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1
MIKA
“Shit!”
I snap my eyes shut to stop more shampoo suds from getting into them and making them feel like they’re on fire. My hands blindly reach for the shower faucet to turn it on, breathing a sigh of relief when the sting eases.
I blink furiously at the warm water spraying down on me. Everything looks blurry and waterlogged. Not to mention feeling little pins poking in my eyeballs.
“The Doors of Durin — Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.”
The sound of my doorbell pierces through the white noise of running water, and I debate whether or not to answer the door. I’ve had some overly enthusiastic salespeople over a couple of times last year, and I have to say, I’m not a fan of strangers in my private space.
With my eyes bloodshot from the shampoo and my nose running, I look either high or deranged or both. Sad fact of life. Took a shower to freshen up and relax, and now I’m anything but.
“The Doors of Durin — Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.”
Gandalf’s voice booms throughout the small bathroom while I’m still busy making sure I don’t go blind.
Yeah, yeah. I know my doorbell sounds geeky. But I mean, spending a couple more bucks just to customize my doorbell and have Gandalf speak every time someone’s outside is worth it. At least to my 27-year-old single self, it is.
Ah, hell. That’s probably Aunt Mindy’s friend, Max. She called me earlier asking if I still had the spare bedroom. I said yes. She didn’t ask if I was okay with having a roommate. No. That’s not Aunt Mindy.
She never asks, just tells you what she wants.
I hope this guy is cool. See, I don’t mind sharing my space with someone as long as they clean after themselves and don’t bring girls for an orgy. My apartment is my sanctuary. I don’t care whatever floats his boat, but I will if he disrupts my peace.
Grabbing a white towel, I wrap it around my waist and sprint to the door, fully aware of the small puddles of water I leave in my wake. I’ll wipe it after I let him in the living room.
“The Doors of?—”
I swing open the front door, and when my gaze lands on the person on the other side, I briefly wonder if I somehow died in the bathroom and was transported to another dimension.
This vision can’t be real. She can’t be real.
Awareness returns by slow degrees, and I run a slow, deliberate glance over the gorgeous woman standing in front of me.
She’s already tall from what I can tell, but because she’s wearing those chunky sneakers, she almost reaches my jaw. I’m 6’5, so I’m not used to women who reach anywhere higher than my chest.
Her black hair is coiled in a messy bun, tendrils of it sticking to the sides of her face. Her eyes are green with a bit of brown in the center, making me unable to look away. Fuck. I want to drown in those depths. Her lips are pink, and right now, they form an ‘O’.
With one hand braced on the door frame, I drag in lungfuls of air, needing to ground myself and steady my pounding heartbeat.
This reaction baffles me, and I’m just now hyperconscious of the fact that I have nothing on except my towel. If she so much as looks down, she’ll see my raging erection. Which will turn this from confusing to awkward and downright embarrassing. Not just for me either, but for both of us.
“Are you lost, Miss?” By some miracle, I find my voice. It’s not even thick with desire either. I sound like a guy who’s simply asking questions, not someone who’s already wondering about that strange heat buzzing beneath my skin.
She takes a step back to look at the apartment number on the side of the door, and her eyes go cloudy as she tugs on her ear. “I’m sorry, but is this where Mika Melnik lives?”
At the sound of my name on her lips, I straighten my spine, trying to ignore how good it sounds on her tongue. “Yes. And you are?”
She blows out a breath, and a nervous smile plays on her lips. “Oh, thank God. I thought I was mistaken. I’m Maxine Allie. I’m her new roommate.”
“Her?”
“Yeah. Mika.”
I can’t stop the corner of my mouth from lifting. “Doll, I’m Mika.”
