Page 222 of Cheaters: A Dark Romance Anthology

“Okay,” I replied, not knowing what else to say.

He stepped in but halted just inside the doorway. “I’ll go and get the first aid kit.” He spun around before I could say anything, leaving me in the vast space with a bed twice the size as mine in the middle of the room.

Several doors were scattered around the room, three of them a light gray wood, and another one that was glass. I ventured toward it, my inquisitiveness urging me forward, and peeked through it.

It was a balcony, complete with a table and two chairs.

“I sit out there sometimes and watch the sun come up.”

“Fuck!” I slammed my hand over my racing heart. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Theo’s lips lifted on one side, exposing a half smile. “My bad.” He pulled open one of the gray doors and tilted his head at it. “Come on. I’ll help you get cleaned up then you can sleep.”

I shook my head, my pride pushing forward. “I can do it myself.”

“Never said you couldn’t,” he responded, walking into what I was assuming was a bathroom. I heard some clangs then water running, but I didn’t move. I was at a crossroads, one that I wasn’t sure how to approach.

This was what the job was though, right? I had to get close to him.

I huffed out a laugh. The job didn’t entail me getting accosted in my own apartment, but it still happened. I was quickly learning that nothing was guaranteed when you were undercover. I had to go with the flow, and right now, that meant walking into the bathroom to Theo.

The room was like a spa, a round tub sitting right next to a window that looked out on the city skyline, along with a shower cubicle that could probably fit ten people inside it.

“Sit.” Theo pointed to the counter that two sinks were fitted into. I placed my gun on the black marble top then lifted myself up onto it, trying not to look in the mirror above the vanity that took up entirely too much of the wall in my opinion.

“You know I can do this—”

“Yourself,” Theo interrupted as he lifted up a cotton ball. He deposited something on it, then moved toward me, slipping between my legs with ease as if he’d been doing it all of his life. “It’s quicker like this.” He dabbed the cotton wool on my cheek. “Besides, I see how you’re avoiding the mirrors.”

I held my breath, too scared that I’d blow air into his face. He worked meticulously, cleaning up areas then inspecting my neck.

“How bad is it?” I asked, deciding not to acknowledge what he’d said about me avoiding mirrors.

“You’ll bruise for sure.” He applied some strips to a cut then gripped the edge of the counter on either side of me. “But you’ll heal.” I could feel the burn of his stare on my face, but everything in me refused to look him dead in the eyes.

I was scared…scared of what I would see shining back at me. For too long all I’d seen him as was the target that needed taking down, but now—here in his bathroom where he’d just been gentle with me—it was hard to view him like that.

“Lena?” he whispered. “Look at me.”

“Why?” I asked, staring down at my gun. I could see a spot of blood on the edge of the metal. I needed to call in what happened, but…I couldn’t. Theo was taking care of it, but what did that mean exactly? And did I even care? The man had come there to hurt me.

“Lena,” he repeated, only this time his thumb and finger gripped my chin and lifted my head up. “You’re safe here.”

“I know.” And I did know. It was probably the safest I’d ever felt being in his apartment.

Fuck. This was all so fucked up.

“Damn,” he whispered. “I could stare into your eyes for fucking hours.” He leaned closer. “Why do I feel the need to protect you?” he asked, but I didn’t think he was looking for an answer.

“I can protect myself,” I told him, my voice cracking.

“I know you can.” His thumb stroked my chin. “Which makes me want to find out even more about you.” He tilted his head to the side and trailed his tongue over his bottom lip. I hated to admit that my stomach did a little somersault, but even I couldn’t deny it, not when I was this close to him. “I should be pissed at you and Ronnie. I should want to make sure you never speak a word of what happened last night to anyone. Yet all I can think about are those green eyes.”

My lips parted at his words, my heart galloping like a horse determined to win its race. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

“You ain’t gotta say anything, Lena.” The way my name rolled off his tongue sent tingles to all the right and wrong places, and then…he leaned forward even more, completely closing the distance between us as he pressed his lips onto mine.

He was soft at first, gentle, caressing. He was giving me time to push him away, but dammit, I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything but pull him closer and deepen the kiss.

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