The air wascold enough tonight that I’d switched to my real winter gear, a black midlength trench coat with a sharp cut. All day people had been giving me interested fuck-me glances, and I didn’t think it was because I was tall with a mean face. When a man looked like he could be a cage fighter, the way I did, clothes went a long way toward proving he wasn’t a monster, which always made me laugh. The right outfit would let Abe get close enough to kill—and me close enough to interview people who might not have talked to me otherwise.
Fighting off a shiver, I pushed open the glass-and-steel door to Healing Hearts. The building was one of the few downtown that wasn’t a high-rise or taller. Instead the redbrick homeless shelter was three stories and sprawled across half a block. I thought maybe it was a repurposed high school because I had a vague memory of a Catholic academy being here years ago. Once inside, I had no idea where I was going, but I let out a sigh of relief as I spotted a wide, low greeting desk that was a shocking array of colors, as if a class of kindergarteners had gone at it with paints.
Noble sat on a stool behind the desk, hunched over to look at something a man was showing him on a phone. I thought maybe Noble said the guy’s name was Journey. Noble had said his buddy wasn’t competition, but I couldn’t stop myself from glaring at him. They didn’t look up to see me.
As usual Noble was radiant, his soft hair shiny and brushed back, like maybe he’d run a hand through it while it was wet. His mouth was pursed to keep from laughing too loudly and that made his pretty lips pop. I stared at his slim shoulders and down to his trim hips… and a punch of need took me by surprise.
I wanted him. His scent drifted to me and I inhaled deeply.
Jealousy ate at me as I watched Noble with his friend, but nothing happened that warranted it. After about a minute they laughed together over something in a good-natured way that belonged in commercials about family gatherings and the holidays. Sighing, I shook my head at myself but couldn’t rein in the desire to go over there and bash Journey’s head off the desk. I forced my feet forward so Noble wouldn’t look up and see me staring like a stalker.
He probably already had thoughts about how creepy I was, since I woke him up in the middle of the night with a hand around his neck. Another cold chill racked me, but it had nothing to do with the temperature outside. FuckingAbehad been driving the body, and that scared the shit out of me. I was damned lucky he hadn’t decided to murder Noble just to spite me. A sick feeling twisted my stomach. We shared this body. Had he been feeling sentimental? Technically he’d experienced the pleasure of Noble’s body, too. How often did Abe stay up when I was asleep? I never felt tired in the morning. What had made him want to push out of the cage he stayed in when I was in charge?
For two days I’d ignored Noble because work was busy, but also because I seriously needed to figure out what was going on with my host. It was too bad there wasn’t some sort of owner’s manual.
So far I had no answers on why or how Abe had ended up conscious when he shouldn’t have been, and I missed Noble. I was selfish enough that I chose seeing him over keeping him safe. I tried to shove off the guilt that battered at me as I reached the desk.
Noble glanced up, and I felt pretty good about myself when his shoulders shot back and his face lit up. “Hi! What are you doing here? I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see you again.” He didn’t sound mean or mad, simply honest.
Rubbing at the back of my neck, I greedily stared, wanting to see every inch of him. I even took a step closer and glanced all the way down to his muddy sneakers before I cruised my gaze back up his body. His jeans hugged his thighs and made me want to touch them, and the lilac sweater he wore looked like it would be soft against his even silkier skin. His cheeks were rosy and his smile was wide when I was finally looking him in the eye again. “Work took a bite out of my ass. I never did get your statement the other night. You got a minute to let me ask you some questions?”
“You want to do it at my apartment instead? I’ll be done in a few hours, then—”
“Here’s good for the statement.”
“Why?” he asked, frowning. He glanced at Journey, who was doing a piss-poor job of pretending he wasn’t eavesdropping on our conversation.
“Because if we go to your apartment, I’ll end up fucking you.” I didn’t bother to keep my voice down and winked at him for good measure. “Like last time.”
Journey coughed and chuckled, standing to move away with a wave. His shiny black boots squeaked on the tiled floor as he went. “I’m going to go make sure no one is having problems with the bunk they’ve been assigned,” he said, though his casual tone was too blasé to be real. He disappeared through a wide metal door with a crash bar behind the desk.
I glared at Journey’s retreating back as the doorwhumpedclosed behind him. Unreasonable as it seemed to be, I was having trouble letting go of the idea of him as a rival. Who wouldn’t want Noble?
“Were you really busy? Or did you decide you hated me, and someone made you come back here because you didn’t do your job?” Noble stared intently at me, gaze unwavering.
I scraped my thumb along the edge of the desktop. “I was busy, okay?”
He leaned over to settle his warm, soft fingers on top of my hand. I glanced up and couldn’t stop myself from searching his face to make sure I hadn’t fucked this all up. I took a deep breath. When did I start giving a ripe shit about things like this?
“Don’t rip me a new one. It was a long week so far,” I growled out.
He continued to stare at me, and I glared right back.
“Do you know what I love?” he said, sitting back to cross his arms.
“What?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Those pumpkin coffees.” He blinked slowly at me.
“The ones so sweet my teeth hurt after the first half cup?”
“Those are the ones.” He beamed at me and waggled his eyebrows. He made a little “come on” gesture with his hand, as if encouraging me to use my brain.
“That’s too bad.” I shook my head.
“Why?”
“You probably think some schmuck might buy you one when you get out of work. And drag himself around the park on a walk with you, too.” I kicked at the front of the desk, and he rolled his eyes. “I don’t know anyone like that.”
