Page 71 of Oblivion

Dante’s hum of approval came from behind me. “As soon as I saw it, I knew it was mine. I’ve never been one to appreciate interior design, but…”

I turned and caught the tail-end of his shrug. My focus was pulled skyward to what appeared to be bedrooms along the mezzanine-style upper level. Dante followed my gaze and pointed right, then left.

“My room, and the gaming room, which is now your room. I’m sure you’ll find it comfortable.”

His hint of insecurity made me smile. “It will be great. I just appreciate you letting me stay. I really didn’t want to go to Virginia. I can’t believe Paul tried to make me go without even telling me about it until it was almost too late.”

Dante’s voice turned guarded. “Hedoesseem to have a lot of control over you.”

Flickers of shame came to life. “I, uh… I’m his secretary,” I hastily explained, only to receive a narrow-eyed look.

“So?”

“And, um, I might still have a credit card linked to his account.”

Shock hit Dante’s expression.“Still?You’re twenty-one!”

Indignation whipped through me. “Don’t judge me. He didn’t give me my inheritance on my birthday, so why should I give his credit card back? It’s justified.”

Dante looked less than impressed,notthat it was any of his business.

He shook his head. “You need to cut the cord, Penelope, otherwise he’s going to live your life for you. Hell, I was in my third year of service by the time I was twenty-one.”

I slammed my hands onto my hips. “Good for you. Want a medal?”

He had the audacity to snort. “Babe, I’ve got a fistful of medals, and I certainly don’t need one to commemorate my first enlistment straight out of high school.”

Gah, he made my blood boil. In a bad way. But also in a good way. The hot, consuming, “let’s have angry hate-sex” kind of way.

I went to run my hand through my long hair, only to be reminded of the cropped length that fell short of my shoulders. The heaviness in my heart must have shown on my face, because Dante’s expression softened.

“Hey, let’s continue.” He walked toward the floating stairs while pointing past the kitchen. “The bathroom, laundry and linen closet is through there. Here, let me grab that for you,” he added, grabbing the second suitcase from my hand.

He carried them both upstairs as if they weighed nothing, and continued to “my” room. He paused in the doorway and looked back at me.

“Obviously I wasn’t expecting company when I left for work this morning, but the couch folds out into a bed. Will this be okay?”

I peeked into the room. Exposed brick lined the wall between this room and his, and just like the rest of the apartment, the wooden flooring continued up here. Dark, denim-blue drapes hung at the sides of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and a low table sat in front of the couch where wireless gaming controllers lay in wait.

“This is perfect. Thank you.”

I followed him into the room and stood awkwardly as he moved the furniture to make space for the couch to be converted. I couldn’t help but appreciate the view: all bulging muscles and veins moving under the surface of his forearms. Thighs working effortlessly under his jeans. The sight took my thoughts to far away places.

“I honestly feel like I’m putting you out,” I mumbled mindlessly.

“Ha. You weren’t worried about that a couple of hours ago while pleading your case to stay in the city.”

“Not really the point I was trying to make, but okay.”

Truth was, I hadn’t fully considered the reality of staying with him until I arrived at his loft.

He chuckled. “As spur-of-the-moment as this is, I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t serious. Besides, it is infinitely more convenient than going to Virginia.”

“More convenient for you, you mean?” I deadpanned, removing the couch cushions.

I received a smirk and wink. “Yeah, for me.”

Snorting, I tossed them in the corner of the room, then stepped back for Dante to unfold the bed.

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