揟iger? What the fuck??I wonder if I heard her right.
She just smiles sheepishly.
揘evermore, you come from a weird place,?I grind out. 揑s it a coming-of-age rite for every Poe to grow up in The Twilight Zone? I抦 surprised you didn抰 stay.?
揑t wasn抰 an easy choice, but…if I had to rejoin the living, I decided it couldn抰 be in that little town. It couldn抰 be Dallas anymore no matter how lovely the people were to me,?she tells me, her eyes misted with memories. 揟hey saw my worst humiliation. Plus, cool animals aside, I never totally meshed with small-town life. I started applying for jobs everywhere after that mess, and a shipping company in Seattle was the first place that called me back for a marketing gig.?
I don抰 know what to say to that, so I opt for nothing, running my thumb over her hand instead. Sometimes, silence can be more eloquent than any words.
揕ove can be cruel,?I whisper after a while.
I hold her tighter.
Her blond hair shimmers under the night lights, somehow brighter when it抯 laced with shadows. Her eyes dance when she looks at me and says, 揑t can. But it doesn抰 always have to be so painful.?
I snort loudly, spoiling the moment.
揧ou really believe that??I don抰 mean to tell her she抯 naive, but that抯 probably how it sounds.
Regina抯 face flashes in my mind, her eyes wide with horror and still trying to lie. Even when I caught her butt-ass naked, draped over another man抯 dick.
I抣l never believe love is anything magical.
It抯 an invisible fucking serial killer of hearts and dreams, but I hold my comments because I can抰 crush this girl. If she抯 still clinging to a shred of something better梙olding out for her prince桰 can抰 be the asshole to cut the last thread.
She bites her full bottom lip. For a moment, all I want to do is the same.
My eyes linger on her lips and I think she notices.
Because she tilts her chin back, angles her head, and leans in closer.
Oh, fuck.
Is she asking for?
Yeah. She is.
And I hear a voice grabbing my brain like a tennis ball, squeezing, and growling, Burns, you better fucking not. Run.
My body doesn抰 want to listen, straining against my thoughts like a wild horse.
I move closer, cradling her in my arms, peering down like she抯 breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Her scent isn抰 doing me any favors. Cinnamon and peppermint waft up my nose, mingled with something uniquely Dakota.
Delicious.
Dangerously fucking delicious.
Her eyes flutter shut with a soft rasp of her chest. She抯 tense and still so soft, her breasts heaving梱es, heaving, and I always thought that sounded ridiculous before.
Not now.
Dakota Poe is asking for my lips, my tongue, my teeth and she抯 utterly serious.
We抮e almost touching already, barely inches apart.
All I have to do is shut that second mouth in my brain, the voice of sanity, and seal the deal.
All I need to make that happen is to kiss with a passion I抳e never had.
I close my eyes, still fighting internally, and move my mouth to hers.
Our lips barely brush before I jerk back.
She抯 fucking electric, like a static spark in my soul.
Have you ever kissed anyone who抯 too fucking good to be kissed? You come in hot, expecting perfect poise and control and a tongue primed for its best moves, only to get one second in.
One measly second before you抮e frozen in disbelief, thrown back like you抳e been hit by the very best kind of lightning.
I know she feels it too, her eyes open now, big and green and glistening. Her mouth is parted with awe, her cheeks flushed, red as apples and begging me to take another taste.
Deeper. Longer. Sweeter.
I抦 about to do that, ignoring the hard-on aching to bust out of my pants, when a noise like the world ending stops me.
Some fucking donkey who needs a muffler whips into the tiny parking lot, blasting noise, and then peels out again with a grating screech.
Dakota jumps back, blinking.
Just like that, the moment is gone.
Probably for the best, though I don抰 fucking believe it.
I can抰 get mixed up with a woman who works for me. Even a beautiful one who tells me off when it抯 warranted and can handle anything I throw at her.
揝orry. Umm桰 should桰 should get棓 Her mouth won抰 work, still hanging off her face and looking so delectable.
揑t抯 late. We should go,?I finish for her.
揜ight.?
揥e抣l go to the office and pick up your bike, then I抣l have Louis drop you off.?
揥hy? I always take my bike.?
揑t抯 way too late for you to be biking home, and you know I won抰 have it,?I say with a shit-eating grin.
I know there抯 something different in her when she doesn抰 fight back.
I help her back to the car and do exactly what I said.
I should be happy for the interruption caused by the clunker with Satan at the wheel.
We only half kissed.
Nothing fucking happened.
I let her go quietly, watching as she locks up her bike and disappears inside her place, with my life no more complicated than when we arrived.
Only, I抦 not relieved at all.
The entire ride home has me clasping my knee, staring anxiously into the night. I need a stiff drink to take this tremor out of my hand, but I know that won抰 cut it.
I needed her full taste, dammit. Not the hurried sample still lodged in my core, her lips glued to my brain with the same ruthless question.
Why didn抰 I kiss Nevermore like a man when I had the chance?
13
If Bird Or Devil （Dakota）
揅an you look at these before I have to show them to Anna??Cheryl asks, handing me a bulging folder.
揝ure.?I open it and thumb through the old-school printouts. Even from a few slides, her copy reads much sharper than before. I smile up at her. 揘ice job. You抮e getting better.?
揙h, thanks! I started stalking Twitter trends just like you showed me.?
I nod. 揝ee? All you needed was a little inspiration. You always had the writing chops.?
揙h my God, I抦 so glad you came to work with us, doll.?She leans in with a beaming smile. 揑 thought I抎 been at this too long to learn any new tricks.?
揑抦 happy I could help, Cheryl.?My heart flutters.
It抯 nice to feel like I抳e actually helped someone.
Cheryl抯 eyes trail behind me to Lincoln抯 office.
揌ey, I can抰 help asking… Have you given any thought to the fake marriage thing??She suppresses a laugh. 揑t抯 the talk of the whole office. Everyone抯 waiting on tenterhooks to see if you and Burns tie the pretend knot.?
Yikes.
揟ell them not to wait up forever. It抯 not happening. I wish Anna would just drop it,?I say, unable to keep the irritation out of my voice. Mostly because I抦 pissed. I don抰 need to be reminded how hilariously interesting it would be to get engaged to my hot cactus of a boss. Or how badly I wanted him to kiss me again that night, how my body ached to the bone when he did, and how he抯 not actually a total Saguaro cactus at all.
Ugh. He抯 a man who secretly helps his homeless best friend.
He抯 a man who makes me brittle with his smolder and he takes me apart with a single muted kiss.
I hate that I wonder why he stopped, regardless of the idiot with the bad muffler.
Did kissing me disappoint him? Did it scare him? Was it just too flipping much?
揝orry if I struck a nerve,?Cheryl says sheepishly. 揂nna told me she抯 just using it to tease Burns since he hates it so much. Or maybe she hopes you抣l both just do it to shut her up.?
I roll my eyes. I like Anna well enough, but what the hell? Is this multibillion-dollar company junior high school again?