Page 92 of Rapture's Edge (Night Prowler 3)
“Ah, an easy woman.” Alexi’s smile grew wider. “My absolute favorite.”
“I think the entire world is well aware of your fondness for easy women, Alexi,” Mel said dryly.
“On that note, I’m leaving,” said Eliana, rising from the bed. She looked to Alexi. “Where’s—”
“Godzilla Romeo is on the phone with someone downstairs, Butterfly.”
“How did you know I wasn’t asking about the doctor?”
He cut his gaze to hers, and his smile grew ironic. “Please. I didn’t get where I am in life by being clueless. But speaking of the doctor, will you send him in if you’re going? He’s just outside the door.”
She nodded, thought it best not to respond, and then blew Mel a kiss and walked to the door.
“Godzilla Romeo?” she heard Mel repeat as she left the room.
To which Alexi sighed and replied, “I know. There’s really no accounting for some people’s taste.”
She found Demetrius looking out a window in the vast, empty dining room on the main floor, gazing in silence at the spectacular view of the city beyond the glass. When she entered, he turned and looked at her.
And his face transformed.
It made her feel lighter, seeing the way his hard, sensuous mouth softened and curved, the way his eyes, settling on her face, lit up. His entire aspect changed as if he were bathed in sudden starlight, and his look of such obvious hope made her feel like she might float right out of her shoes. She wanted to curl up in that look and bask in it, like a cat in the sun.
To manage it, she bit the inside of her mouth.
Orgasms do not equal trust, Eliana. Don’t be a fool.
“Interesting outfit.”
She regarded the white silk robe he wore that was at least three sizes too small for him. It barely reached his knees, just barely managed to stay closed in front with a tie that was a little too strained, threatening to give at any moment and burst wide open, letting Demetrius in all his naked glory spill out.
“Clothes were wet. They’re in the dryer.” His smile turned into a smirk. “Pretty boy didn’t have anything that would fit me, so he gave me this.”
“Oh? No spare sets of giant black clothing hanging around in his closet? Strange.” She walked closer, slowly, a lifetime’s worth of ambivalence in every step.
He grinned. “No size seventeen shoes, either.”
She rolled her eyes. But now she was within arm’s reach, and he took advantage of it. He stretched out one long arm, caught hers, and pulled her against his body. He pressed his face to her neck, and they stood there like that for a moment, feeling each other’s heartbeats, their arms wrapped around one another, silent and still.
In another life, she thought, heart clenching, how I could have loved you. How beautiful it all could have been.
He murmured, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking…” She sighed. No. Not going to go there. “Mel’s awake. She insulted me right off the bat, so I think she’s going to be okay.”
She felt his smile against her neck. “That’s good. And you? How are you?”
Confused. Conflicted. Worried. Unsettled. Unhinged.
She sighed again and pulled away. “I’m fine. But I have to go out for a while. There’s someone I have to go visit.”
He stiffened. He pulled back to stare at her, and his eyes, so soft and open only moments before, grew wary. “Someone? Who? Where? I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not. He’s a friend—”
“Another friend.” His voice had dropped dangerously low.
“Not like that, Demetrius. He helped me escape from the assassins—”
