“What do you want?” I asked more sharply than I’d intended.
“I thought we were past the grumpy asshole stage?” she teased. “And shouldn’t I be the one who’s mad after you dropped me in it with the three assketeers? They’re freaking out in there now, by the way. And plotting another murder too.”
“I’m sorry for that,” I said honestly as she lingered in the doorway. “But I did it for you, even if you can’t see it. I’m not around you all the time like they are. And if there’s someone after you, stalking you, thinking about hurting you, then you need people to watch your back. And despite anything else either of us might feel about them, the Night Keepers will protect you with their lives.”
She cocked her head, pouting slightly before sighing. “Fine, I forgive you. This time.”
“Was there something else?” I asked as she failed to leave and I refused to move so much as an inch closer to her in case cold tiles and running water really were our kryptonite and I ended up dry humping her over the toilet like a savage.
“Saint said to give you these,” she tossed me a clean pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt with the tags still on them. “He said he’s sick of you running over here and then hanging around all evening like an animal who doesn’t bathe after exercising.”
“I shower when I get home,” I protested.
“Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just telling you what he said.”
“That I stink?”
“Not that I’ve ever noticed,” she replied with a smirk. “But you keep so far away from me that maybe I just haven’t gotten close enough to get a whiff yet.”
She sniffed the air dramatically and I rolled my eyes at her as I tossed the new clothes down on the side of the sink.
“I don’t smell,” I muttered.
“Hmmm, hang on, I think I’m getting something.” She moved into the room, sniffing like a dog on the scent of a fox and I couldn’t help but laugh as she slinked towards me.
She moved close enough to sniff me and the moment she wrinkled her nose, I grabbed her and tried to wrestle her into my armpit.
“You need to get closer than that, princess,” I teased as she squirmed and laughed, trying to fight me off as I reeled her in.
My heart was pounding with the closeness of her and I knew I should have been letting go but I was lost in the game for a moment, trapping her between my body and the sink as I tried to force her to get up close and personal with the sweat from my run.
“Nash!” she cried, slamming her palms into my chest as I continued to wrestle her and I finally fell still, laughing at the grin on her face.
“What’s the verdict then?”
“I’m not repulsed,” she admitted and I forced myself to take a step back as I nodded.
“Good. I guess I’ll be taking that shower anyway though. Can’t let the evil lord down now, can I?” I’d already learned that with Saint it was all about picking your battles and it wasn’t going to be worth the headache involved in trying to argue against taking a damn shower.
“Heaven forbid. He might spank you if you do.” Her eyes danced with amusement at that idea and I arched an eyebrow at her.
“You’d better not be having BDSM fantasies about me and him,” I growled.
“Well, I am now,” she said, her smile darkening suggestively and I rolled my eyes at her as I backed up again.
“Best if you don’t have any kind of fantasies about me,” I warned and she sighed dramatically.
“Who, me? I’m a good girl, Nash. I’ve never had a dirty thought in my life.” She gave me that innocent look which would have gotten her out of a speeding ticket even if she’d been going a hundred miles an hour in a school zone and I fought the urge to tease her back. It was so fucking frustrating, biting my tongue and pretending I didn’t want her. Watching the other Night Keepers move in on her and knowing she’d been tempted by two of them already. It was pure torture.
I didn’t want to see her cosying up to them or turning those flirtatious looks their way. I wanted to see them on their knees, begging for her forgiveness for all the crap they’d put her through while she told them to go fuck themselves.
“We should screw with them tonight,” I suggested in a low voice, glancing at the open door in case any of them were close.
“How?” she breathed excitedly.
“I dunno. They’re gonna be drinking, I’ll try and get them to do some stupid stuff and maybe we can make another video. I’m sure that we can find a way to get at them if we’re both focused on the mission.”
“Sure thing, boss.” She tossed me a salute and headed out of the room so that I could shower.
I watched her go with an ache in my chest, my gaze hooking on the way her green dress swung around her golden thighs before I forced myself to close the door.
I scrubbed a hand over my face and set the shower running, dialling the water down to a touch above icy as I stepped beneath it, banishing all inappropriate thoughts from my mind and washing quickly. Once I was done, I dressed in the new clothes Saint had bought me like that wasn’t a weird fucking thing to do for another guy and then stole a bit of Blake’s hair product so that I could style my blonde hair back away from my
