Chapter 15
Though my legs were still wobbly, I forced myself to start cleaning. James had already cleared the dirty dishes, and soft music drifted in from the kitchen. I disassembled the drip tray, taking it with me as I joined him. He was acting suspicious. He was a little too calm considering the angry way he threw me against that wall. And the knowing smile he gave me as I entered the kitchen confirmed as much.
I crowded behind him, reaching around to drop the sticky tray into the soapy water. “You knew they were there, didn’t you?”
“Knew who was where?” he asked innocently, though his dirty little smile told me everything I needed to know.
I molded myself to him, making sure my hips rolled right over his ass. “Don’t play coy with me, vampire,” I hummed into his ear.
Bashful-James was a version I could get used to. The coy smile and the way he avoided my gaze was fucking adorable. He shrugged. “They left their coat in the office. I wondered if they’d come b ack for it, and when I heard a familiar heartbeat, I assumed. But if you know, then that means…”
“They caught us. We locked eyes the second you swallowed my load. And you already knew that.” My hand crept around his hip, eliciting a guttural groan from him when I squeezed the bulge between his legs. “It turned you on.”
James let his head fall back onto my shoulder. “Fuck yeah, it did.”
I massaged his erection. “One look from Luke had you ready to rip his balls off, but you let me openly flirt with Shiloh in front of you. You let me touch them. You just let them watch while you sucked my cock. Why?”
“Luke was a creep. He never had any good intentions with you.” James dropped the dish in his hands, bracing himself on the sink and rolling his hips into my palm. “With Shi there’s— fuck , I don’t know. There’s something different there.”
I squeezed harder, relishing that I was able to bring him to the edge so easily. I leaned in, making sure I spoke my command right into his ear. “Come for me, vampire.”
And damn, he fell right over the edge. He groaned, cock pulsing and come spilling into his jeans. I felt the wet spot warm the denim under my hand as he rode out his orgasm against my palm.
James looked over his shoulder, rolling his eyes at the sight of my pleased smile. “Proud of yourself?” he asked, squirming in place.
“Always.” I kissed his cheek and nudged him aside, stepping up to the sink. “Why don’t you go home and shower? I’ll finish up here.” I turned my attention to the dishes, only for his hand to wrap around my throat. He turned my head to bring our mouths together.
“It’s going to get below freezing tonight,” James muttered against my mouth. “Shiloh’s coming back for that coat, and you need t o make sure they aren’t uncomfortable with what they saw.”
I swallowed. “I will.”
And with one more kiss, he was out the door.
I pulled out my phone, continuing the song James took with him. I only got a few dishes in before I heard the sound of James’s office door. I didn’t get the usual chill that came with James entering a room, so it had to be Shiloh. Sure enough, they stood in the doorway with their coat slung over one arm. When our eyes met, their cheeks brightened.
“Enjoy the show?” I asked.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” they stammered, dropping their gaze to the floor.
I turned off the water and dried my hands, then leaned against the sink. “Shiloh, look at me.”
Brown eyes met mine. They continued to fidget with their fingers.
“Did James and I make you uncomfortable?”
Shi rolled their bottom lip between their teeth before shaking their head. “No,” they finally said. “It’s my fault. I should have walked away the second I realized what was happening.”
“We shouldn’t have been having sex at work.”
“I get it. The thrill of getting caught…” Shi trailed off, and I waited for them to continue. “I read a lot,” they blurted.
At that moment, I swore it would be my personal mission to find out exactly what Shi Baby had been reading. It sure as hell wasn’t Dracula , but it sounded like something I needed to get my hands on. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I am. But I think the next time I forget something, I’ll wait until my next shift to get it.”
I indicated the coat in their hands, then turned back to the dishes. “You needed that tonight. It’s going to get cold. ”
They didn’t respond immediately. I returned to my Luke Combs and cleaning, but I didn’t hear them leave. Instead, “Do you want help?”
“You’re off the clock, Shi. Get some rest, you’ve earned it. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Ryder,” they said, so softly I barely heard it over the running water.
I finished the cleaning quick enough, locked up and drove home. It wasn’t until I pulled myself out of the shower that the post-orgasm exhaustion set in. I fished my phone from my jacket pocket, let James know I was home, and collapsed into bed.
The chime from my phone came with a low battery notification. I fumbled around next to my bed, hoping like hell that I remembered to bring one of my chargers back from the living room. I let out a sigh of relief when I found it, all but throwing my phone onto the nightstand. I turned away, falling into a deep sleep.
Maybe a little too deep.
When I finally peeled my eyes open, I felt like I’d slept my way into another dimension. Though oddly enough, it seemed I awoke before my alarm. Thinking nothing of it, I trudged out of bed. I lost myself in my habitual morning routine: showering, feeding Carlos and letting him outside, and making myself something to eat. There was something comforting about it, though the morning seemed strangely quiet. I was almost finished cooking when I noted the time on the stove, and it stopped me in my tracks.
Fuck .
I hustled to my bedroom and yanked my phone off the charger.
The screen remained black.
“The fuck?” I bent down to pick the charge r off the floor. When I straightened, the charger came with me—too easily. I followed the cord right to the frayed end. Upon further inspection, I saw tiny teeth marks in the plastic surrounding the wires. I reached behind my nightstand, unplugging the other half of the chewed-through charger.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I raced to the living room to retrieve my spare, cursing my furry roommate the entire way. Once my phone was plugged in—and actually charging—I went back to my room to change into jeans, willing the stupid phone to turn on as fast as possible. I was already an hour late to the bar. I was shoving food in my mouth and arguing with Carlos about getting inside when incessant pinging from the living room let me know my phone was up and running. I gave the dog a few more minutes of freedom while I rushed into the room to call Liz’s, hoping like hell Shiloh would forgive me. They were the one to answer the phone.
“Finally,” they muttered. “Jesus Hector Christ, where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m so sorry, Shi—the dog ate my charger.”
“Aren’t we a little old for that excuse?”
“Ha-ha,” I deadpanned. “I’ll be in as soon as I feed him to the sharks. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s no problem. You might want to call James though. He’s been losing his mind.”
“He’s not there? Okay, I’ll call him—Shit!”
The front door flew open and James barreled into the house. The crack of the door handle hitting the wall could be heard a neighborhood away.
Shi spoke first. “Please tell me that’s not a serial killer showing up to murder you.”
“Just my boyfriend trying to scare the life out of me.”
“Already? I swear he just left…”
“I got to go,” I said quickly. “See you soon.” I disconnected the ca ll and turned to James. “Sorry,” I said, returning my phone to the charger. “Carlos chewed through my charger, my phone died, and I slept through my alarm.”
“You didn’t think to check your phone before you fell asleep?”
“Carlos has never been a chewer before,” I shot back, irritated. The perpetrator was digging in the corner of the backyard and paying zero attention to my calls. “And why would I have any reason to suspect my charger wasn’t working when it was working just fine yesterday?”
Stepping outside, it wasn’t until I threatened to drag Carlos in for him to abandon his dirt masterpiece and flee inside.
“You had me worried sick,” James said. “Your phone is never off.”
“I know. I already said I was sorry. What more do you want me to do?”
“Don’t get snippy with me.”
“I’m not snippy.” I secured Carlos behind his gate. “What the hell’s gotten into you lately?”
“What are you talking about?”
I snatched my phone and keys from the table. “You’ve been so far up my ass lately that I should start wearing a plug.”
“Classy,” James scoffed.
“I thought my maturity was one of the things you liked about me.” I made my way to the front door, but James stood in my way. I tried to move around him, but he anticipated my every step. “I’m late.”
James stopped me as I made another attempt to step around him. “Shiloh assured me they were fine, so tell me what you meant.”
I wrenched out of his grip, grateful he didn’t use his vampire strength. “The last thing I want to do is talk right now.” I nearly faltered under his stare, but I stood my ground and crossed my arms o ver my chest. “You storm in here, acting like all of this is my fault, and accuse me of getting snippy. I’m not a child, and I won’t have you treating me like one.”
“I’m not treating you like a child!”
“Tell that to your tone. Shit happens, James. Phones die, alarms get missed. I know you don’t like Carlos, but this is something that animals do. I asked you a simple question and you accused me of getting an attitude. I’m sorry I worried you. Now please, let me leave.”
“I thought you’d earned the day off. I was going to cover for you.”
“Thanks, but I made a promise to Shi.” I stepped around him but froze with my hand on the doorknob at his next words.
“So Shiloh’s more important than me?”
“Oh my God.” The sheer absurdity of James’s jealousy made me laugh. “Do you hear how ridiculous you sound? I’m not going to entertain this argument anymore.” I yanked the door open, pretending I didn’t see the hurt in his eyes. “When you decide you’re ready to talk like adults, you know where to find me.”
Even I flinched when that door slammed shut, cutting off his response.