“No, it wasn’t your snoring. Though you do sound a bit like a chain saw,” I teased. Mason kissed my forehead, holding me close.
“It’s cold out here. Come back to bed.” He rubbed his hands up and down my bare arms.
“I hadn’t noticed,” I said, now feeling the chill.
Mason glanced at my computer. “What were you doing?”
I shrugged. “Reading BuzzFeed. Did you know that I’m most like Hermione from Harry Potter? Those quizzes reveal so much,” I deadpanned.
Mason chuckled, tucking me under his arm as we walked back to my bedroom. “I can see it. You’ve got the whole hot, brainy thing going on.”
We got back into bed, snuggling underneath the covers. I couldn’t remember the last time I had shared a bed with someone. It felt strange having Mason’s heat and smell all over my sheets. Sleeping next to someone else took some getting used to. I couldn’t work out which side I should lie on. Should I face Mason, or should I face the wall?
I found out quickly that I wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to sleep pressed up against someone else. I needed my space. Mason, on the other hand, wanted to spoon.
But aside from all that, the soft sound of Mason’s breathing as I went to sleep was comforting. Pleasurable in a way that I hadn’t expected.
My cheek was pressed against Mason’s chest; his hand was heavy on my back. “I need to leave soon,” he said. I could feel the vibration of his voice beneath my skin.
“I know.” I sounded sad. And I was. I liked having him here. In my space.
“But I’ll see you tonight. When you come by to pick me up to go see Charlotte,” he went on.
Yes.
The root kit was ready. The thumb drive was safe in my purse.
Today would be the day.
I tried not to be nervous, but I was. This could be the point when it all went wrong.
I felt his lips in my hair and I wanted to relax against him. But I was too wired thinking about the precarious situation I found myself in.
Toxicwrath wanted me to shut this down. Thought I was in too deep.
I thought about that moment when I had suspected my shadow partner of being my ex-roommate.
The possibility had seemed so real.
He had alleviated my concerns, hadn’t he?
“It means so much to me that you asked me to come with you to see your sister,” Mason said, his voice breaking slightly.
I looked up at him in the dark. His eyes were bright. Wet. “It means a lot to me that you want to come.”
He let out a shuddering breath but didn’t say anything else. I knew he was thinking of his brother. I gave him the room to grieve all over again.
I thought about what I had planned today. How I would go to Mason’s office and I would infiltrate his computer. Violate his trust even further.
I shivered.
Knowing what I was going to do didn’t fill me with excitement. It didn’t leave me satisfied with my own cunning.
I felt vile. Disgusting. Reprehensible.
I held him tightly against me, filling him with my dishonest love.
He was sleeping with a ghost, and neither of us knew if I was real.
