Chapter 13
Toby
Closing my laptop, I smiled to think about the chocolates that would be waiting for Liza in the lobby when she got home from the library.
I’d been thinking of things to leave for her with Bert all week.
Just a few things to show her I was thinking about her.
I did dinner last night after confirming in text that she was going to eat a sandwich and collapse into bed, too tired to cook or even stop to grab anything.
It had taken all my effort not to stalk her apartment. I wanted to smell her door, but that would make me halfway as crazy as her ex. I had to trust that she could take care of herself.
But everyone had heard horror stories of bitter exes. Bitter people in general could be pretty crazy. There was no telling what the asshole might do. And that was what kept my dragon trying to convince me to go check on Liza.
I managed to talk myself out of it every time.
My phone rang as I started to turn my mind toward my own dinner.
I didn’t usually fuss with much since it was just me.
A salad sounded nice. Though, my salads tended to be a lot more substantial than the average person’s.
I believed in healthy eating, sure, but I was still a dragon.
“Hello?” I said absently. I didn’t recognize the number.
“Toby, it’s Porter. This is my office number.” He sounded like he was on speaker.
“Oh, hey, Porter. What’s going on?” I started pulling out salad stuff, rifling through my lettuce to make sure it hadn’t gone bad. Lettuce was always hard to keep fresh. I’d begun growing it in my backyard back in Cali, but it wasn’t so easy here.
“I confirmed that Dax doesn’t have any ownership of the building and doesn’t live in it.
He doesn’t work for his father’s company, either.
Therefore, he shouldn’t be able to come and go as he pleases.
Her safety should be ensured in her building, and it’s up to property management to follow through on that. ”
“That’s great news, Porter, thank you. Send me a bill for your trouble, okay?” I grabbed a knife with relief in my heart. Now I could do something besides resist the urge to literally bite Dax’s head off.
“Hey, no way. This was a favor. Get this mating stuff sorted out, and we’ll have you guys over for dinner, okay?”
I chopped a cucumber and smiled at the phone on the counter. “You got it. Thanks again.”
After we hung up, I continued making my salad as I thought about telling Liza about Dax. She’d be glad to know she could complain to security and hopefully keep him from the building.
Just as I grabbed the salad dressing, my doorbell rang. Odd, since I hadn’t been buzzed. My heart soared. Maybe it was Liza, eager for a dirty study break.
Rushing to the door, I threw it open with a big grin on my face. “Hey— Oh, hello, Abby.”
How in the hell had she even gotten into this building? And what was she doing here. “How did you know where I live?” Talk about bitter.
She was dressed like she was about to go out on the town, with her blouse unbuttoned to reveal her ample cleavage, again. Considering how much I didn’t want to see that cleavage; it was a desperate move and very irritating.
“Oh, a little bird.” She waved her hand and stepped forward as if trying to push her way into my apartment. “Won’t you invite me in?”
Gritting my teeth, I stepped back and let her walk past me. “Please, come in.”
Abby perched on my sofa and patted the seat beside her.
I opted for the armchair. “What can I do for you, Abby?”
“I was passing by your building and thought I’d see if you have plans for dinner.” She crossed her legs and the split in her skirt revealed pretty much all of her leg, up to her hip. I glanced but didn’t let my eyes linger.
I didn’t want them to linger. I wasn’t interested in the least. Abby was an attractive woman, but she was not Liza. And she didn’t know how to take an easy letdown.
“I’ve just made my dinner.” I spread my hands apologetically. “I’ll have to decline.”
In theory, I should’ve been used to women chasing me, but it didn’t make it any less irritating. They tended to think I was playing hard to get. They seemed to get off on it.
But I’d never been one for games.
“Well, perhaps I can join you here, then,” Abby said. “I don’t eat much.”
With a sigh, I stood. “It’s not that, Abby. I’m seeing someone.” I didn’t want to believe what Liza had said about Dr. Abby and her fear that she’d take her rejection out on Liza, but her next words confirmed Liza’s fear.
“Is it that perky little redheaded nurse?”
Her tone made my dragon growl, but I suppressed it.
“No. It’s nobody at the hospital.” I hated lying more than about anything else, especially about Liza, but I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Liza’s chances at being hired on the floor she wanted.
But the words still bit to say, and my tattoo flared at the lie.
My dragon didn’t like any refusal of my mating bond.
Liza belonged to me, and any denial of that was an insult.
Abby’s entire mood shifted when I denied it being anyone at the hospital. It was like watching someone switch personalities. Geez. She laughed and stood, then put her hand on my arm. “It’s a good thing. The younger nurses are always flighty. You could certainly do better than Liza.”
Oh, man. Flinging her hand off my arm and growling for her to get out wouldn’t have been the right response, so I resisted, but it took everything in me. “I’m sure they’re not,” I said stiffly.
“Well…” She squeezed my bicep where her hand still rested. “My offer stands. Whenever you’re ready.”
Anger reared up inside me, setting my bad mood off again. This time it wasn’t Dax’s fault; it was Abby’s. She sashayed out the door, and I’d never been more relieved to turn over a damn lock.
Maybe it was time to move.
With a sigh, I finished making my salad and sat in front of the TV, but I couldn’t focus on the show. I couldn’t tell Liza about Abby. It would just stress her out more during a week she desperately needed to focus.
But then, I didn’t know how long we’d be able to keep this up. Once she was hired on at the hospital, Abby would still be around. Could she cause Liza to lose her job? She could certainly make her life miserable, and that was bad enough.
I hated the thought of a secret relationship, and so did my dragon. At this point, I didn’t know what else to do. It would have to be enough for now.
The rest of the week passed very quietly, until I got a text on Thursday afternoon. My brain is fried. Rescue me.
Six words lifted my mood to the heavens. We made plans for me to pick her up at seven. Now that I knew we lived in the same building, I walked down to her apartment and knocked a few minutes to seven.
“Your chariot awaits,” I said with a small bow. “M’lady.”
With a giggle, Liza grabbed her purse and stepped out of her apartment and straight into my arms. “Well, hello, kind sir,” she purred. “I’m very glad to see you.”
With my arm still around her shoulders and hers around my waist, we went down to the lobby and out to my car. It was hard to let her go just to drive us to the movie theater. “Now, I’m not going to make out with you in the theater like a teenager,” she warned. “I’m a nice girl.”
I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You definitely are.”
I couldn’t have passed a quiz on the movie’s content. Something about superheroes. Normally, I was very into the comic book movie adaptations, as I’d read comics as a kid, and even though I hadn’t sat in the back and made out with Liza, that didn’t mean my attention was off of her.
The softness of her pointer finger, and how small her pinkies were. The freckle on her wrist that I could only see when the movie brightened the room.
We had shared a few small kisses as we shared a popcorn.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until she was in my presence again. I’d hated us being apart and that was with us actually only living a few floors from each other.
“I made a reservation for the new Thai place,” I said as we walked out of the movie.
Bluewater didn’t have a theater, so we were in the next town over, not far from the hospital.
“I’ve been wanting to try it.” And I knew from my previous time listening in on her conversations that she was a fan as well.
“That sounds great.” She squeezed my hand and moved closer to walk shoulder to shoulder with me while our hands stayed entwined between us.
As soon as we were mated, I would tell her about the spying.
It felt too much like lying, but I couldn’t very well tell her how I’d done it until I revealed my true self to her.
I had a wave of anxiety as I wondered if she would run for the hills at the sight of my dragon, but I pushed it away.
I didn’t need to be worrying about that right now.
Once we were seated at the restaurant and had drinks, I started the harder conversation. “Have you heard any more from your ex?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen him, but I have been getting hang-up calls from a private number. Then, the last time I answered, Dax told me to stop being stupid and stop ignoring him. I haven’t answered any numbers I don’t recognize since then. Yesterday.”
My stomach clenched at the thought of that little weasel giving her a hard time and that I couldn’t do anything about it. In a perfect world, I’d let my dragon out to handle it.
But that was pretty much our only law. We couldn’t reveal ourselves to humans. Most of the time, when we did, it meant a witch had to come mess with the human’s memories.
“You might want to consider changing your number.” I took a long drink of my water to clear the lump out of my throat.
She nodded. “I was already thinking about it. It’s just such a pain.” She sighed and met my gaze. “If he’d just grow up and leave me alone…”
I laughed. “It seems like that’s not going to happen. I just want you to be safe.” Reaching across the table, I took her hand. “I’m not trying to be overbearing.” I was trying my damnedest to not be overbearing.
“It makes me happy that you care so much,” Liza whispered as her thumb stroked the side of my finger.
I wanted to tell her it was my instinct to protect her, and even if it wasn’t, I desperately wanted to do it anyway, but then I would’ve had to explain the whole instinct thing. It would’ve just sounded possessive if I were a normal man. “I just want you safe,” I repeated. “And happy.”
A smile spread across her face, but then we were interrupted by the arrival of my food. She ducked her beautiful eyes down as the server set our plates.
And I knew all I wanted in life was to keep her smiling.
Keep that pleased expression on her face.
I’d do whatever I could to make sure Liza felt that pleasure every single day.
Then, when the time came for me to reveal myself to her, she’d know that my feelings were undeniable, no matter what form I was in.