Chapter 13
Lily
Istrip out of my shift dress with its easily accessible zipper, slide my sexy black panties over my newly waxed legs, and step into the shower.
It’s Thursday and I still haven’t seen or heard from Shade.
I’ve taken the usual route home every day this week, and tonight I’d gone to the grocery store.
I don’t know how much easier I can make it for him.
Is that my problem? Am I too easy?
I scrub off the carefully applied makeup that had given Connor the idea that I was making all this effort to win him back. He was like a shadow at my back all day, and not the shade I was looking for.
Once I’m showered, I slip on my oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts, opting for comfort rather than sex appeal.
After heating up a microwave meal, I sink onto the couch and turn on the TV.
I’m scrolling through my third streaming service before I give up the search for a distraction.
Hollywood actors aren’t going to do it for me tonight.
There’s only one man on my mind. But am I on his?
I know it’s been less than a week, and he did say he had a flight to catch, but what if he’s never coming back?
“Goddamn it, Shade!” I yell as I toss the TV remote away. “Am I so repulsive that even my stalker doesn’t want a second date?”
It’s at times like this that I miss my dog. Rubin always knows when I need a cuddle. Dogs are so much more dependable than people. With a huff, I heave myself up and throw my empty lasagna container in the trash before pouring myself a glass of wine.
I don’t return to the couch. I can’t settle, so I wander around my apartment, lifting cushions and moving books on shelves as I sip my drink.
“What if I never see you again?” I complain out loud.
“How long would I have to live in this purgatory before accepting I’d been dumped?
I don’t want to go back on dating sites, even if I could get them to work.
” I look behind the narrow dresser in the hallway, and then I pout.
“And fuck it, I don’t want to start over.
” Back in the living room, I swallow a groan.
“Where the hell did that chocolate bar go?”
I’d been eating a chocolate bar the day I came home to find Shade waiting for me.
I’d set down my bag of groceries to unlock the door, but I’d kept the candy in my hand.
Unsurprisingly, I have no recollection of what happened to it after that because I was too busy dealing with the longest, most erotic kiss of my entire life.
Shade had brought my groceries inside my apartment when he’d left, but the half-eaten bar has remained a mystery ever since.
And despite consuming my weekly allowance yesterday, I need more chocolate.
“I’m sick of being used!” I say. It’s not just chocolate I’m craving. “If Shade doesn’t appear this weekend, that’s it, I’m officially withdrawing from this stupid fucking game. I’d rather be alone and have zero expectations than–”
My cell phone pings with a notification.
Refilling my wine glass, I drop back onto the couch.
Unknown: Are you missing me?
Heat sears my chest and rises to my cheeks. It’s Shade. It has to be. Unless…
“I swear, if that’s you, Connor,” I mutter.
When I check the caller ID, the number is withheld. That doesn’t feel like a Connor move. He’d want me to reply and I can’t do that without a number. Shade on the other hand… I jump when another message comes through.
Unknown: I hope it’s only me in your dreams, Slayer.
“Asshole!” I shout at my phone, but it’s more of a squeal. He’s still out there. “You’d better be missing me too!”
Unknown: Be sure to sleep with one eye open.
“Oh, I will be,” I whisper. “It’s not like I haven’t done since the day I met you.”
I stare at the screen for ten full minutes, but there are no more messages. That’s OK. He isn’t ghosting me. That last warning is an unspoken promise. He’s going to show up again.
It’s only later when I’m lying in bed that I start to question how he finds out so much about me. How did he get my cell number? Did he already have it when he teased me in the grocery store? Or did he sneak a look at my phone when we were in the limo?
That last memory twists my insides as I recall him moving inside me. Unsheathed. And there lies another conundrum. He knew about my contraceptive implant. I swear there must be a corner of the dark web reserved just for him.
My eyelids are heavy, and as I’m drifting off, I think of that one time Shade was in my bedroom.
I replay our long, extended kiss, and how I’d forced him to leave with his cock still hard.
Was that when he’d checked my phone? But I’d heard the front door close within moments of him leaving my bedroom.
He wouldn’t have had time, but… My eyes snap open as I snag on the answer to another question.
He’d been on his own when he left. The bastard stole my chocolate!
Although I’m in a deep sleep, a sound in my bedroom makes my stomach lurch. My heart races as I struggle from unconsciousness, but I keep my eyes closed on instinct. I’d been woken by the creak of the door opening. Goosebumps prick my skin. I’m lying flat on my back, and I’m being watched.
My rapid breaths rasp against my dry throat. Whoever’s here will know I’m awake, and any normal intruder would have reacted by now.
“If that’s not you,” I croak, “I’m going to be so mad.”
Complete silence. Or is that…? Yes, I can hear breath sounds that aren’t mine.
“Shade?” I whisper.
“Slayer.”
I fight back the smile as I peel open my eyes. There’s just enough light pollution leaching through my blinds to distinguish the man standing at the end of my bed from other shadows. “You broke into my apartment.”
“You need better locks.”
“Would that keep you out?”
“Lily,” he says impatiently. “Nothing can keep me out, but you know how particular I am about your safety. I’ll arrange to have your security upgraded.”
I rub my eyes. This is not a conversation for my sleepy head. “Is that why you’re here? To give me another lecture?”
“No, Lily. That’s not why I’m here.”
His silhouette moves and I feel my bedding being tugged. I snatch hold of it. “What are you doing?”
“Claiming my prize.”
Oh, my lord. I might not be fully awake, but there are parts of me that are ten steps ahead.
Heat pools at my core and it’s all I can do to stop my hips lifting up off the mattress.
No, I tell myself. A man can’t just break into your apartment and ravish you, Lily Kendrick.
At least, not without some form of pushback.
“I thought we agreed the apartment was excluded from the game?”
He tugs harder on my comforter and it slips from my grasp, not that I put up much of a fight.
“I believe you clarified that point on Friday night. Your exclusion stops me from lurking outside your apartment. I’m not outside, Slayer, and I think I’ve demonstrated enough skill and determination to justify my prize. ”
“Do you now?”
“As always, you can tell me no at any point.”
I say nothing as my bedding continues to slide down my torso until I’m completely uncovered. I raise my knees, making room for Shade to position himself between my legs. His hands rest on my knees and his thumbs stroke my skin.
“There’s just one small matter we need to discuss before I get started,” he says.
“Always with the admin,” I mutter, but there’s an edge to his voice that I’m starting to recognize. I’m going to be told off for something, I just know it.
Shade leans forward, bringing his hands on either side of my shoulders so he’s looking down on me.
From what I can tell, he’s wearing a tight V-neck t-shirt and dark jeans.
He holds his body above mine so we barely touch, and when I go to reach for his chest, he grabs an arm and lifts it over my head. He does the same with my other arm.
“Is that another man’s t-shirt you’re wearing, Lily?”
My eyes slide down between our bodies as I do a quick inventory. The wine has made my memory hazy, but I know what I have on. “Yes,” I say, already wincing.
“Why?”
I wait a beat. “It’s my brother’s.”
Shade considers it for a moment. “And why would you wear your brother’s clothes?”
It’s reassuring that he doesn’t know everything about me, and I could choose not to explain. It’s not like he’s told me anything about himself. “I wear it when I’m homesick.”
His head tilts as he scrutinizes my face. “You’re feeling homesick?”
His gaze cuts through the dim light and has me unravelling. I shake my head. “Not exactly. Maybe homesick is the wrong word.”
“Then pick a different word, Lily,” he prompts as if it were that simple.
Tears prick my eyes. “I wear it when I’m feeling lonely… or sad,” I begin. “My brother died three years ago. The t-shirt takes me back to a time when I felt… I don’t know. Secure, I suppose.”
He curses under his breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to one of my brothers.”
I sniff back my grief. “You have brothers?”
His eyes narrow. “I was talking hypothetically.”
“No, you weren’t” I answer back. “Please, Shade. Give me something.”
His face closes in on mine and his tongue trails across my lips. When I open my mouth, he straightens up. “I have three brothers,” he says. “We argue all the time. But we’re close.”
“I’d like to meet them.”
Shade releases my hands and returns to his kneeling position between my legs. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” he says. “I don’t know what they’d do to a woman who left a huge bite mark on their brother’s arm.”
“Oh, god, I did, didn’t I?” I say. I noticed his wound on the drive back to my apartment. “I drew blood.”
“You left your mark. And I left mine.” His hands slide down my inner thighs. “I filled you with my cum.”
This time my hips do lift up as his exploration continues to my center. He pulls the damp material of my satin shorts to the side and glides a finger through my arousal. I let out a whimper as he pushes inside me.