Page 80 of Touch Me Not: Anniversary Edition

“Hey.” Lily interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw her smiling. How had he not heard her come in?

“Hey, my little stealthy ninja.” He pulled her to him. “You smell all minty fresh.”

She laughed, and he couldn’t resist leaning down to sweep her lips with his. He felt the sigh go through her and pulled her closer in response, increasing the pressure of his kiss. Every time he kissed her, he lost more of his desire to let her go. This was getting to the point of no return. He needed to end it soon. After Miami. He’d end it when they got back from Miami.

He pulled back and stared down into her eyes, sparkling with laughter and warmth. Miami. Well, fuck. The dread slammed into him with all the force of a sledgehammer. Now he didn’t want to go to Miami.

“You okay?” she asked, concerned. “You look like you’re gonna puke.”

“I’m fine.” He brushed it off. “Ready to go?”

“Sure.” Her eyes remained worried, but she grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.

The ride to his latest hole-in-the-wall discovery was quiet. He kept glancing at her, and she kept staring out the window. She had something on her mind, something that wasn’t good. Nikoli couldn’t explain how he knew this, but it was like an itch right at the base of his neck. It wouldn’t go away.

Once they were seated in the dinky diner with their orders placed, he asked, “What’s wrong, Lily Bells? Something’s bothering you.”

She turned confused and frustrated eyes to him, and he sucked in a breath. “Adam said some stuff this morning.”

“Did he hurt you again? I swear I will beat him this time.”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “Nothing like that. He was drunk, and I don’t think he meant what he said, or maybe he did because hewasdrunk. I don’t know.”

A sick feeling settled in Nikoli’s stomach. He knew what was coming. “What did he say?”

Lily sighed and looked into Nikoli’s eyes. They were darker, almost angry. If she didn’t know him better, she’d say he was jealous, but the manwhore never got jealous. He didn’t love her. She reminded herself of that forcefully. He might want to have sex with her, but he would never want her.

“He told me he was in love with me and that he wanted to marry me and not Sue.”

“I see,” Nikoli murmured, and Lily shot him a glance. His eyes had gone blank and his face closed off. “That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it, Lily?”

“Yes,” Lily agreed quietly. “It was what I wanted.”

“Then why don’t you look happy,Milaya?”

“Why now, Nikoli? Why now that I’m getting better? Why now that I’m with you? I don’t know if Adam really means it or if he’s just reacting to something he’s never experienced before. I was always there for him, and now I’m not. What if he misses that and is confused about how he feels because of it?”

“Milaya, Boy Wonder is in love with you. Is this recent, or has he always felt that way? I don’t know, but I do know how jealous he’s been. He can’t stand the thought of me and you together. It drives him crazy.”

“Maybe,” she muttered.

“Well, if you decide to take Boy Wonder up on his offer, you renege on this imaginary bet, and Ellie stays with me.”

His car? That was his first thought? His car? It only solidified Lily’s opinion that Nikoli didn’t love her, that he didn’t want her. He just wanted his damn car. She felt her face heat up, but this time in anger. Why should she care or be shocked? He was Boston University’s very own manwhore, after all.

Nikoli watched Lily’s cheeks fill with color and her blue eyes flash with fury, and he frowned. Why was she mad? Boy Wonder was her end goal. She should be happy.

Nikoli should be happy for her, but he wasn’t. He wanted to hit something. To beat someone bloody. Anger fought with jealousy inside of him, and he hated it. He didn’t get attached, ever, but this woman had gotten under his skin. She would leave him. He’d known that from the beginning.

“Hey, May, turn that up,” someone shouted, and he and Lily turned to see another crime scene pictured on the flat screen in the corner of one wall. Another girl had been found, and it appeared to be the same guy who’d been killing all summer. Boston was officially in the grips of a serial killer, and everyone was on edge.

“That’s two blocks away from the university.” Lily’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, he’s been getting closer and closer to the college since he started.”

“Don’t worry,Milaya, they’ll catch him.”

“Yes, we will.”

Nikoli’s head snapped up, and he saw his brother, Kade, grinning down at him. The mess of curly black hair and sleepy black eyes made Nikoli laugh. Kade looked like he hadn’t slept in a week and had a serious case of bedhead. He stood, wrapping his brother in a bear hug.

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