Page 32 of Virtue & Vengeance

8

EDEN

I COULDN’T GET HOME fast enough. I was stressing over Allen, and the fear of running into him again weighed down on me.

To top that off, somehow Zander had gotten back inside my head. I hated myself for letting him back in, but it was so easy for him when it came to me. It was like I had no defenses against him.

His grins.

His words.

His touch.

He could break through every time. And even though I was mad as hell over how he had left me hanging after sex, I couldn’t stay that way. Already the anger was slowly dissolving leaving only desire behind.

Then again, maybe it was like that for all women.

Maybe none of us had any defenses against him.

Either way, it was a major inconvenience. It was also the last thing I needed with the chance of Allen being in town. I needed a clear head, and Zander made my mind spin. I needed to clear my brain so thinking about Zander needed to stop. I needed to worry about Allen and whether or not I was still safe in Vegas.

Once I was inside Aunt Kennedy’s building, the elevator seemed to move slower than usual and the hallway to Aunt Kennedy’s door longer. I fumbled with the key a little before finally getting the door unlocked. Once I was inside, I was sure to lock the place up tight.

I spent the rest of my day off cleaning a bit. Sure, Kennedy had a maid that came in once a week to clean, but I wasn’t the kind of person to leave a mess for the maid.

As I cleaned up, I kept the music low enough that I could still hear in case someone tried to break in. I was making my bed and shaking out the sheets when I heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

I crept down the stairs and toward the front door. Panic ran rampant through my veins making my heart rate speed up.

It was him.

I just knew it was him.

I was running out of time, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he came for me.

I stood in front of the door, staying as quiet as possible, so he didn’t hear me from the other side.

The doorbell rang yet again, and finally, I decided I should check to see who it was. Standing on my tip-toes, I peeked through the peephole, and my eye landed on Zander’s full lips.

It was nearly midnight, and I’d almost given up on him coming over even though he had said he would earlier.

I unlocked the door and pulled it open.

“Don’t you have a key?” I asked, aggravated that I was so afraid to open the door.

He walked in, moving past me. “I do, but I was trying not to be a rude asshole.”

I snorted, shutting the door behind him. “Good luck with that.”

With those words, he turned and faced me, his eyes full of amusement.

“Do you think I’m funny?” I asked.

He nodded. “I do. It must be in the blood.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There are only three people in this entire world who have the balls to talk to me like you do, and all three of you are women. Kennedy’s one of them, and now you. So, the fire must be in the blood.”

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