Page 282 of Flirting with Darkness

His fingers tapped in his number, and then he texted himself from her phone before setting up the camera. Dex posed for the picture. When the click told him it was done, he didn’t even bother looking at it before handing it back to her.

“I’d rather not find your body mangled in the streets,” he told her. “If you need anything, just reach out.”

The way she took the phone from him…her fingers were careful not to touch him – not even his gloves. She was afraid of something, but he couldn’t figure out what it was, not when she said and did the shit she did.

“If you need someone to bail your ass out of jail, don’t call me.” Nova slipped her phone in her pocket and gave him a little half-smile that shouldn’t have been as hot as it was. “Enjoy the rest of your night, Dex.”

This time he let her disappear into the shadows before heading back to the bar.

For both their sakes, he hoped he never saw her again.

10

NOVA

Nova sat on her bed after a hot shower, hand resting on her mouth as she dropped her phone so it bounced against her thigh and spun back up into her hand, over and over.

The space heater made the room comfortable enough she could wear shorts and a tank top, but she preferred to sleep naked. It was her first night in a new city though, and after everything that had happened that night, she wasn’t comfortable with it.

Bounce.

Spin.

Bounce.

Spin.

Just look at the fucking picture already.

Nova glanced down at her phone as it spun end over end for the thousandth time.

She couldn’t decide what was more embarrassing: the way Dex made her feel or the way she sounded around him.

When was the last time she’d felt anything for anyone other than her family? She couldn’t think of one.

Stupid boy.

Bounce.

Spin.

It wasn’t like she’d never seen a hot guy before. Fucking hell, every hunter at the university had been walking around with eight-pack abs, broad shoulders, and nice arms that made every girl’s knees weak.

She’d seen them all naked at some point since the hunters all lived in the same dorm. Sharing a house like that had really opened up every sexual opportunity for her and after a lifetime of homeschool…

Well, Nova wasn’t a good little girl anymore.

But all guys were the same whether they were human, hunter, witch, or shifter. After a while, she got bored and moved on. Their good looks and muscles were nothing more than a pleasing aesthetic.

Dex though…

He was something else.

She rubbed her hand over her mouth and sighed, tossing her phone onto the bed.

A rough workout hadn’t helped distract her either, but at least the gym was decent. The Council had provided a secure apartment complex with all the amenities.

And now she needed to text her mom, but Nova was terrified to open her phone and see his picture in there.

---