I look back at the picture, unable to hide my grin when I see Niki’s young face. “You were a really cute kid, but I’m not surprised by that.”
“Oh yeah?” He lifts a dark brow when he looks down at me. “And why is that?”
I realize what I’ve just walked myself into, but there’s no taking it back now, so I tell him the truth. “Because I don’t think you’re capable of not looking good. You were just born that way.”
His smile is big, but his eyes look more surprised than anything else, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. He must know how gorgeous he is.
He breaks the silence by saying, “I could say the same thing about you, Van. I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you.”
Now it’s my turn to look stunned. I’m still tripping over my tongue and trying to figure out what to say when there’s a knock at the door.
“That’ll be our food,” he says, but he makes no move to go and get the door. Instead, he steps closer. Lifting his hand, he very gently caresses my right cheek, and when I smile, he grins and runs his thumb over my dimple. “I really love that dimple, Van.”
Without another word, he turns to get the door, leaving me stunned and more aroused by that one touch than I probably should be. I’m still standing in the middle of his living room when he returns with our bags of food. The delicious scent of steak snakes its way over to me, and my stomach lets out another embarrassingly loud growl in front of him.
“I’m glad you’re hungry,” he says while walking into the kitchen and setting everything down on the large island. “Because I ordered a lot. There’s cheesecake for dessert, too.”
“Careful, Niki, or you’re going to make me fall in love with you,” I say, only half joking.
Without missing a beat, he looks up from the bag and gives me a smile. “I’m happy to see my plan is working.”
I grin back at him while he grabs two plates and starts filling them. When they’re both loaded with food, we sit down at the small table and dig in. Being with Niki is always so surprisingly easy. Even when neither one of us is talking, it’s not awkward.It’s peaceful and feels oddly familiar, the kind of comfortable you feel around someone you’ve known your whole life.
“This is really good,” I say in between bites. The steak is cooked to perfection and so tender it nearly melts in my mouth, and the potato has enough toppings to satisfy my cheese-loving heart. I nibble on the salad to be polite, but I doubt I’m going to be able to eat everything, and I’d rather save room for the really good stuff.
“I’m glad you like it.” He cuts off another piece of steak, and I have to force myself to not stare at the way his sharp jaw looks when he chews. I’ve never known anyone to look so sexy while eating.
Trying to distract myself, I look around the apartment and ask, “So where’s all your computer stuff? This is not at all how I envisioned a hacker’s home.”
“No?” he asks. “What did you envision?”
“More cave-like,” I say. “Maybe a bunch of monitors and fast food wrappers and energy drinks all over the place.” I take another bite and look around the beautiful apartment. “I’m a little disappointed.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” He stands up and holds his hand out for me. I take it without question and let him pull me up. Keeping his hand around mine, he leads me down the hall. I’m nosy by nature, so I look in every room we pass. I see a large bathroom that I’m thrilled looks clean, and a home gym that explains why he looks as mouthwatering as he does. When he steps into the last room and the first thing I see is a large, king-size bed, my heart starts racing as I instinctively squeeze his hand tighter.
“I hope this doesn’t disappoint you too much,” he says, pulling my attention to the other side of the room. There’s a large desk and several monitors, and it’s the exact kind of set-up I imagined a genius hacker having. Lots of expensive-lookingequipment and high-tech things I’ve never even heard of. The room is huge, so there’s plenty of space for him to work and not have it feel crowded. Plus, this room like all the others has large windows that ensure it’s filled with sunlight during the day. He even has several plants along the thick windowsill.
“Wow,” I say, taking a cautious step towards the computers that I will never understand like he does. “I’m afraid to get too close. I’m bad enough with them that I could probably break one from here.”
“That’s impressive.” His hand is still wrapped around mine, and when he brushes his thumb over my skin, every single part of me zeroes in on that one small touch.
“Why do you keep everything in here?” I ask him. “Don’t you ever want a break from it? That’s one of the things I hate about living out of a room. I can’t ever just shut the door and fall into bed. I’m always surrounded by classwork and assignments that need to get done. There’s no separation.”
“Yeah, I’m really bad about that.” He glances over at his bed. “I don’t sleep all that well, so I’m usually up late working, and it’s the first thing I check when I wake up. It’s not ideal, but in case you haven’t noticed, I like to have my computer close.”
“It’s very cute,” I tell him, making him laugh.
“Cute?” He slowly threads his fingers through mine, and every touch is like a little electric spark along my skin. “Is that what you think of me?”
“No,” I whisper, and I swear he looks gutted by my answer before I quickly say, “I think you having to be so close to your computer at all times is cute and very adorably you, but I don’t think you’re cute, Niki. Cute is for puppies and your friend’s younger brother. That word will never do you justice.”
“What do you think I am then?”
His voice is whisper-soft between us. He’s turned to face me so we’re only inches apart, and his bedroom suddenly feels much smaller than it actually is.
I run my eyes up his chest, over the neck tattoos, the sculpted jaw and slightly quirked mouth, the nose ring that I’m still dying to kiss, and then finally to the pair of grey eyes that will always knock me on my ass every time they’re directed at me. Too many things are running through my mind right now for me to be able to lie or downplay what I’m feeling, so instead I open my mouth and tell him the truth.
“Sexy,” is the first word that pops out, and when he hears it, his smile starts to grow. “So unbelievably sexy it makes me a little nervous to even be around you.” He laughs at that, but now that I’ve started, I can’t seem to stop. “You’re gorgeous and sweet and so very smart, and your intelligence is just as hot as the rest of you. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I can’t tell what you think about me and it’s driving me crazy.”
