Page 115 of Crimson Promises
“Really, Riley, that’s none of your concern,” I said sharply.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I think it is.” He took a step closer.
I took a step backward. I kept my shoulders back and lifted my chin. A lot had been taken from me recently, Riley didn’t scare me, and I wasn’t going to cower to his silly misogynistic notions that he was somehow entitled to the details of my life. Because he wasn’t.
“Fine, have it your way. For your sake, I hope whoever is up there waiting for you is worth it,” he said, a hard edge to his voice. Without another word, Riley jogged across traffic and disappeared around the corner.
When I finally lost sight of him, I sagged against the wall and buried my face in my hands. Riley had been a lot of things to me, but harsh was never one of them.
“Deary, are you alright there?” An elderly woman with a headscarf wrapped around her head and tied underneath her chin approached me on a motorized scooter.
“I’m alright," I patted the pockets of my pants. Took a second to look for my keys. The last thing this lady needed was to worry about me. I had enough people fuss over me today.
She gave me a dubious look. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, all set. Thank you for stopping. Have a great day.”
“You too, sweetie. Take care of yourself.” Her eyes met mine, and I could have sworn they held sympathy for me.
I watched her speed down the sidewalk in her scooter, honking at those paying more attention to their phones than their surroundings. She was vibrant and cheeky. I wondered more about the lady on her motorized scooter all the way up to Ben’s apartment.
For the second time that day, I stood in his doorway. I much preferred what was going on the last time I was here. I wrapped my hand against the door in a few successive knocks and waited for Ben to answer.
I pulled out my phone, and there was a text from Victor.
Vic: HI AURORA. HoW aRE YOU? DarLEnE and I wANted to ChEcK in tO sEe iF YOU wANtED to cOMe fOr DINNER? HavEn’T sEEN YOU hOpE YOU are OKAY!!! CALL ME.
I burst out laughing at his befuddled message. He was sweet. I’d give him a call once I got settled. There was another message from Riley, but I wasn’t in the mood to read anything he had to say. I didn’t deserve his cruelty, no matter how much I had hurt his feelings.
I knocked harder this time. Where was Ben? Shouldn’t his angel hearing be able to detect my presence before I even need to raise my hand to bang against the door?
Ten seconds later, a blinking Ben opened the door wide enough for me to walk through. He didn’t say anything but rubbed his eyes. His hair was smooth at the front. It flopped over his eyes while the back stood up like alfalfa.
I walked into the open space. It was shrouded in complete darkness. The usually large windows were drawn with blackout curtains.
“Ben, we need to talk. Something happened while you were sleeping the day away.”
“It was the poison,” he said hoarsely. “Give me a few minutes. Make yourself at home.” He disappeared into the bathroom; a few seconds later, the rush of running water followed.
Ten minutes later, Ben walked out of the bathroom in his signature look: black jeans and a long-sleeved henley, beige this time. His hair was tamer than earlier but still looked effortlessly ruffled. Rivulets of water were still hanging on his eyelashes for dear life. I reached up to stroke my throat. I needed to do something to keep my mind off of thoughts of us together in the shower.
“Hi,” I croaked.
“Hi yourself,” he said, a knowing smirk across his face.
Could angels read minds? I really hoped not. Ben would have disclosed that already. Or else he’d witness some R-rated images that only seemed to conjure themselves when he was around.
I knew from the moment he walked into Dr. Spencer's lecture he was dangerous and deadly, not to mention sexy as sin. Whatever this intense physical connection between us seemed to be was compounded by this bond that always seemed to pull me to him.
“So, what happened while I was out?” He leaned his forearms against the black marble island. It had streaks of silver and white veins running across its broad expanse. Ben interlaced his fingers together. Fingers that were long and beautiful. Fingers aren’t normally a body part I classified as beautiful, but on Ben, they were gorgeous. Those fingers have been inside me. This insatiable appetite wasn’t something I was used to.
Think of sewage, rocks, and pimples popping. Anything to cool the flush of warmth spreading from my core outwards.
Ben’s nostrils flared, but he remained poised and controlled. His face was neutral, devoid of any of the same desire.
“Can I have a glass of water first?” I made my way to sitting on one of the island's stools.
He walked towards the cabinets and grabbed a tall glass. I brought my clammy hands to my face, willing to cool down whatever hormones had decided to peak at the wrong time. Ben walked to the refrigerator and filled it with crushed ice and filtered water, just as I liked. A perk of him knowing me all my life. His jeans hugged his ass in the most marvelous of ways. It was firm and round and plump. Ben resumed his previous position and raised his eyebrows expectantly.
