We stare for a few more beats. He works a lot, so I don’t see him too much. This has been a treat.
“Well, I need a shower,” he says, his gaze dragging over my dirt-streaked face all the way to my messy hands clinging to the shovel like a weapon. “So do you.”
Was that an…invitation?
Uh oh.
Heat floods my skin. Too much. Too close.
The last time a man got too close to me, he hurt me. In a very bad way. He was too rough, too fast, and it had felt like nothing I’d wanted.
With Rhys, I want to wait. Let it be different. Let it be right.
“Gardening will do that.” I step back, words tangling in my throat. “Make a mess. Have fun,” I add, clutching my doorknob and twisting it.
Once. Twice. Three times.
“I plan to.” He keeps walking toward his apartment, his stride heavy. At his door, he stops and looks at me one more time over his shoulder, his eyes filled with mischief. “Stay out of trouble, lass.”
Then he disappears inside his apartment.
I’ve seen every inch of the place, just not with him inside because I only break in when he’s not home.
Hmmm.
A camera scope to spy on him when heishome will solve that. I’ll add that to my Amazon cart right now.
I pause at my door and brush the dirt on my cheek. Once. Twice. Three times.
Only then do I slip inside.
Chapter 2
Rhys
She talked to me. Shetalkedto me.
She bleedin’ talked to me!
These words play on a loop in my head as I enter my flat. Feeling stuffy like I’ve been shoved into a coffin, I turn on the air conditioner. Most people leave their units running 24/7 in the summer.
That’s a waste.
Maybe because I grew up modestly in Ireland, where sweating it out in the summer was a ritual and not a nuisance. I’ve learned to handle most physical discomforts. The military took care of the rest.
After a few seconds, I realize I’m standing in the center of my living room, staring at the shared wall with my neighbor’s flat.
Fallon…
I left here this morning with a heart full of sorrow and remembrance, facing Uncle Aiden’s memorial service. Then I left to kill a DEA agent. But there was a complication, and I didn’t.
Then I come home to find my neighbor holding a shovel, saying she took a swing at someone with it.
It was as if I saw her for the first time. Tall, at least five-ten, solid, and strong. I swore, my cock twitched.
She has the voice of an angel and the soul of a devil.
Sounds perfect for you…
