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With her hair up in a towel, she leaned toward the mirror and drew a simple line of deep black liner on each eye, swept on a quick smoke of shadow, a hint of sparkle to keep it light, and elongated her lashes with mascara. She slipped on the jersey dress that hadn’t been worn in… years, ugh, and shifted her hips as the fabric settled over her. Not too fancy, not too casual. She tossed on a denim jacket and sneakers, and dashed out the door.

The sun made a welcome appearance, encasing her in radiance that pushed the monster inside her to the background.

Before she made it to the glowing doorbell, Vann’s door swung open.

Eryn squeaked.

Vann stopped fast, pupils sharpening. A dreamy, wicked grin curled up the corners of his mouth. As he took her in, his kissable lips parted mid-smile, and his chest froze mid-inhale.

“Hi. I was heading into town to shop for some stuff for the apartment, and I thought I’d see if you wanted to join me.” Not because home décor equated to foreplay, but, well…

Okay, it might. With steady, not-so-shabby paychecks, came the ability to buy non-necessities. Like side tables that weren’t teetering.

He nodded. Damn, he was cute. Not adorable cute. Okay, maybe a little.

“Unless you had other plans.” Eryn stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and shrugged. “It looks like you’re on your way somewhere.”

He grabbed a slim-fitting black Henley from the hook next to the door and pulled it over his t-shirt. Damn, he could have worn anything, anything, but when he pushed up the sleeves and smoothed his hand over his flat tummy… yum. Did he know a Henley equated to a sundress, as tempting apparel went? “Furniture shopping sounds better than working in the garage today.”

“Oh. Is your car running okay?”

“Yup.” He closed the front door and thumbed over the fancy doorbell, setting his fancy alarm with a tap.

She rocked back on her heels, waiting.

“Yours isn’t.”

“You were going to work on my car?”

He added a clueless shrug. “Lexi was worried that your car wasn’t reliable.”

“It always starts… eventually. I’m upgrading after a few more paychecks.” Feet frozen on the damp ground, she tipped a shrug to mirror his.

“What?”

“Fixing cars isn’t in a landlord’s job description. Nor in a… whatever you and I are.”

“Lexi was worried…” He shook his head, a low laugh brightening his expression. “Unless your car is as broken as your fridge.”

“Vann?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re very strange.”

His lips curled and he bit the edge of his tongue. Without a word, he stalked toward her.

Despite the amused smile, the lightness of his expression, his walk was anything but casual. He stopped a breath away.

She tilted her head to hold his gaze. Good thing she didn’t need much oxygen, as she held her breath and commanded her libido to be patient.

“I was on my way to your apartment to ask if you minded if I worked on your car. I’ve got time, I’m restless, and I like tinkering.”

“So, are you asking?”

“Yes.”

“Yes. You can work on my car. I need it to get me through until… until I’m ready to buy a new one.”