Page 68

“Fuck. Yes.” He tipped his head back and smiled wickedly ahead.

Town whizzed by, and Eryn didn’t dare look at the speedometer.

One last date before fate. It had a nice ring to it. After the last few days, they’d both earned it. “What time do your friends get in?”

“We’ve got a few hours.” He cringed and shook his head with a subtle, necessary laugh. “Fucking hell, my first date in an embarrassingly long time, and not only is something awful trying to kill you, but we’re on a time crunch. I was going to cook you a fancy dinner next time we got to try a date, but I don’t want to waste any time.”

A snorty laugh burst from her mouth. “Let’s get straight to that fantastic but commitment-free sex.”

His rich laugh erased the last of the evening chill from the air.

“What were you going to make?”

He squeezed her hand before lacing his fingers closer with hers, his other hand loosely on the wheel but in complete control. “Omelets.”

Normalcy settled over Eryn’s skin. “Liar.”

A wicked sparkle flashed in his look as he glanced over at her, his tongue tracing the backs of his teeth.

“We can have leftovers and cozy up in sweatpants again. It’s a surprisingly underappreciated date,” she said, not masking the dreamy look. “Not that I don’t love your very old, very cozy couch, but maybe we could throw some blankets on the floor and have a picnic by the fire. I think I’ve got a bag of cheddar and sour cream potato chips in my apartment we could grab.”

“Chips? I could make popcorn instead.” He shook his head as if there was some inside joke she was missing. “Some cookies.”

“You don’t like the idea of a floor picnic with cheddar and sour cream potato chips?”

He snorted a laugh, that smile again, like she was missing something hilarious.

“Set that security alarm, and we can get round one in before dinner.”

He groaned and leaned hard against the seat, squeezing her hand in agreement.

The shadows were long, coalescing into night. Their driveway approached. He smoothly braked and turned into the narrow road.

He palmed the wheel and backed into the driveway at a speed that would have sent her crashing into the house. Her stomach lurched as he whipped into the garage.

He shifted out of gear and turned toward her with a flirty lift of his eyebrow.

She grinned as she opened the car door and walked around to meet him.

He drew her close, hands on her waist, and grinned with a wicked sweetness. “We’d better get round one in fast, before my team gets in.”

Eryn rose to her tiptoes and touched her lips to his.

He buried his hands in her hair, cradling her close, and took the kiss to dangerous levels.

Vann nodded for her to go in first.

Eryn laughed and stopped in the middle of the room. “You are a constant surprise.”

“You like it?” Vann grinned broadly, his heart pounding under his ribs.

“How did you do all of this, today?”

“It took a few days in total, but today was move-in day.” Hands in his pockets, he stepped back into the room and flushed with energy.

“When you say your ‘team,’ are these your security colleagues?”

“And my friends. You’ve already met half of them.”