Page 32 of Offside Devil

“She died a long time ago.” I busy myself with sweeping the stack of unopened mail on the countertop into the trash.

When I turn around, Zane is still looking at the picture. But he doesn’t ask anything else. He doesn’t pry.

Maybe he should.

He’s trying to keep his life drama-free and tidy for Aiden’s sake. Little does he know, he’s opening his home to a lifetime’s worth of my troubles.

I should tell him. Warn him, really. If those CPS agents go digging, I could complicate things for him.

Then I think about going to sleep tonight with his state-of-the-art security system looking over my shoulder for me, and I keep my mouth closed.

If my past starts to catch up with me, I’ll run before it can cause Zane any issues.

Until then, I’ll enjoy this little taste of luxury.

15

MIRA

I’m walking behind Zane while he pushes a luggage cart down the hallway. Without his eyes on me, I can take my sweet time to appreciate the proportions of his body. There’s something beautiful in the broad sweep of his shoulders and the tapering of his waist.

Are his abs as defined as they feel?

Is he tan everywhere?

I’d like to see the way his muscles flex and bunch under his skin… in the name of science, obviously.

“Your building is nicer than mine,” I blurt to clear away the lusty thoughts in my head.

When we pulled into the garage, we didn’t even have time to unload the first haul before a doorman was rolling a luggage cart towards us. He and Zane filled it with boxes and then we were escorted to a freight elevator.

Zane looks back over his shoulder. “You’re only figuring this out now?”

“I was almost proud of you for not being a snob about my bean bag chair. I should have known better.”

“I would have, but I was too surprised the walls weren’t painted black and covered in cobwebs and pentagrams.”

He stops in front of his apartment and I keep a safe arm’s length between us, since thoughts of his abs are still floating around in the back of my head. “Watch yourself. I was serious about no more Wednesday Addams jokes.”

Zane spins around suddenly, and I should have put two arm’s lengths between us. Maybe three. Because he is towering over me with piercing blue eyes and a panty-melting smirk. “I’ll remember your condition if you remember mine.”

No sex with Zane.

Sex with Zane? Off-limits.

Doing the no pants dance with my boss? Definitely not going to happen.

Rinse and repeat those mantras as needed.

“I remember. No throwing wild parties in your apartment. Don’t worry.” I pat his chest and immediately regret it. What is he, Iron Man? “I’ll make sure all of my parties are intimate, sophisticated affairs.”

He opens his mouth, but then the door swings open behind him. A man almost as big as Zane with a buzzed head and a piece of licorice sticking out of his mouth is standing in the doorway.

He stares at us for a second before he throws his arms wide and breaks into a pitchy rendition of Three’s Company.

Zane sighs and wheels the cart past him. “Daniel, this is Mira McNeil. Mira, this is Daniel Patterson. Unfortunately, you’ll be seeing a lot of him.”

Daniel waves Zane off and ushers me inside. “You will see a lot of me, but I promise not to sing any more really old sitcom theme songs at you.”

---