Page 41 of Wretched Soul
Heat sears my chest and rises to my cheeks. It’s Shade. It has to be. Unless…
“I swear, if that’s you, Connor,” I mutter.
When I check the caller ID, the number is withheld. That doesn’t feel like a Connor move. He’d want me to reply and I can’t do that without a number. Shade on the other hand… I jump when another message comes through.
Unknown: I hope it’s only me in your dreams, Slayer.
“Asshole!” I shout at my phone, but it’s more of a squeal. He’s still out there. “You’d better be missing me too!”
Unknown: Be sure to sleep with one eye open.
“Oh, I will be,” I whisper. “It’s not like I haven’t done since the day I met you.”
I stare at the screen for ten full minutes, but there are no more messages. That’s OK. He isn’t ghosting me. That last warning is an unspoken promise. He’s going to show up again.
It’s only later when I’m lying in bed that I start to question how he finds out so much about me. How did he get my cell number? Did he already have it when he teased me in the grocery store? Or did he sneak a look at my phone when we were in the limo?
That last memory twists my insides as I recall him moving inside me. Unsheathed. And there lies another conundrum. He knew about my contraceptive implant. I swear there must be a corner of the dark web reserved just for him.
My eyelids are heavy, and as I’m drifting off, I think of that one time Shade was in my bedroom. I replay our long, extended kiss, and how I’d forced him to leave with his cock still hard. Was that when he’d checked my phone? But I’d heard the front door close within moments of him leaving my bedroom. He wouldn’t have had time, but… My eyes snap open as I snag on the answer to another question. He’d been on his own when he left. The bastard stole my chocolate!
Although I’m in a deep sleep, a sound in my bedroom makes my stomach lurch. My heart races as I struggle from unconsciousness, but I keep my eyes closed on instinct. I’d been woken by the creak of the door opening. Goosebumps prick my skin. I’m lying flat on my back, and I’m being watched.
My rapid breaths rasp against my dry throat. Whoever’s here will know I’m awake, and any normal intruder would have reacted by now.
“If that’s not you,” I croak, “I’m going to be so mad.”
Complete silence. Or is that…? Yes, I can hear breath sounds that aren’t mine.
“Shade?” I whisper.
“Slayer.”
I fight back the smile as I peel open my eyes. There’s just enough light pollution leaching through my blinds to distinguish the man standing at the end of my bed from other shadows. “You broke into my apartment.”
“You need better locks.”
“Would that keep you out?”
“Lily,” he says impatiently. “Nothing can keep me out, but you know how particular I am about your safety. I’ll arrange to have your security upgraded.”
I rub my eyes. This is not a conversation for my sleepy head. “Is that why you’re here? To give me another lecture?”
“No, Lily. That’s not why I’m here.”
His silhouette moves and I feel my bedding being tugged. I snatch hold of it. “What are you doing?”
“Claiming my prize.”
Oh, my lord. I might not be fully awake, but there are parts of me that are ten steps ahead. Heat pools at my core and it’s all I can do to stop my hips lifting up off the mattress. No, I tell myself. A man can’t just break into your apartment and ravish you, Lily Kendrick. At least, not without some form of pushback.
“I thought we agreed the apartment was excluded from the game?”
He tugs harder on my comforter and it slips from my grasp, not that I put up much of a fight. “I believe you clarified that point on Friday night. Your exclusion stops me from lurking outside your apartment. I’m not outside, Slayer, and I think I’ve demonstrated enough skill and determination to justify my prize.”
“Do you now?”
“As always, you can tell me no at any point.”
