Page 19 of Immortal Throne

CHAPTERSIX

The roar of a motorcycle ripped down the quiet street outside my apartment building while the moon shone down through my open window. The sweltering heat from the day still lingered in the air and no amount of breeze would relieve me from feeling like a roast left in the oven for three hours too long.

The building manager kept insisting that the air conditioner would be fixed any day now, but at this point, I’d likely keel over before I’d feel the cold bite of artificial air on my skin in my own home.

I sighed and pushed away from the open window. Staring at the stars in the sky would only distract me so long from my very real issues at hand, my most pressing being my need for money. The second was dealing with an overload of information and the feelings that came with them.

After Chupey’s big reveal, we’d sat and cuddled on the couch while I read a book and tried to distract my spiraling mind. At some point, I’d ask more questions, but I wasn’t ready yet.

Becca had called to delay our dinner date. Her new lover had surprised her with reservations, but she still planned to come over afterward.

I’d believe it when I saw it, but I had to decide how much I wanted to tell Becca. Given more time to calm down and reflect, I no longer thought Mr. Dante was delusional. If demon familiars existed, that meant half-demons—like the guy accused me of being—had to exist, too.

Someone knocked on the door.

I whipped around and studied the solid slab of wood. It didn’t give me any answers, but if my door started speaking, I wouldn’t be that surprised. Not now.

Unannounced guests rarely showed up at my place. Becca wouldn’t be over for another few hours, and the other tenants in the building usually left me alone unless they got drunk or lost their keys and needed me to call the building manager.

It was probably Alice.

I winced. My neighbor across the hall would randomly knock on my door, try to peer over my shoulder and push for an invitation inside. She never got the hint that I liked my privacy. Ilikedbeing alone. Having one friend was already pushing my social limits as it was.

In three steps, I made it to the door and looked through the peephole. Ice flowed through my veins and left me shaky.

That wasn’t Alice.

Mr. Fucking Dante stood on the other side, looking no less magnificent or arrogant than when I’d met him.

What the hell was he doing here?

Did someone contact him to tell him I needed more misery in my life?

Ugh.

Leaving the safety chain in place, I flipped the deadbolt and opened the door a crack. Now able to see all of him, I wished I’d kept it closed.

He wore black leather boots with silver buckles that matched the chain attached to his straight-cut black jeans and presumably a wallet in his back pocket. Faded along the thighs, the jeans looked well-worn and comfortable, and matched the black shirt with an 80s rock band logo and black leather jacket. He looked like every woman’s biker fantasy.

The way he was dressed was the exact opposite of the clean and polished version I’d seen in the office building. But his piercing emerald gaze was the same, and it still threatened to cut me with its intensity.

“What do you want?” I asked.

Mr. Dante smirked and leaned in. “Hell of a way to greet your guest.”

“I didn’t invite you, so you’re not a guest. How did you get my address?” I asked.

Mr. Dante studied the hallway, no doubt taking in the peeling wallpaper and worn carpet. “May I come in?”

“No.”

“Would you prefer to discuss things in the hallway for your nosy neighbors to overhear?” He glanced over his shoulder.

On cue, footsteps shuffled behind the door across the hallway. I narrowed my eyes at the other apartment. Alice needed to learn how to mind her own business.

“I don’t know you,” I told Mr. Dante. “You need to leave.”

A smirk tugged at his full lips, and he leaned even closer. The subtle scent of his expensive cologne, along with the smell of leather and gasoline, wafted into my apartment and curled around me seductively. This man had no business looking and smelling as good as he did.

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