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He let her.
He had enough experience with women to know that her head and her body would be at odds with each other right now. If he’d wanted to sway her one way or the other, he could have. But he hadn’t, because he wanted her to come to him herself. To beg him to take her. To be sure there was absolutely no doubt in her mind about what she wanted from him.
He pretended not to hear the voice in his head, telling him that this was far removed from what this evening had been meant to be about that it made a mockery of their ‘buffer’ plan. And he let her go even as the sweetness of her mouth still danced on his tongue.
For several long moments he stood, his eyes glued to the closed door, imagining her on the other side, leaning against the wood and struggling to regain her composure.
But before he had a chance to turn around and make his way down the corridor to the elevator, Effie’s door abruptly swung open and she pushed straight past him, rushing to the adjacent flat, where she began to wildly hammer on the door.
‘Nell? Mrs Appleby? Are you in there?’ There was a distinctly frantic edge to her voice.
‘Will you calm down? You’re going to wake the whole building,’ he said.
‘They aren’t in there.’ She jerked her head maniacally, and he could only assume that she was indicating her own flat.
The blaring TV was a good sign. Still, Effie yelled through the door, her voice higher-pitched than ever. ‘Mrs Appleby? Is everything—?’
Effie practically toppled inside as the door swung open without warning, and Tak found himself lurching forward so as not to be shut out.
‘You’re lucky Mrs Appleby is so deaf that she doesn’t realise you’re trying to beat down her door,’ Nell said, and scowled at her mother before catching sight of Tak. Her eyes narrowed curiously.
If he had any sense of self-preservation at all he would leave. Right now. This wasn’t Hetti. Or Sasha. This wasn’t his responsibility. This was Nell, and she was Effie’s albatross. He prodded himself. Which was why he should already be halfway down the hall.
Instead, Tak folded his arms across his chest and met the kid’s bold gaze.
* * *
Effie struggled to slow her hammering heart. Though whether it was her panic over the fact that Nell hadn’t been where she should have been, or the fact that Tak had been glued to her side since the moment she’d started to freak out, she couldn’t be sure.
She didn’t think she wanted to analyse it too deeply, anyway.
‘Why are you both here?’ She turned her attention back to her daughter. ‘You’re supposed to be in our apartment. You should be in bed.’
‘So you’ve been into the flat?’ Nell didn’t even attempt to drag her gaze from Tak.
He wouldn’t be finding it easy to hold firm, Effie thought, sucking in a breath. ‘Yes. And when you weren’t there I got worried. You couldn’t have left a note? Some indication that you were here and why?’
‘The fact the place is freezing didn’t give it away?’ Nell retorted, finally dragging her focus back to her mother.
Her young voice held an edge of sarcasm that wouldn’t have been there six months ago, but Effie wasn’t ready to call her out on it in front of a stranger. Not this stranger, anyway.
Had the flat been cold? She hadn’t noticed—had only registered the fact that the TV was off—unheard for old Mrs Appleby. Effie wrinkled her nose. In fact she’d been far too preoccupied with that kiss.
It was high time she put that momentary madness behind her. Except that even now her body heated at the memory of what had happened in the hallway with Tak.
Tak’s low voice broke into her thoughts. ‘Why is your home freezing?’
‘The boiler has probably broken down.’ Jerking her head up, Effie told herself that there was no need for her to feel ashamed. It was none of his business how they lived.
Her daughter, however, had no such qualms. She eyed Tak. ‘It does that a lot.’
‘Not a lot,’ Effie said quickly.
‘Oh, come on, Mum. It’s all the time.’
‘We’ve only been here three months.’
‘And it’s the fourth time it’s gone.’ Nell snorted unapologetically. ‘The thing is ancient and you’ve said it yourself—the landlord is too penny-pinching to replace it.’
