When she started cooking, music quietly playing through a little speaker in the kitchen, I couldn't help myself.
From around the corner, I froze, stuck watching as she existed in her own world, quietly singing and dancing while she prepared her dinner.
Even through the sweats and sweater, every one of her full curves made my mouth water. I wanted to confront her immediately, and yet, I couldn't bring myself to interrupt her moment of peace before I destroyed it.
When her eyes landed on me, the fear and defiance in her expression made my blood heat, nearly making me shiver with her intensity.
If I had found her stunning in a photo, she was radiant when close enough to touch.
Her heart had pounded beneath my palm even as she stood, bravely refusing to shy from my stare.
There wasn't a single inch of me that didn't crave her.
And as much as she'd be hesitant to admit it, she had a moment of weakness, too.
When I lifted my shirt to show off the prize I stole, her cheeks immediately pinkened, and her pretty little mouth fell slightly open.Even her fucking brows tried to furrow, meeting towards the middle before she smoothed her expression.
And when I finally got a single hand on her, there was no denying the shiver that ran through her as her lashes fluttered desperately.
I don't know why I did it, why I had to feel her and know she was flesh and blood and not some apparition of my fractured mind.
But shewas.She was every bit as real as I needed her to be.
And she's hiding the truth.
But I'll find it.
And soon.
But first, I have to learn the ins and outs of the criminal enterprise I've been running.
Chapter 10
Kismet
CORMAC
Lost in the swirling lights and pounding music, I follow closely behind Skyler as he winds through the layers of people in the underground portion of his nightclub.
Well,ours,I guess.
I might be a part-owner, but the daily life of it isn't mine to control at all. This is Skyler's baby.
I remember what it was like to have a business that consumed my every waking moment. The passion I had when I first started Balor Mead & Spirits, apparently shortly before meeting Skyler.
Would I even have the level of success I managed without him? It's seeming less and less likely the more time we spend together.
He's a fucking nutcase and endlessly annoying, but he's taken me back into this life as if pieces of my mind aren't missing. That's something I don't know how to repay, even if we were best friends before everything went to shit.
A man I haven't met yet appears at Skyler's side, a clipboard inone hand and three beers hanging from his other. Skyler doesn't break his stride, taking one for himself and one for me.
"How's it going, Mr. Fomori?" the young man asks, adjusting his glasses with the beer he still holds. "Getting back into the swing of things?"
Humming in assent, I hope Skyler will pick up enough that I do not remember this kid and save me from having to explain it.
"He's even worse than before, actually," Skyler doesnotsave me."His little vacation left him completely useless."
The kid looks nervously between us, his deep green eyes comically large beneath his glasses and curly brown hair. "Well, I uhh, okay, anyway, you've got three fights on the docket for tonight. They're getting ready right now. The announcer is going on stage in about six minutes. And based on who is already piling inside and still waiting outside, it looks like we'll have a full house."
