Page 18 of Wrong Number

“Of course,” I whispered, stepping away. “Just be careful. It’s wet.”

“Is it?” His lips twitched, and I felt my face start to burn. His eyes dropped from mine down my body, taking their time on the way back up.

And I shivered.

God, I was like a blushing virgin in front of him.

“I mean the floor!” I blurted and winced. “The floor is, umm…” I forgot what I was saying when our gaze connected again.

His eyes were beautiful.

Deep and a shade of green I needed a moment to really soak in. They were just a smidge darker than moss.

“Wet?” he repeated, and I nodded.

I moved to the side, pretending to wet the mop again and strain it. But honestly, I couldn’t seem to focus on that. For a moment, I watched him. Well, the back of him. The man was seriously handsome.

And for some reason, my gaze moved to his left hand. It was bare. No ring. How the hell had some lucky woman, or man, not roped him up? Maybe he’s a jerk, the cynical side of me perked up, but I batted away the thought. A man like that would most likely, most definitely be a jerk. A huge one. But with the right person? Maybe not. Maybe he’d be sweet? Kind? Attentive? Like Nix? The thought made me frown and move my attention to the mop.

We didn’t say anything else as the coffee pot percolated and I kept cleaning the other side of the break room so as not to be in his way. And when he left, I popped my earbuds back in and kept working.

Never noticing that the air smelled familiar. Stronger. The spicy, woodsy notes I’d been catching here and there the last couple of days, so familiar now, didn’t hit me. And if they had, maybe I’d have been able to save myself, because nothing else would have prepared me for what happened later.

seven

nix

I tried.

I really did.

Watching her from afar, knowing she was so fucking close, had me all but coming out of my skin. I felt like a feral animal caged up and ready to be freed. And I knew I wasn’t being subtle about it. Jase looked at me funny before he left, and I had a weird feeling I’d have a shit load of questions to answer next time I saw him.

But I didn’t care. The questions in his eyes had been piling up. My life had become wrapped up in my sweet kitten and nothing else. I didn’t give a shit about grabbing a beer after work anymore. Or hanging out on our off time. Not when it meant I could talk to Vivi instead and sit outside her apartment building.

I was obsessed with everything Vivi. I needed to see her close. Touch her. Breathe the same air.

But I had to be smart about it.

My guard dropped the moment Jase went home and I knew there were only a total of four people on the floor—the front desk receptionist, a security guard, Vivi, and me. There were cops and detectives on the clock, but they were all out and about.

Watching her clean the floors, pushing a mop that felt like it was twice her size, made me die to approach her and do it for her. When I saw her head toward the back break room, the space where this whole thing started, it felt like kismet. But when I came up to her, her eyes shut as she leaned on that gigantic mop, I wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go. I wanted to spoil and comfort her. Massage her shoulders and back. Take that look of exhaustion on her face and replace it with sheer ecstasy.

She was exhausted, and I hated it.

When she turned and noticed me so fucking close to her, I’d reacted. Come up with some spur-of-the-moment bullshit excuse. And fuck me, with my back turned to her, I could feel the way she stared at me. I could feel those pretty eyes like a goddamn caress. And if I had some shred of decency, I would have walked away.

Vivi deserved someone to match her bright sunshine-like demeanor, not some old grump who only saw the bad side of shit. She deserved a better man, but that was not what she was going to get. Just the thought of another man getting close, daring to take what was mine, had me close to seeing red.

I wasn’t a good man, but I was hers.

And I would do anything and everything to make her happy. I looked at my phone and should have felt guilty at the text.

Grasshopper: Cameras off. Hope you and your girl have a good weekend away.

I’d talked to my IT buddy earlier and told him I was seeing someone and wanted to surprise her with a little getaway. By the time I was done semi-truthfully explaining things to him, I wasn’t sure if he was more surprised by the fact I was dating someone or that I was planning something so… adventurous.

Either way, he’d helped me out. Agreeing to turn the cameras off that faced the back of the precinct where the cleaning crew entered and exited from.

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