Page 26 of Siren's Heart

My hand fits the small of Millie’s back like a puzzle piece as the two of us walk outside, and once I need to let her go, I feel incomplete. It’s weird. It's corny as hell, but she's like a magnet. Like the sun. And just like a damn sunflower, I just can't stop my eyes from following her wherever she goes and whatever she does. They always find her, and she has me turning in her direction, yearning for her attention.

She tells the taxi driver her address, and off we go. It’s an older gentleman with kind eyes. He doesn’t give me any ‘I’m going to call the paparazzi on you’ vibes. So I take her hand. And fuck if it doesn’t fit perfectly into mine. Just like before, my skin starts prickling where we touch, and a satisfied hum forms in my throat.

I don't want this date to be over yet. I’m just not ready to part with her. But we've just met ‘officially’ and have only now gotten to know each other. I’m painfully aware that expecting more of this day would be crazy.

A smile doesn’t leave her lips throughout the ride, not even when she gnaws on her lower lip, or her gaze wanders out the window. And I hope I’m the reason for it.

I whistle, impressed when we approach the skyscraper where her apartment is. Ours is a few blocks away, but not too far. If it weren’t for the paparazzi, I could definitely walk over.

The one she and Kayla live in looks a lot fancier than ours, though. From what I can see through the car window, there's a lobby with marble floors, high ceilings, and a doorman keeping his eye on whoever enters and exits. I can’t say that the building they put Asher and me in is shabby, but this? This is just next level. A way higher level.

Her eyes dart around anxiously as we approach, as if she’s waiting for someone to jump out of the neatly trimmed bushes along the main entrance.

"I hope the paparazzi haven’t found out where we live," she sighs with a grimace distorting her beautiful face, and I can't help but give her hand a short, reassuring squeeze.

"If they did, you’d see them, I’m very sure of that." I nod for emphasis, and she seems to relax the tiniest bit under my touch. Drawing small circles on the back of her hand with my thumb, I also keep an eye out for anyone looking suspicious, but I see nobody with any cameras around.

The driver moves the car right up to the main entrance and comes to a stop right in front of the doorman.

"Well," she says softly, turning to me and locking my eyes with hers. "This evening was lovely."

"It was," I agree. My eyes jump between hers and her pouty lips, one of them caught between her teeth as she looks down at our intertwined hands. "I would really like to do this again, Millie,” I say softly, and her eyes settle on my lips as I talk. She is so close that I can see my breath move her curls the tiniest bit, and I can see small glitter particles of her eyeshadow on her lids. “Without Asher and Kayla,” I clarify and raise my hand to brush one of her curls behind her ear, feeling her heated skin under my palm. “Will you let me take you out on a proper date?"

"Luca,” she says my name softly, like a whispered sigh. “I would really like that." She curls her lips into a smile.

Then she startles, the moment gone, when the loud sound of someone hitting the roof of the car. My heart is racing, almost jumping out of my ribs, when I turn around and realize who the culprit is.

It's Kayla, looking inside the taxi, shielding her eyes with her hands from the side to look through the mirror foil.

"Just kiss already!" she shouts, then bursts into a cackle, turns around, and marches right into the lobby, waving at the doorman. Say what you will, but she and Asher would suit each other.

When I turn back to Millie, she has her face buried in her hands, the red from her cheeks seeping down her throat.

"I'm so sorry about her."

"Why? She's right." I reach out and snake my fingers around her delicate wrists, her self-made bracelet cold under my palm, and pull her hands away from her face. There is not an ounce of resistance. Instead, she looks at me with wide eyes, like a deer in headlights. "I should kiss you. Let me clarify. I really want to kiss you.” Her face grows more crimson, but at the same time, her smile curls wider. “But I think I'm saving it for a moment she doesn't ruin." I wink at her and lift one of her hands to my face, pressing my lips into her palm before gently setting her arm down. "I'll message you."

She looks at me and blinks. Then again. And I can see her fight the urge to bury her face in her hands again to hide her blush from me. God. She’s so adorable.

"Okay," she says with a smile and opens her seatbelt. When she opens the door, she looks at me, then the front door, and back at me. Finally, she breaks into a smile and points her finger at me. "Don't you dare ghost me."

"I would never." I lift my hand with the palm facing toward her. "Scouts honor."

For a moment, she eyes me skeptically, then she chuckles. "Good. I'll be waiting. Have a good evening, Luca."

"Sweet dreams, Millie," I say to her just before the door closes. The driver starts the engine again, but I stop him. "Please wait until she’s inside."

The poor guy seems annoyed with me, mumbling something along the lines of ‘fucking gentleman,’ but I don't give a damn. I’d rather have a stranger be miffed with me than have anything happen to her on my watch.

Millie makes a quick stop next to the doorman and seems to greet him. As soon as she does, his face grows softer, and while they exchange a few words, his stern face takes on an almost soft expression. Then she continues inside, a happy swing in her step as the glass doors open for her. Kayla is waiting for her behind them, and they step out of sight.

"Alright, you can go,” I let the driver know, my cheeks starting to hurt from grinning so much today.

"About damn time."

"Damn, you’re back only fifteen minutes after me," Asher whistles when I round the corner to my apartment. Of course, that asshat has planted his butt right at my front door, blocking it with his body and demonstratively checking his watch. "I feel sorry for the girl."

"The woman has a name, and I know that you know it, dude," I point out with an eye roll and pat my pockets for my keys. "And what did you expect? That we fuck in a taxi? Did you forget drivers exist? I'm not going to give a stranger a peep show."

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