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CHAPTER THREE: OPENING BID - PART ONE
“You want me to let you in!” It was less of a question and more of a shrill shriek, even to her ears. “Just wait down there and I’ll come to you.”
She listened to Azel patiently sigh over her cellphone. “The whole point of me coming over is so Nate sees me. He can’t very well see me, if I stay down here, right?”
Harri bit her lip and wrinkled her nose. He was right. Anxiously adjusting her glasses, she looked around her apartment, not really liking the idea of some strange guy inside it. She didn’t really like the idea of anyone inside it.
But she supposed, just because she was letting him into her building, that didn’t mean she had to let him into her apartment. He was just coming to her door so Nate could see him, right? That didn’t necessarily involve him actually entering her home. “Fine.” Pursing her lips, she pressed the button to open the security door downstairs before grabbing her coat so she could meet him in the hallway.
Turning, she looked at her phone as a text notification dinged.
Wait inside until I get there, so he can hear me knock
Fine! She shoved her arms into her coat, already regretting this whole thing. Biting her lip, she wondered if she ought to just call the whole thing off. Pay him for today and just be done. Yes. That’s what she’d do. It was the smart decision. She nodded to herself, feeling better having settled that in her head.
She jumped, when she heard the knock on the door. Nerves rushed her again. This was why she didn’t like dating. Everything felt too high stakes. Too demanding. Too stressful. As if every interaction wordlessly expected something from her — some unspoken reaction or emotion or action — that she didn’t really understand and was almost certain she didn’t particularly want to give. She took a steadying breath and opened the door.
And there he was, looking irresistibly sinful. “Hi.” Her stomach flipped at the sight of his smile, at the way the corners of his eyes crinkled and the dimples in his cheeks flashed. His lips curved, looking soft and so inviting as the pointed tips of his canines peeked out between the full flesh.
She blushed and gripped the door in her hand harder. “Hi.” She didn’t understand her reaction to him, this churning attraction.
Don’t get her wrong; it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been attracted to other people before. She had. After all, she’d been attracted to Nate. But it’d always been something that gradually happened. Over time. A creeping comfort that developed over the span of several dates with another person.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t notice the way other people looked. She understood aesthetics. Could even appreciate them. But she rarely felt so affected by them. Had never felt so swayed and uneasy by them.
She didn’t think she liked it.
“You look good first thing in the morning.” He looked her up and down slowly, taking his time as he took her in. “Very good. All fresh-faced and sweet.”
She clenched her thighs together at the low rumble in his voice and felt her blush deepen. “Thank you,” she said quickly, zipping up her coat further. “Are you ready to go?”
He looked at her apologetically, even as his smile widened teasingly. “Do you mind if I come in for a bit?”
What? Why? She balked at him. “I thought we were going for a walk.”
“We are,” he assured her. “We will.” He shrugged and waved his hand a bit. “But one of the cup’s lids wasn’t on tight and it leaked all over my hand.”
Her gaze caught on the way the coffee dripped down his long, capable-looking fingers, and licked her suddenly dry lips. “I can get you a paper towel.” She could not let him inside her apartment. Not and maintain her sense of control.
“My hand’s already sticky, since we both like extra shots of hazelnut syrup in our coffee.” He shook his head, those disheveled curls looking soft and silky, as he said, “You wouldn’t want to hold a sticky hand, would you?”
She choked on an awkward cough as his tone filled her head with all sorts of inventively lewd acts that could leave his hand so messy. “Why would I hold your hand?”
His smile widened, with some secret knowledge she was sure he shouldn’t have, and his dark eyes smoldered. “I’ve been looking forward to holding your hand since last night, of keeping it warm within mine. Of feeling your palm press against mine.” He leaned closer, almost letting his cheek brush hers, as he whispered in her ear. “Haven’t you?”
Harri would have sworn she wasn’t a terribly lustful person. She’d enjoyed the physical aspects of relationships just fine. Had often loved feeling loved, admired or adored, by another person. But she’d never been the type to burn with passion or feel swept away by fantasies the way it felt like everyone else was. She’d often envied other people’s ability to feel that way.
But she didn’t anymore. Not now, when the way Azel spoke, moved, and simply was seemed to melt her brain, making her feel sweaty and unsteady and starving. He made her want things she could barely put into words but knew she shouldn’t. Not like this. Not this soon. Not with this man. Certainly not under these circumstances. And not with a vivid fervor that felt so thoroughly out of character for her.
“Fine.” She’d meant it to sound put out, but the breathy pant trembled past her lips as she stumbled back in an awkward need to put space between them. She opened her door more and ushered him into her apartment, waving him toward her bathroom.
“Thanks,” he said as he brushed past her with a wink that seemed to know every hungry thought that consumed her brain. He handed her the drinks. “I’ll be right back.”
Trying hard not to let her mind linger on the way his scent — like the hint of smoke or the ghost of a fire caught on some wild wind — tickled her senses, she moved to shut her apartment door.
But something slight caught her eye. Like the fastest flash of movement, a faint flicker of light and sound. It wasn’t until she closed her own door that she recognized the distinct click of wood and locks slotting into place as it echoed along her senses. She frowned and leaned against her now shut door.
Had someone else been in the hallway? Had they been watching them?
Harri stiffened as her gaze flickered to the wall separating her apartment from the one next door.
Had it been Nate?
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