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This was crazy. I’d killed two people by just touching them, and yet his leaving made me feel as if I wanted to hyperventilate? It was almost ridiculous, and a reason not to go.
“Let me think about it. I need to feel Charlie out and make sure he won’t be too upset. He’s been uprooted so many times already.” Charlie had to come before any irrational thoughts I was having. How could I make a decision right now? I was barely sleeping, let alone thinking straight.
Kicks grinned. “He wants to come.”
“And you know this because…?”
“I told him all the cool shit we have.” He smirked.
“Still, I need to talk to him.” Kicks had already tainted Charlie’s opinion, but I wasn’t taking his word on it. I wanted to hear it from Charlie.
Even if he didn’t feel strange, there were a couple other potential problems that needed to be cleared. I wasn’t unknowingly walking into another Groza situation, not even for a day, especially not with the way this one liked to flirt and leadpeople on. It wasn’t like he’d tried to kiss me, or even outright hit on me. But when those eyes landed on mine… Man, the heat he threw off didn’t need anything else. It was hard not to melt on the spot.
“Are you being…” This was a bit more awkward than I’d anticipated.
“Am I being what?”
He was doing it again, leaning there, looking at me, not quite smiling but definitely amused by something.
“Do you have asituationat home?” I asked, finally spitting it out.
“A romantic situation? No.” He smiled way too wide for my sanity. He could seduce a woman with that alone.
“I don’t need another awkward situation, is all,” I said, dissuading him from reading into this question. I was not going down that road again. “Just to make it clear, flirting isn’t going to get me into your pack either. That door is shut.”
He nodded, still smiling. He either didn’t care or didn’t believe me. I needed to focus on believing that he didn’t care, because that was much safer.
He straightened and made his way closer to where I stood, eating up the space between us. “If you’re wondering if I act the way I do because I’m trying to seduce you in order to get you to my pack, I’m not. Yes, annoying Duncan does amuse me, but I happen to like looking at you, and that wouldn’t change whether you were the spiritual guide or not.”
“You know I’m, or was, human. I’m not sure what you’d call me now, but…” It was hard to even form words the way he was leaning closer, his eyes feasting on my face, my lips, as if he were about to ravish me.
“Yeah, I think that was covered a few times,” he said, his voice gruff.
“I’m not looking to complicate matters just for a good night or two.” Even if I were imagining what they might be like at this very minute.
“Darlin’, I take you to bed and I’m not sure I’ll ever let you crawl out of it.” He cupped the back of my head as he dipped his mouth toward my ear. “And it would be a lot better than good.”
“But I’m human.”
“You think that makes you inferior in my eyes? Only if I were a blind man would I ever see you as less than spectacular.”
He was breathing in deeply, as if he were trying to inhale me like some rare exotic scent. The door swung open and Charlie’s feet pounded in the hall.
“Piper!” he yelled excitedly.
Kicks straightened. “I’ll talk to you soon,” he said.
Chapter Fifteen
I turned the corner,heading to the cottage, and nearly stopped short in the middle of the lane when I spotted Groza sitting on my porch. Our eyes locked. There was no option of turning around or pretending I hadn’t seen her. Had she seen me hesitate? Definitely, but that alone wouldn’t prove my guilt, considering we’d been oil and water from our first meeting. It would’ve appeared more unusual if Ididn’tappear to dread seeing her.
Still, there was no denying I was cringing over this confrontation even more than usual. Did she know I was responsible for the disappearance of her two goons? She might suspect, but Kicks had cleaned the scene. He wouldn’t have left a trail for her. No way she could know for sure. If she did, I’d already be ripped to pieces in the town square by now.
I continued walking, debating returning her stare or acting as if I barely noticed her sending waves of animosity down the block toward me.
Groza remained silent as I walked onto my porch. Her silence was even more unsettling than her confronting me. It was like she was forcing me to address the issue.
Screw her.If she had something to say, I wasn’t going to beg her to tell me what it was.
