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After several minutes he pulled back and wiped at his face. “I didn’t mean to tell you all that.”
She put her hands on the exposed skin on his jawline. It was the only part of him she could touch, besides his hands. “It’s all right.”
His gaze bore through her, his eyes speaking to her. Pleading with her. She knew what he meant. He wanted her to accept him—all of him—scars included.
A part of her wanted to slowly reach up and lift his mask. To let him know she loved him and accepted him. That part of her shouted at her to do it. To let him take that last step.
But the other side of her couldn’t do it. She couldn’t let him expose such vulnerability to her, a tabloid reporter out to tell his secret to the world. She was scum, and she didn’t deserve to be looked at like that. Guilt surged in her, and she dropped her hands. “It’s late.”
He leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. His warm lips sent a shiver of delight through her. She pulled him to her and gave his lips more exploration. He accepted her advances, his hands gripping her upper arms, his lips moving over hers in a perfect rhythm. When she finally pulled back, she could barely catch her breath.
“I really should go,” she said, standing, her legs acting like she was a newborn fawn as she staggered.
“So soon?” He stood and pouted.
“Yes,” she said, placing one more kiss on his lips before turning toward the door. The one kiss turned into two, and then three, before she could tear herself away. Finally, she made it outside of his room.
“Good night,” he said, leaning against the door jam. His gaze traveled over her face. It was like a caress, and she felt it move over her skin.
“Night,” she said, unlocking her door. If she didn’t get away from him, she was going to lose herself completely.
Her heart pounded as she stood in her empty resort room, looking at the wall that separated them. A sudden coldness swept over her skin, and she felt the absence of his touch. An intense longing tugged at her chest as she walked to her chair and sat down. How could she miss him this much, when she’d just been with him mere seconds ago?
She picked up her phone to check her texts, but the screen didn’t light up. Had she run out of battery? She plugged it in and sure enough, the empty symbol showed in red. She left it plugged in while she got ready for bed.
Ten minutes later she checked and saw three unanswered phone calls, with three messages. She went to her voicemail and played each message.
The first one was from Mrs. Lewis. “Riley, I know you’re busy and I’m sorry to bug you, but our landlady stopped by today while I was cleaning your father’s place. She said you’re behind on rent, and if you can’t pay it, she’s going to start the eviction process on Monday. Honey, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Call me back when you get a chance. Bye.”
Images of dragging a shopping cart full of all their belongings as she tried to find the best cardboard to sleep under swam in front of her eyes. This was terrible. She couldn’t get kicked out. She played the next message, even though she didn’t want to.
“Hi, sweetie.” Her father’s voice. “Just wanted to let you know the doctor said I’m looking good and can go home in the morning. I’m sure you’re busy, so I won’t keep you. Call me tomorrow.”
She sighed. At least that was good news. She pressed to listen to the last one. Her boss’s voice came through the line.
“Riley, I saw a picture of you with Shadow Walker in The National Globe. You had better be getting me a story. Interest in this is soaring. Everyone wants to know who Shadow is. It looked like you were getting close to him. Get me that story tomorrow, and you’ll have an extra bonus. Three thousand big ones. Call me in the morning.”
Riley’s vision blurred as she stared at her phone. Eviction. Hospital bills. And her boss, wanting the story. The story that would launch her career into the stratosphere. The story that would save her and her father.
The story that would ruin Jalen.
She swallowed the horrible taste in her mouth. What if it wouldn’t ruin Jalen? What if she could bring in enough sympathy for him in her article that it would actually allow him to be free from his burdens? He could be himself and still perform.
She held onto that thought like a lifeline and sat down at her desk. It was late, but she didn’t care. This new idea of trying to help him through her story was something she hadn’t thought about before. She needed to explore what a story like that might look like.
Opening up a new document, she began to type. Maybe there was a way to save her career, save their apartment, and save her father, while saving Jalen as well.
Chapter 23
Jalen’s phone rang, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had to pick up, but he was asleep and didn’t want to wake up. He’d been dreaming of Riley. But the noise continued, so he forced himself awake. He grabbed his phone and swiped to answer.
“Hello?” He tried not to sound like he’d been asleep, but it didn’t work too well. Sir Barks jumped up onto his bed and licked his face.
“Jalen?”
It was Jeff, the head of his security team. He patted his dog’s head. “Yes?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
