Page 82 of The Spider & the Storm

It might actually,I thought as I undid the helmet and tore it off as my heart screamed at me to stop.

“I’m sorry, okay?” I snapped, not sounding sorry at all. But it wasn’t her I was annoyed at, and now, for some reason, I needed her to know that.

“You know”—she turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring down at me through eyes heavy with makeup—“this hot and cold shit is seriously getting old.”

“Dealing with people isn’t exactly my forte,” I grumbled back.

“Oh, really? Well, shit, you certainly had me fooled.” Stormy girl shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Like I said, never mind. Thanks for the ride, Charlie.”

She turned around once again, and this time, with a deep breath and her head held high, she took a few steps, walking away with purpose driving her every move. I groaned out of frustration and climbed off the bike, dropping the helmet on the seat.

“Stop! I’m sorry, all right? Seriously, I'msorry.”

She did stop then, and she looked over her shoulder. “You know what? I might actually believe that apology.”

I shrugged and offered a single nod. “Great,” I muttered. “Now, can you please tell me what you were going to say?”

Her tough-girl attitude withered a bit as she bit her bottom lip before asking, “I was going to ask if you’d just bring me upto my room. You don’t have to come in—I’m not asking you to. I just get really creeped out, and Blake usually—”

“Yeah,” I replied, feeling more like a jackass with every passing second. “Sure. Come on.”

Her lips twitched upward in a small, grateful smile before she turned again to head from the asphalt to the sidewalk where she’d been attacked just weeks before. I followed close behind, making my presence known without walking beside her, until I heard Luke’s voice in my head.

“Dude, what are you doing? Do you like her or not?”

I think I like her.

“Then, stop being such an asshole. Jesus fuck.”

I furrowed my brow as I watched her move toward the hotel doors. I didn’t know what I really expected to take from this …thing, but still, I quickened my pace to walk by her side. She glanced up at me, and one side of her mouth quirked into a half smile, and still, we didn’t speak as we approached the place where I’d found her and held a blade to her attacker’s throat. Stormy girl swallowed and pulled in a sharp breath of air as we walked by, and on instinct, I lifted my hand to touch her elbow—a little reminder that I was there, that she wasn’t alone—and she settled with an exhale.

We headed into the lobby of the old hotel. It smelled a bit musty beneath a disguise of overpowering floral, and I wrinkled my nose.

Stormy girl laughed. “I know. It smells like a funeral home in here.” I lifted a brow, and her laugh escalated into a fit of giggles. “I guess I don’t need to tell you that.”

“Actually, I don’t make a habit of going to funeral homes,” I replied, remembering in an instant every moment of my parents’ final send-off.

“Oh, I thought that came with the territory.”

“Not in my position.” Then, I reconsidered and said, “Well, I guess it also depends on the cemetery. Back home, I—”

I caught myself and clamped my lips shut. I was unsure if I wanted to tell her anything about myself, especially my life before Salem.

“Anyway,” I muttered, deciding I wasn’t ready to unearth that particular grave, “duties differ depending on the cemetery. I don’t do much in the line of office work. Every now and then, I deal with funeral directors, but it's usually over the phone. My job is more physical—”

“Yeah, I could tell.” She waggled her brows and grinned up at me.

I smirked and pretended the comment didn’t faze me even though I knew my cheeks were blushing.

I never could take a compliment well.

“Well, trust me, it smells like a funeral home in here,” she continued as we reached the elevator.

She jabbed her finger at the upward arrow and stood beside me as we watched the flashing numbers count their way down to the lobby.

When the elevator doors opened, we stepped inside, and Stormy girl hit the number seven. The doors closed, leaving us in complete seclusion, and I stiffened my spine as a memory of Luke popped into my head.

“You ever fuck a girl in an elevator?”

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