Page 3 of Mobster's Home

Around me, his edges turn smoother as if they’re perfectly safe to lean into. Others might get hurt when coming too close but he withdraws his talons for me and I’m...flattered. We stop outside my building and I fish out the key from my pocket while he waits patiently and I go dizzy at the smell of him. All that richness and earthiness and I want to bury my entire face in it, just to feel my eyes roll back in my head.

“I appreciate you following me home,” I breathe and he nods. I’m expecting him to tell me goodbye and walk away but instead he watches me with intent in his gaze. Swallowing, I say, “Do you want to come inside? For t...tea?”

His eyes flash as if that’s exactly what he was hoping for.

“I’d love some tea,” he replies in a husky tone and my insides twist into a maze of complicated emotions. He puts his gigantic palm on my lower back as we walk through the entry and I feel like I’m melting. What am I even doing inviting a stranger inside? Especially one that nearly gave an entire metro a heart attack and then chose to follow me home as if that’s something he does every day. Before I open my door, I look at him and pinch my lip.

“Is this something you do all the time, Derex? Do you always follow girls home like this?”

He leans in a little and my lashes flutter at his overwhelming closeness. “Never,” he rasps and inwardly I whimper. “Only girls named Luna.”

Nodding, I try to hide just how much those words thrilled me and I open up but the thrill fades the moment his eyes slide over my apartment. He looks positively pissed off, his jaw clenching and the corners of his eyes have narrowed with revulsion. Obviously he hates my apartment even more than I do and the place almost cowers in shame at his assessment. I clear my throat, murmuring,

“Lemon or peppermint?”

“Peppermint,” he replies and with a swift nod, I put on the water boiler and take out teabags. Turning around, I jolt when I catch him staring at me. He’s standing by my window, the lights shining behind him and he’s a fascinating mixture of light and dark, which for some reason makes me wonder what he would look like in white.

“You sure wear a lot of black,” I murmur, not intending to make it sound like criticism and he raises his brows.

“I live a very colorful life.”

“Oh?” I say with interest. “In what color?”

He tilts his head to the side. “Red.”

I snigger a little because red is such a passionate shade and his reply made him sound...cute. “You’re a romantic then?”

Derex’s face twists as if he just swallowed poison. “Romantic?” he says doubtingly but when he catches the confused look on my face he adds, “Yeah, that’s me. A romantic.”

****

Derex

My innuendo went straight over her head and it tugs at the heartstrings. I rub my chest when a wave of emotions hit me out of nowhere, and I don’t know what the hell to do with them or which categories to sort them in. The girl doesn’t make me feel just one emotion but one hundred at a time and I drag a deep breath.

She’s fussing over the teacups, keeping her back to me and silently humming to herself which surprises me, as I wouldn’t be humming in a place like this considering it’s not even worthy of a mouse. Frowning, I look out the window, my eyes suspiciously going to the bridge where a bunch of lowlife criminals hang out. They’re not dangerous, especially not compared to us but I don’t want anything dirty around Luna.

There’s something about the girl that reminds me of laundry, freshly washed in the northern sea and then left out to hang dry on a cliff in the midsummers breeze. She stirs up things inside of me and I owe her more than allowing her to stay here. Besides, I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I know Luna will be sleeping in this dump.

Throwing an eye on her unassuming frame, I toss out some junk she keeps in a cardboard box and proceed with filling it with things she might need. There’s an old teddy leaning against the pillow on her couch and I throw it into the box, thinking she’ll probably want to take it with her. I’m busy adding a sentimental collection of some porcelain figurines of a blond chick herding sheep, when Luna registers what I’m doing and blurts in horror,

“Derex!”

I calmly turn to her and she’s holding two cups in her hands as a shocked expression colors her face and I know what this must look like. A man inviting himself into a young girl’s home then proceeding to grab her stuff... she’s probably thinking I’m about to rob her.

“Don’t worry, I’m not taking anything from you, just thought I’d do the packing to help out.” She opens her mouth but I cut her off. “You’re coming with me,” I clarify in a tone that doesn’t tolerate protests. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I walked out and left you here on your own.”

She sighs. “You’re making it sound worse than it is. This is hardly a battlefield.” Shaking her head, she adds, “Here’s your tea.”

“I don’t want tea, I want you to come with me.” I continue into her bedroom and open up her closet when she comes running after me. She vaguely protests but I’m already busy adding more stuff to the box. Pulling out a green t-shirt, I say, “You need me to bring this one?”

“Yes! I mean no, wait...I never consented to this.”

“Why would you, when you have me to consent for you.” I open up her underwear drawer and she lets out a pant.

“Hey! This is all getting too personal a little too fast,” she gasps, looking at me with wide eyes and her face turns mortified when I pull out a pair of large, cotton panties. “Those aren’t mine!” she squeals as I chuckle for the first time in a long time. “Someone must’ve put them there...”

“Then you see why you have to come with me. You can’t stay in a place where someone walks in and puts big girl panties in your drawer.”

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