“Get inside,” he snapped as he plucked the cig from his mouth.
“Come with me?”
His eyes flashed again, and I pressed on, giving him nothing but the truth. “I sleep better with you in the room. Having you in there keeps the nightmares away,” I whispered as I tried to reach for him. He moved away from me; walking back up to his empty home.
He left me out in the cold.
Alone.
He was right about one thing.
He did hurt me.
Again.
Nine Years Ago. St. Louis.
“Is Gwen Davenport here?”
I blinked, trying to break the spell this man seemed to put on me. He just entered the restaurant a few seconds ago and I rushed up to the front, cursing him because we were about to close.
What I didn’t expect was to see the model standing before me.
He was tall, taller than me and Gwen, dressed in jeans and a school T-shirt. Simple, but holy fuck. His hair was a jet-blackpile of waves on top of his head, his skin fair, his face—a work of art, carved and sculpted by the ancient artists. He possessed sharp cheekbones, a straight nose, lush, tempting lips, and a jawline that could cut through steel. But his eyes…
“Miss?”Oh right, a question.
I nodded, and he smirked, his ice eyes scanning my face.
“Collin! Hey, what’s up?” my gorgeous friend asked, breathless as she came up beside me.
His eyes—Collin’s eyes—seemed to hold mine for a moment longer before he turned his attention to Gwen. His handsome features lit up at the sight of her as he painted an angelic smile on his face, taking my breath away. “Hey, I was just wondering if you had those notes from Bio?”
“Oh, yes! I thought I gave those to you,” she said, yanking her ponytail out, letting her curls fall around her. Collin rubbed the back of his neck, shooting her a sheepish look. “Yeah, I lost them in the locker room. Pretty sure one of the guys snatched them to fuck with me.”
Gwen started talking, but I didn’t hear the words. My focus was entirely on the man who kept his attention on her. Envy pooled in my gut, and I silently cursed myself for it.
Gwen was my friend; she deserved a rebound after that asshole, Dean Connors, left her. She was gorgeous, kind, and had a soul that could save the world if given the chance.
Of course, a man like this would come looking for her.
“Hey, if it’s cool with you, I’m going to head out. My side work is done,” I said to my friend, plastering a small smile on my face. She turned to me, concern filling her eyes. “Okay. You good?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I have to get to Sullie’s anyways. Jer is expecting me,” I explained, turning away from the gorgeous couple. As I re-entered the kitchen, the line cooks were still griping about Collin being a customer.
“He's just a friend of G’s, guys,” I said, chuckling a bit as I headed to the office to cash out.
Once I got my money, I slipped off my apron, grabbed my jacket, and left.
The cool evening air of spring hit my face as I stepped through the side entrance. My car was in the parking lot behind the building. Making sure my purse was close to me, I zipped my jacket over it.
Growing up in the neighborhoods I did, you learned to never be too careful.
As I came to the end of the building, a throat cleared, causing me to jump and turn around. Instinctively, I reached for my switchblade in the back pocket of my jeans.
“Whoa, whoa! It’s just me,” the beautiful man said, stepping out of the shadows with his hands raised. He was beautiful, that much was clear, but the darkness made him devastating. My mouth watered at the sight.
All I could do was nod before asking, “Where’s Gwen?”
