Page 26 of King of Tides

I move to the door as I use my magic to leave the bag of food outside her apartment. When I open the door, the bag is sitting there with her piping-hot food. I turn back into the apartmentand find her sitting on the couch with her legs tucked beneath her.

“God, that smells good.”

I carry the bag over to her and place it on the coffee table. She leans forward to grab the bag and peeks inside. I stand watching her as she looks up at me.

“You didn’t order something for yourself?”

“Not hungry. You enjoy, baby girl.”

“You seem like you’re having as rough a day as I am.”

“This is more than a day.”

“You want to talk about it?”

I scoff. “You would need to give me your entire life to tell you all I’m dealing with.”

“Let me grab a beer and you can give me the CliffsNotes. It’s the least I can do. My father says I need to make more friends and let others in.”

I give her a tight smile. For decades, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. Someone other than my brothers who I could open up to. We’ve been hidden for so long it’s become a habit not to share or open up.

“You and I have more in common than you might think.”

She tilts her head to the side as she munches on her food. “You’re emotionally unavailable too?”

“Something like that. I have as many secrets as I see swimming in your eyes.”

“Do you now? My secrets are innocent. Something tells me yours might have a little bite.”

That should be my cue to leave. I can never tell her about my world. Her place is in the human world, far away from me and all that comes with me. Not to mention, the secrets I hold could send her running for the hills.

That’s what I should want. I have a mate out there somewhere. This little thing is only a means to pass time.

Yet even thinking that feels wrong and sounds worse in my head. I definitely need to clear my mind. I stand to do just that and start for her kitchen.

“That they do, baby girl. That they do. Let me get you that beer.”

My secrets have more than a little bite. They’d take a chunk out of her. Not willing to allow that; I’ll have to change the subject.

Billy

I’m sitting here laughinglike a little schoolgirl as I get high with my sexy biker neighbor. That food was torch. It hit the spot for sure. The best I’ve ever had from that place.

“You’re nothing like what I expected,” I say as I take the joint from his hand and take a puff.

This stuff is good as well. It smokes so clean. I have a nice high. Just what I needed to get my mind off the shit that went down. I lied my ass off for my brother.

If this shit blows back, it’s going to roll back on me as it should. I can’t allow Carson to take the fall for me. Candido is a piece of shit and should pay for everything he’s done.

“What were you expecting?” Ardan says, pushing into my thoughts.

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. You come off as rough and gruff. Instead, you’re down to earth and kind of funny. The alpha male shit, that doesn’t surprise me as much.

“My attraction to it is more of a surprise to me. Actually, my attraction to you, period, has caught me off guard,” I say before I can shut myself up.

It has to be the weed. My foot is in my mouth and my brain isn’t connecting to shut me the fuck up. My cheeks heat as I start to feel stupid for talking so much.

I cut my words off by taking another pull and handing the joint back. He takes the joint with one hand and lifts his other arm as if welcoming me into his side. There’s this pull to him that’s been calling to me all night.

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