Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Taking a deep, calming breath, I stepped into the living room and stood in front of the big window to watch the city lights sparkling on the streets below. The minutes crawled by before she finally came out of the bathroom.
“I’m ready to go.”
I spun, and there she was, standing in the doorway and looking even more beautiful than I could have imagined. Hot damn. A touch of makeup made her eyes seem bigger. With her red dress and matching red lips, that familiar burn shot to my groin, and I had to work hard to get under control.
I must have made a face, because her eyes widened. Still, her lips twisted with satisfaction, and I held back a groan. Thank God we weren’t taking the bike.
“Uh… good.” That came out gruffer than I’d intended, but she just nodded. “There’s another way out of the apartment. I’ll show you.” If I could even think straight.
“Great. Let me grab my jacket and purse.” She hurried into her room and came out wearing her black leather jacket, with a small purse slung over her shoulder.
“It’s this way.” I nodded down the hallway, and she followed me into the laundry room and to the door at the back. Even the scent of her perfume was intoxicating. “I only use this door after hours, or if I don’t want anyone in the office to know I’m here.”
“I’ll bet that comes in handy.” Was that a hint of amusement?
My lips quirked up. “It sure does.” I ushered her through the door and into the hallway across from the stairs, resisting the temptation to hint that she could use it to come see me any time. “I usually take the stairs down to the next floor before I get on the elevator, but we’ll catch it here since no one else is around.” I locked the deadbolt on my door and stepped down the hall.
At this time of night, the building was empty except for the cleaning crew, and I had to use my key-card to call the elevator. After we got on, I used it inside to send the elevator down to the parking level.
Serenity stood beside me all the way down, tense and clutching her small purse. Was she nervous to be with me? I noticed her hands were bare, and my brows dipped. “How come you’re not wearing your gloves?”
She twitched before glancing my way. “They’re in my purse, but I thought I should leave them off until we get to the club. If something’s coming, I’d like to know beforehand.”
My brows shot up. It sounded like she’d taken my advice to heart, but was something else going on? “Did you have another vision about me?”
She shook her head. “No. But since someone is trying to kill you, we can’t be too careful, right?”
“Uh… yeah, right.” I wanted to argue that no one was going to try to kill me on the way to the club, but I liked that she wasn’t wearing her gloves.
The elevator doors swished open and I stepped out. “We’ll take my car. It’s right next to the bike.”
“Sounds good.”
She followed me to my car, and I reached to open the passenger door for her, but she grabbed my arm to stop me.
“Wait. Let me touch it first.”
Surprised, I sent her a nod. “Have at it.”
She held her fingers to the door handle. After a couple of seconds, she glanced my way. “I guess it’s okay.”
“You guess?”
“I’m not getting anything dangerous. Like a bomb, or fire, or smoke… you know… that sort of thing?” Before I could comment, she pulled the door open and climbed inside.
Shaking my head, I hurried to the driver’s side and got in. She ran her fingers across the dashboard and steering wheel. I wanted to tell her she could do that to me, too, but I didn’t. Finished, she glanced my way and nodded. “Okay. We’re good to go.”
Embarrassingly, it hadn’t occurred to me that my car could be a death trap. At least she was sitting here with me, so that had to mean it was safe. With a shake of my head, I started the car and began the drive to the club.
A few minutes later, we pulled around back to my reserved spot and I opened the door to get out.
“Stone. Wait.”
“Again?” Sighing, I shut the door and turned toward her. “What?”
“I’d like to try something before we go in. Is it okay if I touch your hand for a minute? I just want to see if I get anything.”
A slow smile crept up my lips, but I tried to play it cool. “Sure.” Shrugging nonchalantly, I held my hand open. As she placed her hand in mine, sparks danced across my skin. Curling my fingers around hers, I waited for what came next. Would she have a vision? Would she gasp or pull away?