I tap on the divider twice, signaling to Francis, our driver, that we are good to go.
I’m not driving us anywhere specific. Just around in various circles until we decide. If we even do. My focus right now is on Stevie. Well, Stevie and myself.
Heat floods my dick in anticipation.
The car takes off, and I reach into the nearby fridge compartment to pull out some bottled water and pass one to her before taking a sip myself.
The club was hot as balls.
“Thanks.” She downs the bottle in what feels like five seconds, and I just stare at her, blinking. “Guess I was a little thirsty.” She laughs, and it is such a sweet sound. I wish I could take her home, hold her in my arms, wake up to her in the morning. But I can’t jeopardize The System. As connected to her as I feel, I won’t put us in danger because of that.
I lean over her and pull out one of the ties we keep stashed in the car for emergency events. This car is stocked with everything, honestly. Sydney foresees every possible scenario, every way we could possibly fuck something up, and plans for it—or she tries to. We each have three changes of clothes in the trunk, protein bars up front, a shaving kit, everything.
Stevie eyes the black tie, brow raised.
“Still trust me?” My voice comes out deep and raspy as I try to keep my desperation at bay.
She smiles. “Enough to see where this goes.”
“Turn around for me.” It’s a small command, nothing too strong.
Her leg slips off mine as she spins so her back faces me. My jaw clenches at the loss of her touch, but I swallow it down as I move to tie the tie around her eyes. It’s not perfect. Not what I would’ve chosen to use if I’d had the time to actually prepare, but it’ll do. She lifts her hair off her smooth neck, giving me better access to tie it. It takes all my restraint not to lean down and taste her.
Once it’s secure, I guide her back around to face me.
“How does that feel?”
“A little tight, but it’s good.”
I hold up one of my hands.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
She snorts, “Um, I don’t know, four?”
I am holding up four fingers…
I can’t tell if we are just always on the same wavelength or if it’s some weird coincidence. I know she can’t see my fingers, so I just brush it off.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I reach up to take off my mask. My fingers fumble a little, nervously twitching. With a deep breath, I pull it off.
My eyes blink a few times, readjusting to the light. It’s dark in the limo, but the LED lights lining the roof bathe it in a slight purple glow. I toss the mask on the seats across from us.
Stevie is a dream in front of me. I catalogue every inch of her, memorizing her lines. Her brown hair is a mess of waves around her face, and the black tie brings focus to her pink, pouty lips. Her skin is still slightly flushed from the club, and her chest rises and falls in pace with my own heartbeat.
“Can I—” she stops, pressing her lips together.
“Can you what?”
“No, nothing. It’s stupid.”
I grab her hand, bringing it to my lips, and she sucks in a breath. “Nothing you could ever say would be stupid.”
She bites her lip, and I want to lean over and suck it into my own.
“Can I touch your face?”
My heart stutters, fear lancing through it.
Normally, my response would be no, but…
I grab her hands and guide them to my cheeks.
The second her hands make contact, she smiles. I let go, and she starts her slow perusal. Her touch is light as her thumbs run over my brows. She pauses when she reaches the scar on my temple, fingertips tracing it while her brows furrow. She rounds my jaw and brings her hands to cup under my ears. I feel her still as her knuckle grazes my piercing. She rolls the stud, and I shiver.
She runs her hands through my hair next, and I lean into her touch, my guard lowering with each passing second.
Fuck. I know what this feeling is. I don’t want to know what this feeling is.
She grips the hair at the base of my neck, tugging on it, and I grin.
“I like it a little rough,” I tease her.
She freezes, and my brain flashes back to the other week. When I said the exact same thing to her as Aleks. Crap. I don’t think I can do this. Not if she doesn’t know who I am. It doesn’t feel right.
God-fucking-dammit.
The car swerves suddenly before righting itself, and we go sliding off the seats onto the floor.
“Francis. The fuck?” I yell.
“Sorry, sir!” he yells back. “A couple of kids ran into the street.”
Stevie’s body shakes with laughter under me. I push off her and help her back onto the seat before sitting next to her. I hold her hands and realize just how clammy mine have become.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do this.”
She sucks in a deep breath before a single, sharp laugh spills out. “Oh my god. I was literally about to say the same thing.”
Relief and rejection mix within me. I’m glad she feels the same way. But I’m also a little offended she doesn’t want to have sex with Blade. It’s a weird feeling. Fucking hell. This shit is getting too confusing. I don’t know if I can keep this up. I just want to be with her. Why does it have to be so hard?
My phone starts pinging from somewhere on the ground. I swear I put the damn thing on ‘do not disturb.’ It’s not even a regular notification tone, either. It’s a full-on siren alert.
“Someone’s looking for you,” Stevie muses.
I flip it over to see a ‘Find My Phone’ alert going off. Unlocking the phone, I see a dozen missed calls and texts from Parker and Jackson asking where I am and where the car is. Needy little shits.
I shoot them both a text letting them know I’m using the car to take Stevie home and that they have to sort their own shit out.
“All good?”
“Yeah. The guys are just heading home and wondering where I was. I let them know I was dropping you off.”
“That would require me telling you where I live, and for all I know you could come murder me in my sleep.”
“I am not abandoning you to some street corner.”
“I never said that,” she smirks. “I’m staying at my friend’s tonight. You can drop me at hers.”
I squeeze her tightly in my arms for a few seconds before loosening my grip. I place a kiss on the side of her head and let out a sigh.
“Alright, sounds good. Let me just get my mask back on.”
I pick up my mask and pause. I give Stevie one last once over, drinking her in before I strap the mask back on, my world turning back to red. I tug my gloves out from where I stashed them in my back pocket earlier and slip them back on. All evidence of Aleksander is hidden.
I reach forward and untie the tie, letting it slip from her face.
She blinks a few times, her honeyed eyes readjusting.
She shimmies to the front of the limo and gives Francis her friend’s address through the divider and then bends down to retrieve her purse from somewhere.
She looks at me with a melancholy smile and places a kiss on my mask.
It’s a kiss that speaks a thousand words, but she just says two.
“Thank you.”