of powering it off so I couldn’t call anyone, but otherwise listened to my orders.

Which made me even more suspicious.