Page 145 of If You Give an Artist a Killer Muse

Fuck.

“Goodnight, Briar,” I say, fighting the urge to tuck her in bed myself and kiss her.

She nods as she lies down. “Goodnight, don’t forget to lock up, will you?”

She gave me a copy of her keys earlier today and told me I could come over whenever I wanted. I told her I wouldn’t ever do that because I’m one of those who can only sleep on my bed. Briar sighs and settles on her side, looking at me with a sleepy gaze.

I stare at her.

She stares back, her brows furrowing adorably.

Fuck it.

I walk over, make sure her blanket is tightly snug around her, and lift her chin so I can kiss her lips.

“Goodnight, Briar,” I say again.

This time, she smiles back. “I knew you missed me.”

I roll my eyes and walk away, locking up behind me.

Chapter 22

Rurik

I don’t know if I want to reach over and wrap my hands around her neck to throttle the shit out of her for showing up out of nowhere. Or so that she can leave here with a new necklace hand-printed on her skin by me.

The little minx finishes putting the rest of her random groceries — bread, deli meats, cheese, crackers, juice — on the conveyor belt and winks at me.

She winks at me as if I’m not about to lose my shit.

“Did you find everything you need, Miss?” I ask in my best customer service tone as I begin to scan the items.

“Despite the overpriced bread and cranberry juice,” Her brows raise, and she grins, “Yes. I found everything I needed. Thank you… Sir.” She purrs the last part.

My dick twitches.

What the fuck.

I’ve been called ‘sir’ often by people at work. Why the fuck do I find it hot when she says it? I clear my throat, “Wonderful.”

She bites her bottom lip, her eyes darting around us. When we realize there’s no one near us, she leans forward and says, “Dress warmly tonight.”

I frown as I lean forward, too. Without thinking, I breathe deeply, and my lungs and head fill with her comforting scent of berries, dark chocolate, and a hint of jasmine.

Fucking delicious. Beautiful. Just like her.

Jesus, I’m so fucked.

“Why?” I say roughly, trying to look annoyed as I bag her groceries.

Her lips quirk up, her eyes bright with excitement. “You’ll see.”

I roll my eyes, pursing my lips to prevent myself from smiling back at her. Sighing, I quickly tap in my discount code for her and watch the total drop.

She looks at the price and frowns, “Oh, angel. I was just kidding about the costs. I can pay for the full amount; it’s no prob—”

“Sssshh,” I shush her, shaking my head. “The total is $10, ma’am.”

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