Iwhirled around, my heart in my throat.
No, not Heathcliff.There, on the stairs, sat Quoth in his human form, his skin luminescent against the dark wood paneling.
My mind reeled.Did he watch us?
And then, another thought, one that surprised and terrified me.Did he like what he saw?
My face flushing with heat, I scrambled for my clothes.Who is this person, and what has she done with Mina Wilde?
This wasn’t me. This wasn’t the kind of thing I’d do, fuck some random stranger in the middle of a bookshop where anyone might walk in or peek through the windows.
But Morriewasn’ta random stranger, which wasworse. He was James Moriarty, and I’d known him my whole life because he was a part of the other world I inhabited, the world of books and imagination where I got to be the heroine instead of the victim.
And this heroine just slept with the villain.
I shoved past Quoth and headed upstairs. “I need a moment,” I cried as I stumbled through the door to their apartment. I shoved the bathroom door open, but the smell slammed into me, and I slammed it shut again.
My hand fitted around the handle of the spare bedroom, the one with the four poster bed. I thought of what Quoth had said yesterday, of the way Morrie reacted when I’d suggested it as a place for our tryst. But it was here and they weren’t. I twisted the handle.
The door wouldn’t budge. Locked. But who locked it?Did the guys do this so I’d stay out of that room? What are they keeping inside?
“Hey.”
I whirled around. Quoth stood in the hallway. He’d pulled on a black t-shirt for some band named Blood Lust. It showed a woman in a flowing red dress standing in front of a creepy gothic mansion covered in vines.
“Argh!” I held my shirt over my lady bits. “I’m not dressed.”
“I can see that.”
“Someone locked this door.” I couldn’t keep the accusatory tone out of my voice.
Quoth shook his head. “It’s always locked.”
“But then how—”
“That’s a conversation to have with Heathcliff.” He averted his eyes to the ceiling. “I came up here to apologize to you. Also, you can use my room to change if you want.”
“I appreciate that, but I think I’ll just—” I dropped my clothes in a puddle and pulled on my bra, best to get this done before the rest of the neighborhood saw me.
“I didn’t mean to spy on you,” Quoth said. “I heard a noise like someone screaming, so I came down to see if you were okay, and there you were. I didn’t see much, if that’s what you’ve worried about. Morrie’s white arse covered most of the view.”
“It’s not your fault.” My cheeks burned with heat. I couldn’t believe he’d seen me.
“I was disrespectful. I apologize.”
“It’s fine. I…” My shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“I know. Heathcliff was raving last night about kissing you.”
“He did?”So that’s really how Morrie knew. Lying bastard.“What did he say?”
“Basically, that he acted like a right tit. Truthfully, I think he’s a little afraid of you.”
“Morrie said that, too. Why?”
“Because he didn’t think he’d feel anything for anyone after he lost Cathy, after he read what happened to her. And then you showed up in the shop and he doesn’t know what to think now.”
“Are you saying he likes me?”
