Page 76 of Touch Me Not: Anniversary Edition

“You mean that, don’t you?” he asked, surprise in his voice and on his face.

It was her turn to laugh. She pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the bed, looking for her dress. If she let this conversation go further, it might cause her to say things she’d rather die than confess.

“It’s late, Nikoli, and I need to get back before security locks the door at the dorm.”

“We can stay here tonight if you want.”

Lily glanced over her shoulder at him. He looked satisfied, yet hopeful, like a little boy asking for a new toy. “I wish I could, but I have to be there for the girls. I can’t stay out unless I make arrangements ahead of time for someone to cover my floor.”

“That’s too bad.” He ran a finger up her spine, and she gasped, her skin still sensitive.

She felt the bed shift as Nikoli stood up. She spotted her dress sticking out from under the bed and grabbed it, slipping her legs in and sliding it up her body. Nikoli came to stand behind her. He pushed her hair over her shoulder then zipped the dress up. He bent and placed a soft kiss on her collarbone.

“I want to show you something,” he said. He was wearing his pants, but no shoes or shirt. Taking her hand, he led her out of the bedroom and down a hall. The last door on the right opened into an office.

It was full of dark mahogany wood furniture, and bookshelves lined three of four walls. A wall of windows overlooked downtown Boston. Lily skipped the scenery and went straight to the books. It was a jumbled mess of computer programming books, fiction, classics, and general science. The man did not know how to organize his library.

“Leave it to you to beeline to the books.”

“I love books.”

“I know.” He shook his head. “Come over here, please.”

Lily gave the books one last once over and turned toward the desk where he sat turning on the computer monitor. He typed a few keystrokes then hummed as he waited for it to log him in. She walked over to stand beside him. He wrapped an arm around her waist while he logged into a program.

“Lily, you’re a pretty decent gamer.”

She laughed. “I guess.”

“Well, would you want to beta test a new game?” He looked up into her eyes, and she frowned. Was he asking her to beta test one ofhisgames?

“It would depend on the kind of game,” she said after a moment.

“It’s a first-person shooter,” he said. “Zombie game.”

“Sure, if you want me to. I’m a big fan of horror games, and first-person shooters are my favorite.”

“I thought as much,” he said. “You kicked ass today in that game.”

“It had been a while since I’d played,” she said, playing it down. “It was a team effort, really.”

“Bullshit. You took out almost that entire opposing team by yourself. That requires a lot of skill.”

“It’s no big deal.” She shrugged it off.

“Lily, when I said before I could afford to buy you a ticket, I meant it. I own a gaming company.”

“And when I said before I didn’t care, I meant that too. I know who you are, Nikoli.”

“You know?” His mouth fell open, and she laughed. For once, she’d one-upped him.

“I’m a gamer, Nikoli. Of course I know who you are. I just didn’t say anything because I thought you wanted to keep that part of your life private, and it wasn’t any of my business.”

“You knew who I was all this time, and you never asked me for anything…”

“Because I didn’t want anything from you,” she said. “Well, I do want your car, but that’s beside the point.”

“You’re not getting Ellie,” he told her, his eyes still wide with shock.

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