Page 115 of Nyx

"Do you want me to leave?"

The vulnerability he sees in me doesn't sit well with me either.

No wonder the man backed away from our kiss. Who'd ever feel more than what he's feeling now about me?

"No," I tell him as I leave the room, locking the bedroom door even though I know I have no hope of getting any sleep tonight.

Chapter 29

Nyx

Juliet has always been very purposeful when she speaks.

Her words are chosen with care. Her upbringing is evident in the way she carries herself.

So it came as a surprise to me to hear the litany of cuss words that spewed from her mouth this morning when her alarm went off.

I can't recall a single other time when I heard her cuss, and it brought a smile to my face.

I don't find imperfection in her distaste for having to get up and start her day. I find it amusing and humanizing, even though her story last night hit more than one personal note for me.

The grumbling continued, every unhappy sound easily heard in the tiny apartment.

I've had my share of days where I fall asleep, what seems like minutes before the alarm goes off. There have been days I wanted to burn the world down because of it, and it seems like today is going to be one of those days for her.

Despite the way she woke up and her feelings about it, she's still gorgeous when she walks out of her bedroom.

She looks at me, thankfully without a hint of surprise in her eyes, before mumbling a good morning and heading to the kitchen.

She turns back around and looks at me.

"You made coffee?" she asks.

"I did," I tell her.

"Did you make a cup for yourself?" she asks as she opens the mostly empty cabinet to pull down a travel mug.

She turns her head and looks at me over her shoulder when I don't immediately answer.

"I don't drink coffee," I confess.

"I brought you coffee twice," she says.

"You did."

"You thanked me both times."

"I did," I tell her, a smile trying to form on my face.

"But you don't drink it?"

"I tend not to turn down kindness when someone goes out of their way for me," I say. "It's rude."

She studies me for a long moment before turning back to make her coffee.

"Do you always drink it from a travel cup?"

"When I'm heading to work," she answers.