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“Oh, you mean the emerald?” I ask with a grin.
She nods.
“It’s at my house, actually.”
Her eyes grow large before she subdues her excitement with a critical squint. The air in the hallway, normally light and crisp, turns slightly sour. “I find it awfully convenient that all this money is coming at a time when I can’t find a job. I’m sure you hadnothingto do with that, right?”
“Why would I?” I ask, throwing the question right back at her.
“Because you found a way into my apartment and stole my underwear. Then, you had me kidnapped and literally murdered three people in front of me.”
“All crooks, I can assure you,” I reply with a dismissive wave.
“So are you.”
“And I wouldn’t be missed either… Well, maybeyouwould miss me,” I say, trying not to sound too hopeful. I think she enjoys shooting me down, if only to see my reaction. It’s a power play, something to make her feel like she’s in control.
Valerie rolls her eyes at my suggestion before diving into more accusations. I can tell she’s been thinking about this nonstop since we last met. “The birth control issue… was that you too?” She plants her hands on her hips, her purse swinging down in front of her like a rifle.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say with a thin smile. “But a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be on birth control.”
“Why?” she asks, frowning like I have a legitimate reason.
“You wouldn’t be able to have my babies.”
The groan that follows is long and aggressive, but it’s better than another attempt to slap me in the face. I’ve managed to introduce the idea of a baby without as much resistance as I thought I would get.
We’re inching closer to my goal, but it needs to happen soon. Time isn’t on my side. I’ve already waited too long.
“How about lunch,” I say, pivoting the conversation before Valerie can ask too many more questions. “I know a good place, or should I say, Iowna good place.”
“Very cute,” she replies dryly. “But I just ate, and if I did have an appetite, I’ve lost it now that you’re here.”
“So where were you going if not to lunch?”
Suddenly, the paint of the wall behind me seems a lot more interesting to her than making eye contact. She puts her arms around herself, hugging her body defensively as she leans back against the door to her apartment. “Just going for a walk,” she mutters.
“Maybe I could walk with you.”
“Maybe you could leave me alone.”
“You know that’s not going to happen, darling,” I say, coming toward her so fast that she doesn’t have time to move away. My hand slams into the doorframe above her, and I lean in, my eyes exploring her ample cleavage. “Very nice, Valerie. Did you wear this for me?”
She places her hand on my chest to push me away but falls short on her attempt when she looks up at me. Her aggression evaporates like a drop of water in the summer sun, her pupils reflecting mine like little pearls of onyx.
I can smell her perfume the same one she was wearing when we first met. It’s delightful, light, and feminine, but there’s a hint of deviancy there, like the way her mouth opens when she raises a cigarette to her lips. She knows she’s doing something wrong, but she’s unapologetic. She owns her flaws, just like she owns my heart.
“I don’t dress for men,” Valerie says, her voice nothing more than the faintest whisper.
“That’s good to hear, because I’m averyjealous man. If anyone looks at you, they’re dead.” I lean in closer, so much so that I can feel her hot breath against my neck.
She swallows hard, running her tongue over her teeth as she looks deep in my eyes. There isn’t another soul in the hallway, no possibility of some thoughtless moron ruining this moment, just as I had it planned.
Everything. Every second. All planned out to perfection.
“Maybe you should leave.” Valerie is on the edge, just about to break.
I lean in a little closer, placing my hand on her waist. Her body melts into me, surrendering to me in ways that her mind is reluctant to. The trick is to turn off her thoughts, allowing her true nature to show, but she keeps that side of her guarded. It’s going to take work to have her the way I want her.
