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I blinked, confused. “Kept what . . . No, just a regular old cell phone. I need to tell my sister where I am,” I said, glancing at the time. “It’s already five o’clock.”
He held out his hand.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you sure you’re not a big brother? You’re annoying enough to be one.” I tapped out a quick message to Phoebe. I told her I was with the guys and I’d be home late. No need to worry her with the rest of it.
Then I closed the phone and happily handed it to Tripp. He ran a hand over it as if he was looking for magical booby traps but he came up empty. Big surprise there.
“Told ya,” I said. I couldn’t help it.
“Come on,” he muttered, sliding the phone into his jeans pocket and grabbing my arm again.
His fingers dug into the skin of my elbow, but I didn’t complain. I had agreed to come, and I didn’t really want to make trouble. He led me to the service area and up the stairs at the back. Levi and Roman lived downstairs, but Levi had said that Tripp was the penthouse. We climbed three flights of stairs before we came to a door, and by then I was breathing hard. I guessed I should have gone to the gym a little more regularly.
Tripp swung it open and stepped inside.
I gasped at the view. His living room was a half circle and the outside wall was all windows. They looked out over Silver Springs, the buildings and the neighborhoods and the parks. I crossed to the window and gazed out. The sun was starting to sink, and colors were striped in ribbons across the clouds.
“This is amazing!” I glanced back at Tripp and he had a small grin on his face. He was proud of this apartment. “You are so lucky to live here.”
He nodded. “It really is something, isn’t it?”
I turned back, trying to find places that I remembered. Was that Main Street, just over there? I saw the castle of course, because it was the tallest thing in Silver Springs. I thought I could make out the forest just on the edge of town. I could feel Tripp’s eyes on me as I surveyed, and I felt warm in places I had no business being warm. I’d just gotten out of the hospital and already I was feeling horny? What was wrong with me? Of course, I could still see the orange magic connecting us. If it really was a mate bond, the first sign was lust, right?
Looking back at Tripp in his grungy clothes, I couldn’t help licking my lips.
He met my gaze for a moment, and I could have sworn his held equal heat. As though suddenly remembering I was a suspect, he scowled and muttered, “This way.”
Then, as he set off into the next room, I followed him. The space was set up as a study. The windows curved around with us, and the dark masculine furniture was offset by the setting sun. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with books new and old. Some looked magical, and others might have been modern spy novels. I glanced at Tripp. I guessed he looked like the type to read thrillers.
To one side was a heavy desk, like a lawyer’s or a professor’s, and it was stacked with various papers. To the other side was a curved black sofa with simple minimalist lines. On the wooden side table was a reading lamp and a glass partly filled with an amber liquid. I leaned over and smelled it—scotch. I’d never been a fan.
He lifted the rug in the middle of the room, between the desk and the small sofa, and revealed a circle that had been etched into the floor. He hadn’t gone through any pains to conceal it, other than tossing the rug over it, but I guessed this was his house so he could do as he liked.
Returning to my side, he pulled on the edges of my coat and I let him take it off me. He made a face.
“What?”
“You smell like a hospital.” When I looked confused, he continued. “Antiseptic.”
“Well, I was just there,” I said.
“You’ll have to shower and change,” he said. “Follow me.”
I bit my lip. This might get a lot more interesting. He led me quickly through a masculinely decorated bedroom and into the bathroom.
“Strip and get in the shower. You can use the soap in there, and I’ll get you a shirt to wear when you come out.” Then he was gone, back into the other room, and I was alone.
I sighed and turned on the shower as hot as I could stand it. Although I probably should take a cold shower instead, the way I was feeling, I’d rather get clean. I didn’t take long, and when I came out of the shower, there was an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts on the counter. Had he seen me in the shower? Or had he used some spell to zap them here?
I sniffed my bra and realized I didn’t have any underwear. I’d gone commando after my tryst with Roman. I didn’t bother with the bra. The shorts, while smaller than I was sure Tripp wore, were still too big for me, so I left them on the counter and contented myself with my t-shirt dress. I dried off and ran my fingers through my hair. I looked a bit like a drowned rat, but he hadn’t left me a brush or anything.
Then I headed back through the bedroom to the study.
Delphine
He looked me over when I returned, his gaze lingering on my bare thighs.
I swallowed, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t think I was the only one affected by our bond, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
