“Yes, silly. I just told you I was.”
“Go back inside, Selene.”
I’m already slipping into my shoes and swiping my car keys from my end table; a mixture of adrenaline and dread coursing through me. I’m sure Selene is safe outside her apartment, but the thought of her being alone when the threat of Rhys is still a possibility scares the fuck out of me. I hate that this is what I’m feeling, but I can’t stop the wheels that have already been put in motion. This is my new reality.
“So, bossy.” Selene’s playful voice drops. I picture her bottom lip sticking out as she pouts. I’d kiss it right off her mouth if she were in front of me.
“I’m not bossy,” I argue back. “It just isn’t safe for you to be outside alone. I can tell you’ve been drinking.”
“I’m fine. I only had, like…” She pauses. “I can’t remember how many drinks I’ve had, but I know it was more than one.”
“Go back inside, Wallflower.”
“You using my sexy little nickname isn’t going to make me listen any better, Holt Capuleti.”
She thinks my nickname for her is sexy?
I flex my hand, stretching my fingers out fully. This woman has me unraveling so fucking quick. The urge to spank her until she screams my name consumes me.
“You know what your problem is?” She doesn’t even give me a chance to answer. “You’re so uptight all the time.”
“Me?” I slip into my car, press the start button, and the engine roars to life. “I am not uptight, Wallflower.” My phone connects to the car system and then I’m peeling out of the garage, heading straight for Selene’s apartment.
“You are.” Her voice vibrates through my car. “Everything you do is with a businesslike state of mind. When have you ever done something that didn’t serve you financially or for the magazine?”
I grind my jaw and shake my head.Oh, how wrong you are Wallflower.
“A few nights ago in the elevator,” I state boldly.
I race through the streets of the city, silently thanking the universe that she doesn’t live terribly far. If there were somewhere to land close to Selene’s place, I would have taken my helicopter, but there isn’t, and I needed the quickest way to get to her.
My Porsche.
Selene hasn’t responded to my comment about our date the other night by the time I’m pulling onto her street, and before I know it, I’m parking alongside the curb in front of her apartment building. I don’t know how I got here in the time that I did. Weaving in and out of traffic and swerving around every corner must have made a difference. I drove on autopilot, knowing I just neededto get to her.
When I put the car in park, she stops on the sidewalk and leans forward, narrowing her eyes. Unsteady on her feet, she stumbles. Her heel scrapes against the pavement, and her ankle rolls. The glittery dress wrapped around her curvy frame shimmers beneath the streetlight.
“Is thatyou?” she squeaks.
I hang up the phone and practically jump out of my car.
She still has her phone pressed to her ear as I grow closer to her.
She takes a step back. “Either you’re really standing in front of me, or those six shots of tequila were spiked with something that’s causing me to hallucinate.”
When I reach her, I fight the urge to scoop her into my arms. I slowly pull her phone from her ear.
“I’m really here,” I tell her, handing it back to her. “And I thought you said you couldn’t remember how many drinks you had.”
Her eyes shift to my car before they’re back on me. I haven’t seen her in a few days. She may be drunk, but she’s still as stunning as ever. I can literally feel the air leaving my lungs just looking at her.
“Did you seriously drive all the way over here from your place, or were you already out and just happened to be in the neighborhood?” She stumbles back again, catching herself on the wrought iron stair railing behind her. “Because seeing you here is insane.” Her glassy eyes rake over my body. “Actually, seeing you in a T-shirt and shorts is what’s insane.”
“What, you think I only wear suits?”
“Yes.” She pauses and blinks. “Yes, I… did.” Swaying, she catches herself on the end of the railing.
I step forward, holding my hand out, just in case she might need it.
