The shower started, and I sat up, slowly rolling until I could inch my foot out of the covers. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and winced.
Ouch. He’d ruined me. And it was taking every ounce of my self-control to not march into his bathroom and push him against the tiled wall. He’d lift me in his arms, slide his hand down and—
No. No fucking way. I needed to get out of here so I could think with a clear head. I was tempted to visit Samael’s healer on my way out of the building but what would I tell him?“Your boss fucked the life out of me and now I’m not sure if I can walk properly?”
My cheeks heated. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
I managed to make it to my feet. I pulled on my jeans and t-shirt, not bothering with a bra, and collected my weapons. Then I hauled ass toward the elevator, practically sprinting as the sudden silence warned me that the water had turned off.
The elevator doors opened immediately, and I blew out a breath, stepping inside and pressing the button for the lobby. Samael stepped into the living room, stark naked. Drops of water ran down his skin as he placed his hands on his hips, and I went suddenly mute.
“Leaving so soon?” he purred.
I was weak. I took a step toward him, but the elevator doors began to close, jolting me from my lust. Samael raised one eyebrow, then turned, and walked away, the muscles of his butt flexing enticingly.
He wouldn’t beg me to stay. And I wouldn’t step out of the elevator. We’d finally rolled between his sheets, and hopefully, this was just residual lust. Now, we could both get on with our lives and no longer have to fight against the insane chemistry that urged us to rip off each other’s clothes.
The lobby was half empty this early in the morning, but plenty of heads turned my way. My walk of shame had been noted. Awesome.
I drove home, refusing to think about Samael. I didn’t think about the way he touched me, the way he breathed my name, or the way he made me feel more pleasure than I’d ever imagined I could. And I certainly didn’t think about turning my car around, walking back through his lobby, into his elevator, and climbing back into his bed.
I’d finally bought Lia an automatic cat food dispenser, but she still ignored me when I walked in.
“Wow, if only I had a friend, I’d be sure to share these yummy treats,” I said, shaking the bag.
She was curled on the sofa, her tail twitching back and forth as she steadily pretended I was invisible. I shook the treats harder.
“Yum, yum. Tuna flavored. Delicious.”
She opened one eye.
“Come on, cat. Be my friend. Please?”
I took a step toward her, rattling the bag some more. She yawned, bared her sharp kitty teeth and sat up, staring at me. People said cats were fiercely independent. That they didn’t need you around. But Lia liked to punish me for my absences.
Languidly, she jumped off the sofa, strolling toward me. She twined around my legs, and I grinned. “So, we are friends again? Shameless bribery for the win.” I gave her a handful of treats and slunk into the shower where I lathered myself up with a vanilla shower gel which was the opposite of Samael’s scent in every way.
Then I sat on my sofa and Googled the names on the list of human cleaners Mariam had given me. Nothing jumped out at me, so I took a photo of the list and sent it to Steve. If I had time today, I’d go to their office and interview the manager. I needed to know who was usually assigned to Mariam’s floor. For now, I had my hands on Gary’s calendar.
Halfway to the hospital, terror slammed into me, my pulse racing. I choked on my breath. Holy shit I was about to die here, at a red light in my car.
My breaths came in pants, and the world sharpened. Time slowing to a crawl.
A feeling of intense doom swept through me. I was hanging on the side of a cliff, my hands barely holding onto the rock. I was freefalling through the air. I was…
Someone was laying on their horn. The light had turned green, and now yellow. The truck swerved around me and shot through the intersection, flipping me off, and I shivered, sweat dripping down my body.
I managed to pull over to the side of the road. Someone was suddenly next to my door and I jolted, a throwing knife in my hand.
Don’t kill the demon, Danica.
Inferus. Still following me around. And witness to my sudden, debilitating panic attack.
“Are you okay, ma’am?”
“Don’t call me ma’am,” I said automatically, through numb lips. “I’m fine. Please leave me alone.”
He merely nodded and lifted off, back into the sky where he’d watch me some more.
