Page 55 of Property of Azrael

“Where are you going?”

“To clean up the table and get our clothes.”

I take in his muscular ass as he leaves the room. As I listen to him moving around in the kitchen, I take the time to think about my realization. I love him. But does he love me? Is it too soon to declare how I feel? If I tell him, will it only drive his brother further away? The questions of my love for him are only making my newfound discovery a frightening thought.

The thought that comes with me when the world shifts and drags me under. Between the aftermath of our lovemaking, and the exhaustion of my morning wake-up call, I fall asleep.

“Time to wake up, beautiful.”

“Not this again,” I groan. “You’re like a rooster, always cawing me awake.”

“I’ll always be your cock if it means I get to wake up next to you.”

“I write romance, and even I think that line is cheesy, Az. How about you and I stay in bed and watch a movie?”

I honestly can’t remember the last time I’d done that. Between Mom, my job, and writing, I’d lost track of all the shows I used to watch. I think the last movie I’d seen in a theater was way before the pandemic hit. It may have even been in college. Yeah, it’s been a long time.

“The day’s not over yet. I’m taking you out tonight.”

I roll over, the sheets barely covering my naked body. His eyes slide lower to where my legs are peeking out. “The offer to stay still stands.”

“As much as I like where your head is going with this, you haven’t had a chance to really see Tampico. I want to take you out. I owe you a real first date.”

“Don’t you think we’re past all that? I’m pretty sure we’re into, like, tenth date categories with the whole vacationing together. We skipped through a lot of traditional firsts.”

“That, we have,” he chuckles. My eyes crack open enough to see that instead of him in his normal T-shirt and jeans, he’s wearing a button-up shirt, the open lapels revealing some of his tattoos. My mouth practically waters at the sight of him. “Keep looking at me like that, Hallie, and you’ll get your wish.”

“If that’s all it takes…”

“Nice try,” he counters, snatching the warm blank away from me. The chill of the air conditioning has me breaking out in goosebumps.

“Rude.”

“But effective.”

I get out of bed under protest. “You do know that I don’t have anything remotely nice enough to go with what you’re wearing.”

“About that…” Smiling, he reaches for a black bag by the nightstand and hands it to me.

“When did you go shopping?” I ask.

“I didn’t. This is a gift from Eden, sent to us through Fox.”

“Oh, god.” I don’t dare peer inside. God only knows what I’ll find.

“Did you look at it first? You know what happened last time, and I don’t think you’ll survive another secondhand stripper dress from her collection.”

“Wait, what?”

Had I left out that part about the little black dress? The shock on his face tells me that detail may have slipped my mind. Oops.

“It’s way too hot to wear a hoodie this time.”

“You know, a movie sounds pretty good. Maybe we will stay in.”

Pressing a finger into his chest. “Oh, no. You’ve ripped away my blankets, Az. You reap what you sow.” I head into the bathroom, bag in hand. Over my shoulder, I say, “Just remember, you brought this on yourself.”

AZRAEL

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