Page 40 of Meet Cute the Virgin

“Thegood morningtexts. The checking if I ate. The—” I stop, my throat tight. “You were saved in my phone before you ever entered the room.”

“Before I was allowed to be in the house.” His voice is low and rough. “I’m a jealous bastard.”

I stare at him. The man who climbed into my tower. The man who watched me for years and then couldn’t stop.

“Fine.” I roll my eyes, pretending to be annoyed because that would be a normal reaction. The last thing I should be is smitten and turned on, but I am.

Aren’t we the crazy duo? I kind of love that for us.

Chapter Nineteen

TRISTAN

This is all working out better than I could have imagined. Lily is back at my fingertips, and I now have an ally in Killian.

“Teddy,” Lily laughs overdramatically. “Remember that time that Killian shot Tristan and then kidnapped me!” She peeks over at me.

I stand; the kitchen chair scrapes against the tile. Killian mirrors me, and I see Lily’s eyes widen.

“I’m learning to forgive,” I tell her, making her nose scrunch. “Like I’ve forgiven you for running from me.”

“Hey now!” She pops out of her seat so fast. “I don’t want forgiveness. I wasn’t seeking it from you. So you can keep it.”

“It’s too late.” I give a small shrug. “Shall I do a perimeter walk, or can I pull up the specs and blueprints if you give me a computer? I have it all.”

“No,” she says. “No, no, no. You can’t go off together. You’ll build a dome.” She adorably puts her hands on her hips as though she’s laying down the law.

“Let them go, Lily Pad. We’ve got our own plans to make.”

Teddy smirks, and I’m not sure if they really have plans to make or if she’s trying to get a rise out of us. I’m not taking the bait.

“That’s not—” Lily starts, but Teddy’s already out of her chair, grabbing her arm, then whispering something that makes Lily’s cheeks flush darker.

“Okay,” she agrees and lets Teddy start to lead her away. I reach out and snag her hand and pull her back; she falls into me, and I kiss her.

Hard. No gentleness or asking. My hand tangles in her hair, tilting her head back, and I take more. What I’ve wanted for so many years. She only stiffens for half a second, then melts, her mouth opening under mine, her body pressing closer. Lily wants this. I felt it last night between us too. All that pent-up desire exploding out.

When I break away, she’s breathless, her eyes dazed. Her mouth is red and swollen from the attention I can’t stop giving it.

“Go,” I say, my voice rough. I spin her around and smack her ass. “Before I change my mind about letting you leave this room.”

She stumbles forward two steps before turning partly back around to give me one of her glares; I’ve even missed those. She’s a mix between fury and want.

“You’re an asshole.”

“I know.”

“Glad we agree on something,” she says as she heads out. Teddy scrambles to follow, throwing me a look that’s half amused, half warning.

“Shall we?” I gesture toward the hallway.

This is about more than securing this place. It’s not going to be bad to have an ally right now. Killian understands. We not only worked in the same world at one time, but we both also have unhealthy obsessions.

We move through the estate, and I show him problem areas and why. Then the upper floors, the attic access, the windows and side doors. I tell him how I got in the first time, and after that, it was smooth sailing because I was about to set up new entry points. It’s always hard getting in, but once you’re in, you’re golden.

“Predictable,” he mutters when I show him the device I put on the window.

“Effective.”