Page 18 of The Heat of Us

Ryder had been the consummate gentleman, well, as much a gentleman as one could be after all the nasty (very consensual) things he did to my body. He’d slipped out of me at some point during my nap, woke me briefly when he was trying to discreetly clean me before tucking me in like a burrito. I didn’t even hear him leave.

I finished my nap with no concept of time, a delicious ache between my thighs and my real hair plastered to my head beneath the wig.

It took far longer than I wanted to admit to get myself looking presentable. But once I did, I rode the elevator down my usual fourteen floors and wondered if Aleks would be at the front desk this evening.

When I first moved into 101 Riverside, I’d misjudged him in a lot of ways. With his perpetually flat expression, I was sure he hated me.

I invented a lot of reasons why that was. My hair was more long and luscious than his messy short blonde waves and he was jealous. Or maybe it was because one time I set off the fire alarm for my entire floor when I accidentally charred my steak until it was a hockey puck. Then there was the delivery incident. He told me I had a package, I said I would be right down, got distracted and forgot for the next 3 business days.

I mean, I would’ve hated me.

Then one fateful morning, I watched his colleagues surprise him with a birthday cake and his expression did not waver throughout the entire song.

That’s when I knew it was just his face.

But just to be sure, I decided to check.

“Hey Aleks. Do you hate me?” I had asked as I plopped my arms on the counter in front of him.

His eyes widened in panic. “What? No! Hazel, what the h—”

Ok, good to clear that up.

I decided we would be friends from then on.

I stepped into the lobby, an involuntary smile quirking up when I spotted him.

“No dartboard today?” Aleks quipped.

He didn’t even glance up from his textbook. Nevertheless, I stuck my tongue out. “No. That was a special one-time-only event.”

Aleks finally looked up at the same time as I got a hit of his fresh water scent.

Clear, glacier-fed waters ran over smooth rocks before finding their home in a pristine lake. Stillness, a gloved hand in mine and two fogs of quiet breath.

It matched his haunting ice-blue eyes.

I shook my head as casually as possible, trying to clear it. That was…different. I suppose I should just be thankful his beta scent was fainter instead of causing me to do something truly embarrassing like whine for him.

He would hold it over my head for the rest of our lives.

Aleks was eyeing my outfit quizzically. I knew hoping for a heartwarming compliment to start my night off right was way too much to ask for.

“Come on. Spit it out,” I prompted.

“Just be careful,” he said seriously, before turning back to his textbook. “Piracy of the high seas is still a crime.”

He was a moron who did not understand that my little corset gave my otherwise casual outfit the structure and shape it needed.

“Christ, you give me a headache,” I said, staring up at the ceiling exasperatedly.

“Good. Consider it payback for the ten thousand you’ve given me.”

I wanted to reach over and give him a well-deserved shove sideways.

“I’m going to Juno’s,” I explained. “Her pack is celebrating tonight.”

Aleks’ hand stopped mid page-turn. “Oh. Your friend from that interview.”

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