Page 198 of Forbidden Heroes

“Morning.”

I nod. “Something like that.” I scrub a hand down my face. Shit, I still need to shave.

Duke is looking at me with a shit-eating grin, his eyes glued to the spot where I have my feet.

“What?”

“Nothing. You had a date last night or something?”

“Nope?”

“Huh. Sure. Musta been a doozie.”

“Since when did you become the dating police?”

“Since when did the fire chief roll in here, shirt untucked, jawline covered in scruff and two different shoes?”

I launch to my feet and jam the ends of my shirt into my pants. “Fuck you, Duke.”

He throws me a mocked look of hurt, his expression melting into an I totally knew it shit-eating grin.

Ignoring my friend, I look down and blurt another curse. He’s right about the damn shoes.

“Lay it on me. Who was it? That girl down at the library? Miss... Miss…” He snaps his fingers as if it will magically make names pop into his head. “I can’t recall her name, but she’s cute. Cherry red lips, pretty green eyes.”

I shake my head, slips sealed. “Nope.”

“Okay, who then?” Duke pulls up a seat and I know he’s not going to leave until I tell him something. We’ve been friends since forever and I know the determined look on his face means I’ll be spilling the beans, like it or not.

I open my mouth and Duke is right there filling in the blanks before my voice box flips on.

“Bela Andrews. Shit, why did I not guess her first?”

“You done? Gonna let me talk, now?” I clip out.

Duke makes this grand royal gesture with his hand. “By all means…”

Bela is the one weakness I can’t seem to shake. If Duke guessed it by only looking at my shoes, what does that bode for me? If she can shake me up so badly with one taste of her delicious body, what would another sampling do? A third? What if I want all of her and not just a few tastes but the whole package?

I need to snap the hell out of it. Thinking like that is dangerous. For her and me.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re allowed to be human, ya know.”

Duke knows my whole story, cover to cover. All the sordid details. Even the ones that cause the nightmare late into the night. Best friend? Nah, the man is more like a brother. And he understands why I keep a distance between me and the baker. She’s pure sunshine and I live in the darkness where monsters lurk. I can’t let my past break her beauty. Nothing as ugly as my past can ever touch her. She can stay at the house as long as she wants. But that doesn’t mean I have to be there.

Duke lowers his voice. “She okay after yesterday? The fire?”

I lean my elbows on the desk and lace my fingers. “Yep.”

“So what then? Why are?—”

“I brought her to my place. She’s staying with me.”

Duke falls silent as he considers me. For a few seconds he’s as dumbfounded by my action as I feel. But his tongue doesn’t stay dormant for long. “You brought her home? The girl you can’t stop thinking about and has your insides in knots?”

“And yesterday…” How do I say this tastefully? “I couldn’t stand her tears. One thing led to another and well, I took her home with me after.”

Duke gives a low whistle. “I see.”

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