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“Luz, wait!” A sigh escapes me, but I turn to him with a mask of indifference.
“What do you want, Liam?” I ask in a cool, emotionless tone. He frowns at me and almost looks hurt.Is this guy fucking serious?
“Ouch. Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn’t want to make things weird for you with Arianna. She’s the jealous type and doesn’t understand why I won’t give her a chance.” He looks genuinely sorry but it doesn’t change anything. If he can’t stand up and own that he’s talking to me then he won’t get a shot with me.
“It doesn’t make it okay to ignore me,” I say casually. “I get your reasoning, but it’s not going to happen again.”
“It’s not. I really am sorry. How about that date tonight? We should be done here in an hour.” I study him, taking in the hopeful smile and way he bounces on his feet like a golden retriever. He’s open and fun and it makes me forgive the dismissal with Arianna and reconsider.
“Meet me in the lobby at seven,” I order him as I turn away. When I glance back he raises his eyes from my ass and gives me a cocky grin.
“See you at seven,” he calls after me. I smile to myself and hurry back to my room to freshen up. Just as I reach the apartments an overly cheerful voice stops me. I groan quietly before putting on a chipper face.
“Oh hi, Zoey. What’s going on?” I ask casually, giving her an attempt at a friendly look. Her usually perky grin is at full power.
“Hi Luz! How is the job going? I hear you had dinner with Liam!” she gushes, fanning her face dramatically. The reapers here seem to be gossiping like teenagers still but there’s no use in lying. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything for them or hide myself away.
“Uh yes, it was busy that night so he joined me,” I say casually. “I have to go get ready for something. Talk later? Awesome!” I say in a super cheery voice that matches hers and practically run to the elevator. Once I’m safely inside I feel like I can finally relax for a moment.
* * *
Liam
“Why are you smiling?”Sam demands with suspicion as we walk back to the penthouse. Usually I keep our conversation flowing and today I can’t keep the goofy grin off of my face. Knowing it’ll piss him off I just smirk back instead of answering. Why not let him keep guessing for a minute?
“You are more insufferable than usual, spill,” Mason demands with a little less force. He’s definitely the more level-headed of the two. Sam is an alpha male, and he owns it. He likes to be in control of things and even though we are all of equal rank, he is our unofficial leader.
“I have a date tonight,” I sing out, before twirling and giving a bow.
Sam and Mason simultaneously narrow their eyes at me. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who I’m planning on seeing. Luz is the only new reaper we’ve had here in a century and I wouldn’t be this excited over one of the women we’ve spent centuries working with. From the look on their faces, they aren’t pleased with my announcement.
“Luz is too sweet for you. You’re a player,” Mason says as he follows me around the apartment, looking more jealous than upset. Their jealousy only fuels my excitement. Getting to fuck with them makes the date so much sweeter.
“No,” Sam says firmly, and I can see the challenge in his eyes. Generally that’s enough to make me consider it, but not tonight. I’m going on this date, no matter what they say.
“I’m not backing out. I promised her I would take her shopping in the human realm,” I reply as I pull off my shirt and exchange it for a new one. I spray on cologne and try to push down the nerves I’m getting.What is wrong with you?I’ve never let a date make me nervous before, but something about this woman is different. Luz caught my eye the moment I saw her. The fact that all of the reapers were purposefully being assholes and she didn’t let it bother her, was impressive alone. Then when she shut down my flirting and pretty much forced me to be myself, I was a goner. She’s full of fire and snark and I have a feeling she’s going to make life around here much more interesting.
Beyond that, she’s gorgeous. When she smiles and lets go of that fiery armor she wears, I can see genuine kindness behind it. Her eyes are warm and captivating and just the thought of her ass alone has me hard in seconds.
“I’m coming with you,” Mason declares, changing his clothes and spraying himself with his own cologne.
“I think the fuck not,” I laugh. “What part of the word date did you miss? You guys are like brothers, but that doesn’t mean I want you coming with me.” I roll my eyes at him and he gives me a cocky laugh.
“Afraid of a little competition?” he asks, holding out his hands to gesture to himself. Damn it, Mason does have game. He’s a hybrid of pretty boy and punk rock. His looks alone melt the ladies’ panties right off. And the bastard knows damn well that I don’t back down from a challenge.
“Fine, only this one time. You can carry her bags,” I shoot back at him. Fighting would be useless, he’d just follow along and ‘accidentally’ bump into us. Fucking asshole. “Let’s go. Because of you, we’re going to be late, and now I have to try harder for a goodnight kiss.” His returning glare is exactly what I was working toward. He finds her just as enticing as I do. Game on, brother.
Sam follows us to the door looking even more angry but we both ignore him this time.
“She’s different. I like her. Don’t you dare hurt her or I’ll hurt you.” His threat holds truth in the tone, causing both Mase and I to freeze, sharing a glance as Sam storms from the apartment, slamming the door behind himself.
“Apparently we aren’t the only ones who noticed the new girl,” Mason finally breaks the tense silence.
The thought of that makes me uneasy. All three of us are close and wouldn’t mind sharing. We’ve done it before. But with her, I don’t want to share, I want her to myself. Unfortunately for me, Sam has never backed away from something he wanted, so between him and Mason, I’m already doomed.
Fuck me. How did this turn into a mess before it even started?
ChapterSeven
