Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Liam
Did I step into a fucking time machine that’s transported me eight months into the past?
Why is Darcy sitting on my sofa and not Athena?
I close my eyes, praying that when I reopen them, I’ll see the woman I want to spend the night with in front of me.
I crack open one eyelid.
Fuck. I’m still looking at Darcy.
“Wolf!” She bounces to her feet. “There you are.”
I ignore the fact that she’s running her hands over the front of the tight red T-shirt she’s wearing.
“Where’s Athena?” I bark the question out as I look around the room.
Her purse isn’t where she dumped it when she came out of the washroom before my call.
Shit. She’s not here.
“Your friend left.” Darcy jerks a thumb at the apartment door. “I needed time alone with you.”
For what?
“How did you get into the building?” I brush past her on my way to the door. Swinging it open, I look to the left and the right, hoping that I’ll catch Athena, but the corridor is empty.
“One of your neighbors held the lobby door for me.” Darcy laughs. “He said he remembered that I’m a close friend of yours.”
She’s not. She’s an ex that scared the living hell out of me when she started tailing me. I couldn’t turn around without running straight into her.
Here at home.
At the gym.
My office.
You name it. If I was there, Darcy was close behind.
I ended it with the threat of a restraining order if she didn’t keep her distance. My oldest brother, Sebastian, a sergeant with the NYPD, followed that up with a visit to her office encouraging her to move on. I didn’t ask him to do it, but I thanked him for it.
I hadn’t seen her again until she appeared at the seafood place the other night.
Slamming my apartment door shut, I head toward Darcy. “Get out.”
That sets her back down on her ass on my sofa. She pivots so she’s facing me, her long legs crossing as though she’s settling in for the long haul.
I’m tempted to yank her up by the arm to toss her out, but I don’t. I won’t put a hand on her. In her twisted mind it would be akin to a marriage proposal. I intend to stay as far away from her as I can.
“You left a few things at my place.” She points a long red fingernail at a brown paper shopping bag. “Check it out.”
I know what’s in there. It’s the shampoo she bought for me that smelled like sour citrus. I hated it. It never touched my hair.
The clothes she picked out for me are undoubtedly in the bag too.
T-shirts with cartoon characters and a brand of jeans that I’ve never worn.
I turned it all down when she offered it and left it behind when I ended our short-lived relationship. She called me months ago to ask me what to do with it all. I told her to donate it or toss it in the trash.
“Take the bag and go home, Darcy.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I told you never to come here again.”
“When I saw you at the restaurant, I felt something between us.”
“I can’t speak for you, but from my end it was annoyance. Or frustration. Irritation maybe. Take your pick.”
Her head tilts. “You don’t mean that.”
“I mean every word.” I point at the door. “I’m leaving. You need to get out.”
I’m about to chase Athena down. I left her alone for too long and then she had to deal with Darcy. I don’t blame her for checking out of here without a word to me.
“Fine.” She slides to her feet. “Sparky misses you.”
“Your dog bit me, Darcy.” I lead the way to the door. “I doubt like hell he misses me.”
Trailing a finger over my back, she rounds me until she’s standing right in front of me. “I bit you too. Do you remember?”
I can’t say that I do.
The sex was sex. That’s it. There was nothing attached to it but a need for release.
Swinging open the door, I ignore the question. “So long.”
“So long?” she parrots back. “That’s it?”
I wait until she’s cleared the doorway before I respond. “That’s it.”
With a slam of the door in her face, I fish my phone out of my pocket and scroll to Athena’s number.
I press dial as Darcy tosses out a few choice words that include what a fucking asshole I am.
She might be right. I don’t care. I have one focus at the moment and that’s Athena.
Dammit. I wish she would answer the phone.