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CHAPTER FOUR

JAY

I don’t even bother pretending this is a normal night. The moment Salty finishes his pre-dinner walk, I put the little gremlin in the tub and give him a much-needed bath, and towel him off before pulling out his dress collar. He watches me the entire time with the air of a pampered nobleman forced to tolerate the indignities of common life. But when I clip his new bowtie on his collar, he snorts with satisfaction and does a parade lap around the living room.

I do a quick scan of the apartment. Salty’s toy basket is a post-apocalyptic wasteland of half-chewed pigs and dismembered squirrels, so I scoop the whole thing into the closet. Then I set about straightening up my apartment to kill some time. It doesn’t take me too long. I glance down at my watch and see I still have a few hours before my girl arrives. Fuck. I have to do something before I lose my goddamn mind.

I hit the shower, turning up the water so hot it nearly scalds. I brace my hands on the tile, head bowed, just breathing her name like a prayer. I can see her, clear as day, those wild curls falling out of her bun, blue eyes all bright and curious, lips parted on a breath. My cock gets hard instantly, throbbing with need so sharp it almost hurts.

She’s all I think about. I imagine her pressed up against me, soft body yielding, mouth hungry, breathy little moans in my ear. My hand wraps around my cock, and I stroke, slow at first, building the friction, pretending it’s her. Fuck. I wanna feel her underneath me, taste her, make her come so hard she screams.

My hand tightens, and I jerk hard, once, twice, chasing the image of Nadia sprawled on my bed, wild hair tangled, eyes glazed and begging. I want to see her come for me, want to be the reason she loses control. My jaw clenches, and I bite out a curse as I finish, sharp and hot, bracing myself on the slick tile while the water pounds down and steam fills the room. For a second, I just stand there, panting, forehead pressed to the wall, wishing like hell it was her soft hand wrapped around my cock.

I soap myself up and rinse off before getting out. As I towel off, I stare at myself in the mirror, but all I see are her blue eyes, the way her mouth quirked when I made her laugh, the curve of her hips in those black pants, and how my name sounded on her lips. My heart is still racing. I need her. Bad. But first, I have to make sure she’s as addicted to me as I am to her.

After dressing in a white T-shirt and black athletic pants, I pull out my phone and order the pizza.

The pizza arrives right on time, and I tip the delivery guy an extra ten just because I’m in a great mood. I slide the box into the oven to keep it warm. I pick out a bottle of wine that should go well with pizza and set out two glasses. Sweat breaks out on my forehead. I have closed billion-dollar security contracts with less anxiety than I’m feeling right now.

At six o’clock on the dot. There’s a soft knock on the front door. Salty gives his usual greeting of barking and dancing around the front hall. I pull the door open and nearly swallow my goddamn tongue.

She’s standing there in dark skinny jeans and a loose navy sweater with her hair down in a wild mess of ringlets. She looks tired, and there are purple shadows under her eyes, but holy shit, she’s so beautiful it makes my teeth ache. There’s a second where we both just stare at each other.

Then Salty bulldozes past me and jumps at her knees. Nadia laughs, and the sound fills up my entire apartment. She drops to one knee, ruffles Salty’s head, and then looks up at me through her lashes. It’s like someone hit “unmute” on my body; suddenly, I can move again, and my palms are sweating.

“Hi,” she says as a shy grin breaks out across her face.

“Hi, yourself.” I step back for her to follow me into the apartment.

The next few minutes are a blur. I offer her wine, which she accepts as Salty dances around her feet, demanding attention. We laugh about it, but my heart is hammering in my chest like it’s trying to claw its way to freedom. I plate the pizza and try to pretend my hands aren’t shaking. Nadia tucks one leg under herself on the couch, looking perfectly at home, and Salty plops down next to her, already angling to steal a bite for himself.

We sit with the pizza and wine, and it’s not awkward at all. In fact, it’s the best dinner I’ve ever had. I force myself not to stare at her mouth while she takes a bite of pizza, but it’s basically impossible. Every time her lips part, my brain glitches. I want to grab the back of her neck, pull her onto my lap, and shove my tongue so deep she forgets her own name. Instead, I take another bite of pizza, try to play it cool, and ask, “How’d your last day before break go?”

She rolls her eyes and laughs, and the sound shoots straight through my bloodstream. “Absolute chaos,” she says. “Truly next-level disaster. I confiscated three packets of slime, a pair of vampire fangs, and had to break up a fight over the last “great job” sticker. I’m honestly lucky I made it out alive.”

God, the way her mouth moves around the words. Every time she smiles, I want to devour her.

I lean in, closer than I really should, just breathing her in. She’s magic. My obsession. I could listen to her talk all night and never get tired of the sound.

Salty chooses that moment to wiggle his little potato ass between us.

I listen to her talk about her students, and it’s obvious she adores them even when she’s at her wits’ end. Her eyes go soft and glowy when she talks about them, and even though she claims to be exhausted, she never stops smiling.

Every single minute, I fall a little harder. She must catch me staring, because she suddenly grins and points a pizza crust at me.

“Enough about my feral third graders. I want to hear about you.”

I set my wine glass down and lean back, letting my thigh brush hers. God, the way she’s looking at me causes my cock to twitch against my zipper.

“Okay. Well, I run my own security company. Vale Security Solutions,” I tell her proudly. “I’m mostly in tech stuff now. Home security, smart systems, surveillance.” I pause, then add, “But it means I get to work from home a lot.”

“I’m so jealous of that,” she tells me as she reaches for another slice of pizza. I can’t take my eyes off her. Not for a second. She’s so fucking gorgeous it’s like a punch to the chest.

She licks a smear of cheese off her thumb, blue eyes fixed on me, and asks, “So, do you have family in Worthington Hills? Is it just you and Salty?”

My pulse skips as I swallow hard. “I have a brother,” I admit. “Jack. He’s my identical twin, actually.” I can’t help the smile that creeps in. “He’s a pain in my ass. But he’s my best friend.” I pause, grinning like an idiot, because I know I sound like a total sap, but whatever. "He's a homicide detective here in Worthington Hills. Just so you know, I'm the good-looking twin," I deadpan. "And he's the one with the badge." Nadia chuckles, and damn, I want to hear that sound on a continuous loop. "Also, he's got Salty's sister. Her name is Pepper, and she’s got a serious personality disorder. The little shit used to run his entire life until he met his wife, Poppy."

Nadia places her empty plate on the coffee table and sits back. “How long have they been married?”