Page 60 of Wretched Soul
Shit. Where did that thought come from?
I rest my chin on Lily’s shoulder and read the email she’s just opened from her boss. Connor has handed in his resignation, and Walter Royston is assuming Lily will simply pick up her old clients as if he hadn’t tried to fuck her over. Lily closes the email without replying and switches to bad mouthing her boss to herfriend, and giving her the fuller version of what happened with Connor.
“You’re telling Kaitlyn it was me who broke that creep’s arms?” I ask, more curious than alarmed.
“Knowing her, she’ll come up with her own list of people she wants you to take out,” she says. There’s a whooshing sound to confirm the message has been sent. “And it’s rude to read other people’s messages.”
“Is it?” I ask with mock innocence. I’m so used to reading Lily’s messages that it hadn’t even crossed my mind that she’d object to me looking over her shoulder.
“We’re going to have a serious talk about boundaries before the end of this weekend,” she warns.
“And what else will we do?” I ask, nibbling her ear.
We didn’t get much sleep last night, and after I’d gotten over the shock of waking up with another human being in my arms, I’d stared at her until she woke up. And then I’d fucked her brains out.
Lily tilts her head, giving me more access to her neck. “We could build up an appetite before breakfast.”
I trail my hand up her stomach to the curve of her breasts. “Damn, woman. You’re insatiable.”
Her laugh reverberates through my chest. “I was thinking more of a leisurely hike. I can’t remember the last time I went for a walk in the forest.”
“The snow’s pretty deep,” I remind her, tipping my head to the floor to ceiling windows.
“It’s a few inches,” she counters. “Trust a man to exaggerate.”
My hand moves to one of her nipples and I pinch. “I think you’ll find I don’t need to exaggerate.”
“Ow!” She wriggles back against me in complaint. “Look, if you’re too much of a geek to face a bit of snow, fine, I’ll go for awalk on my own,” she says. In a lower voice, she adds, “Or you could give me a head start and track me down.”
My fingers soothe and stroke the nipple I pinched. “Do you want me to chase you through the forest?” I ask. I don’t know how she does it, but my overworked cock is thickening again.
Lily gives a loud huff. “On second thoughts, it’s not going to be much of a challenge. Even I could track someone down in this snow,” she says. “A walk will do. We can pretend to be a normal couple. You know, like people who actually know each other’s names.”
Guilt seeps under my skin. I’m not sure how much longer I can get away with playing this game, but every time I picture what the next step might be, my mind shuts down. I don’t know if I have what it takes to give Lily a normal version of us, but I can’t face letting her go either. Which leaves us exactly where we are. There’s only one way to end this game. Either Lily resigns from it, or she wins.
A message comes through on Lily’s cell. “See, I told you,” she says with a giggle. “I have a list from Kaitlyn marked for the attention of my hitman.”
“I promise to give it due consideration. But first, my girl wants me to take her on a hike.”
She moves her body against mine, and I’m pretty sure this is what snuggling feels like. “I like it when you call me that.”
Hooking a finger under her chin, I turn her head so I can ghost a kiss across her lips. “I’m only stating facts.”
Lily drags me out of bed before we can get too distracted, and it doesn’t take us long to get dressed. I’d bought her all the clothes she could possibly need for the weekend, and was confident everything would meet with her approval, including the bright pink outdoor gear. Lily is an avid online shopper, and her order history across multiple retailers was quite an epic read.
“I can’t believe how everything you picked for me fits perfectly. I wouldn’t even know your shoe size,” she says as she stomps through the snow. The lodge is nestled into a ridge, and we opt to take the high ground, her gloved hand gripped in mine as we cut a path through the forest. “Are you sure you didn’t sneak into my apartment and measure me in my sleep?”
“I think you’d know about it if I’d crept into your bedroom again.”
“Fair point. Your nightly visit is ingrained in my memory.” She’s quiet for a few steps, and I assume she’s replaying that night just as I am, but then she says, “Tell me something about you.”
I don’t even hesitate. “I’m a size thirteen shoe.”
She glances up at me through her eyelashes. “Well done, Shade. Thank you for sharing. That must have been hard,” she says, mocking me.
Before she can shame me into sharing something more intimate, I get there first. “Your turn. Tell me about your family.”
Lily tugs on a low spindly branch as we pass a tall pine. When she lets go, a shower of snowflakes float to the ground. “I think you already know the important bits. My brother died and I ignore calls from my mom.”
