It’s too soon. I tossed a log on the fire and considered adding another.
I could still smell the new paint. Then again, I’d been the one who’d been doing the painting. The windows had been left open for days with the fans going nonstop. I couldn’t leave everything open anymore, not if I wanted the inside warm enough when Diane arrived.
It’s too soon. You should’ve waited.
Inspecting the new couch, new chairs, new rug, and freshly painted walls with no pictures or art, I cursed under my breath. What the hell was I doing? Playing house at my age? What the fuck was wrong with me?
Surging to my feet, I pulled out my phone to check the time. She’d be here any minute.
It was too late for second guessing now. Diane was on her way over and this was either going to freak her out and she’d run off, or she’d . . . How the fuck do I know?
That woman was many things, but she was not predictable. Our date, for instance, had ceased being predictable the moment she’d arrived with brown eyes and red hair. I hadn’t told her to go into full-on spy mode. That was all her, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t loved it.
Just like I’d loved all her teasing, how smart and quick she was, and how each answer to my questions rang true, of plain honesty and a low tolerance for bullshit. The woman was straightforward and surprising. I trusted her and she kept me on my toes. How about that for a combo?
The sound of the gate opening made me grit my teeth. I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t get nervous. I was . . . something—but I wasn’t nervous!
Scratching my beard, I marched to the door and opened it, stepping out of the house I’d been fixing up since that night I’d crashed my bike outside Diane’s place and she’d suggested we go on a date.
Leaving things to chance wasn’t in my nature. She’d wanted a date, that’s all she’d asked for, and that was fine. I wasn’t going to pressure her. She could take me or leave me, fine. But I would be prepared if she took me.
House. Privacy. And new paint. If she didn’t want anything I offered, so be it.
Her car pulled around and I caught myself frowning at the BMW. It was far too recognizable. When we did this again, she’d need to drive something different.
“Now are you going to tell me whose house this is?” she asked as soon as I’d opened her door.
I offered my hand. She took it. She stood. Her lips were pressed together like she was fighting a smile. I didn’t fight mine.
“If you want information, you’ll have to give me something in return.” I held her hand fast in mine, closing the door as she stepped closer.
Diane swung our hands back and forth and tilted her head to the side as though to get a better look at me. The visible spark of defiance behind her eyes made me glad I’d taken the time last week to fix the outside lights. I really loved that look.
The front of the house where we stood was dark as dusk, the sun low enough in the sky to stretch the house’s shadow over us. We’d get a nice show on the back deck in about two hours. If she stays.
“You want something in return?” Her eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
“A kiss would be a good start.”
Her grin broke free, but she lifted a disapproving eyebrow. “Are you going to extort kisses from me every time I ask a question?”
I held still except for my grin. “Well?”
“Well what?” Her eyes moved between mine.
“That was a question.” Not releasing her fingers, I slid her hand and mine around her back and brought her body closer. “You want an answer, you know what you have to do.”
Her mouth fell open and she gaped at me for a full second before busting out laughing. Diane then pressed her forehead against my chest and we laughed together.
“You are a bad man,” she said to my shirt, still hiding her face.
I fit her jaw in my palm and gently tipped her head back so I could take what I wanted, and also so I could see her face before I did.
“I know,” I whispered, admiring the shape of her eyes, the little point at her chin. I then lowered my mouth to hers.
At the first press of her lips, I slid my hand at her jaw into her hair, angling her head further back. I wanted inside. That kiss on the cheek she’d given me after our date had been plenty sweet, but it had also messed with my head. Did she really have that much self-control? Or were things between us more one-sided than I thought?
Her lips parted on a sigh, and I licked at the entrance, teasing her. She moaned, her arms coming up and around my neck, holding me fiercely as her tongue searched for mine.
Good. I had my answer.
Satisfied and smiling, I lifted my head. Her lashes fluttered open, her eyes dazed and dreamy.
“Yes,” I said, still hungry for her, but assured I’d be kissing my fill before the night was over.
Her eyebrows pulled together like she was confused, and she blinked. “Yes what?”
“Yes, I am going to extort kisses from you every time you ask me something.”
Diane’s confused frown slowly morphed into a smile that couldn’t quite decide whether to be pleased or outraged. “Is that so?”
“It is.” I bent again to claim my prize, because she’d asked another question.
“Of course I love it. I love that we have a place to go, to meet, but—” Diane turned and pressed her mouth to mine, clearly payment for whatever she was about to ask. “Why can’t we just meet at my house? You could hide your bike. My place is set so far back from the road, no one would see you coming or going.”
We stood in the freshly remodeled kitchen. The cabinets weren’t new—I’d only had time to refresh the cabinet and drawer faces with a paint sprayer—but almost everything else was new, pulled from other properties and businesses that fronted for the Wraiths.
Once I’d brought her inside and taken her coat, she’d kicked off her shoes without being asked and toured the house with me. Only one of the four bedrooms was furnished, and the second bathroom still needed some TLC, but the master had a big, four-poster queen bed. If or when the time came, I didn’t want to sleep in a king bed with her; it’d be like sleeping alone and that wasn’t the point at all.
We needed towels for the bath, and—eventually—I hoped she’d bring an overnight bag, but most of the other essentials were in place.
“I already have the subscription services set up on my TV.” She gestured to the big screen television hung on the wall in the family room and the Blu-ray / DVD player beneath it set on a console. “Then we won’t have to re-buy all the movies I want to show you. We can rent them through a streaming service if I don’t already own them on Amazon. Or I guess I could login to my accounts from here. Does this place have internet?”
“I don’t mind buying them. I won’t be able to relax at your house.” I handed her a glass of wine. “No one knows about this place but me. No one will come looking for either of us here.”
She frowned in question, and I decided to give her a freebie answer.
Leaning a hand on the white quartz kitchen counter behind her, I kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose. “Your house is too close to the Dragon, gorgeous. If I’m spotted, it’d be easy for them to follow me to your place, watch me go inside, wait for me to come out. I have people who give me notice if I’m being asked for, if someone’s looking for me. We’re a good forty-five minutes from the compound here, which gives us a head start if we need to get out of town.”