I was nearly at the main reception desk when someone called, “Briar!”
I decided right then that being yelled at from across the room was nearly as bad as being startled. All eyes in the busy lobby shot to me, making my skin crawl.
Derrick strolled toward me, holding up my cell. “Missing something?”
Relief flooded me. “Thank goodness.”
“Someone found it on the sidewalk and turned it in. I knew it was yours.” The sadness left his eyes as he gave me a small smile. “The case gave you away.”
Since the elegant, old fashioned script said to Consume a satchel of Richards—a classier way of saying eat a bag of dicks—it would be memorable.
I took it from him, tucking it carefully in its correct spot in my bag. “Thank you.”
His smile dropped, and he launched into lecture-mode. “You got lucky. There’s so much personal information automatically stored on phones now. All your passwords, accounts, location tracking… You’ve got to be more careful.”
Whatever brief hint of relief I’d felt was gone in an instant as all the worst-case scenarios flooded my brain.
Oblivious to my inner panic, Derrick continued. “I was just leaving to drop it off for you at the shelter on my way home.”
I was about to ask why he’d go there when I remembered my earlier lie to get out of dinner with the other group members. If he’d discovered the truth, it would’ve been a clusterfuck of my own making.
That’s it.
No more lies.
I have enough secrets to keep. I don’t need to weave anymore webs to trap myself in.
Swallowing past the lump in my dry throat, I hoped my words sounded lighter than they felt. “I’m glad I saved you the trip.”
That wasn’t a lie. I was so fucking glad I’d come in search of my phone instead of waiting.
“I better get going,” I said, leaving off any mention of returning to the shelter so it wasn’t a mistruth.
“I’m heading out, too.”
Greeeeeeat.
We walked in awkward silence next to each other. As we approached the bus stop, my thoughts drifted to the bodyguard and the mess he’d caused, ruining my day.
Fine, and also how sexy his smile and fascinating honey eyes were. I could spend hours studying them, picking out each different hue of brown.
A hand touched my upper arm, and my defenses shot up.
“Earth to Briar,” Derrick said.
“Sorry, zoned out. Did you say something?”
He smiled. It wasn’t sexy and his sad eyes weren’t fascinating. “I said to have a good night.”
“You, too. And thanks again for keeping my phone safe.”
“No problem. Just remember to be more careful. See you next week.”
He kept going toward the parking lot just as the bus pulled up.
Let’s try this again.
Chapter Three
Followed
Him
DAMAGED.
I’d never seen anyone so damaged or broken. Especially not someone so young. Pretty girls her age should be filled with excitement and hope at what the future held. She should be light—the antithesis of me. But she was… gray.
Like static on a TV, she was technically ON but not in a way that mattered.
Standing in the dirty alley outside her apartment, I watched through her window as she moved around her space. She was oblivious to me watching her, just as she’d been oblivious to me following her.
She disappeared from my view. I didn’t like not knowing the layout of her apartment or that there were places I couldn’t see her.
Avoiding the piles of garbage, I sidestepped to the next window, keeping out of view in case it wasn’t hers. The cheap blinds were uneven, allowing me to see the generic bedroom.
Fuck.
All thoughts of caution flew from my damn mind as she came in and began stripping.
It wasn’t graceful.
It wasn’t seductive.
Like all her movements, the simple act of undressing seemed an exhausting necessity.
But that didn’t stop my dick from growing painfully hard, angling down my thigh as I studied her body with more than the detached interest I usually viewed people with. My gaze moved slowly as I tried to memorize every curve she hid beneath shapeless clothes. Every dip. Every flare.
And every pretty little scar that marred her pretty little body.
Unable to stop myself—not that I tried—I freed my cock and fisted it, gliding my hand up and down the length. I tightened my hold past the point of pain as she bent to grab something from the dresser. My gut clenched with a sick anticipation as she walked toward the window, but she only sat on the bed to scroll through her phone.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so fucking turned on. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d jerked off due to want and not the simple biological function of release.
Even right then, it wasn’t want that fueled me.
It was need.
Need for a beautifully damaged girl.
I had places to be. A strict schedule to keep. I shouldn’t be standing in an alley with my dick in my hand—something I’d never be able to explain if I were caught.
But I didn’t leave. I didn’t tuck myself away.
I sure as fuck didn’t stop.
Not until my come shot out, painting the brick in front of me.
Catching my breath, I put my still semi-hard cock back in my pants as she pulled on pajamas before leaving the room. I followed, returning to the other window as she entered the living room and collapsed on the couch. I stayed longer than I should’ve, greedily watching her do nothing.
When I’d pushed it to the last minute, I grudgingly left.
But I’d be back.
Chapter Four
Normal
Briar
For salsa
MY SISTER AND I were about as different as two people could be. She was everything I wasn’t. Mature. Successful. Functioning.
Normal.
But despite all that, she was the person I loved most in the world. Actually, she was the only person I loved. She never judged me. Never pushed me too far. Never faulted me for not coping productively like she had.
As I sat across the booth from her, us each working through our own bowls of salsa, I was reminded why I loved her so much. She didn’t go all shrink on me with carefully phrased questions. She didn’t study me like I was an animal in the zoo. She didn’t pry. Doing most of the talking, she kept the conversation light and superficial as she told me about the small improvements she’d made to her private practice’s office.
It was perfect.
I need to do this more often. For her.
And maybe a bit for me, too.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was happy, but in that moment, I could almost pretend I was. That was good enough.
Which was why I impulsively blurted, “We should do these Friday night dinners once a month.”
Why did I say that?
Why, why, why?
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but I struggled with plans. They should’ve made me feel in control. After all, I was the one who’d suggested more dinners. Instead, an immense sense of pressure landed on my shoulders. Because if I had to back out, I would let her down.
I could never let people down.
I saw the pleasure she tried to hide. “Sure, that’d be fun.” Likely sensing the panic that’d blossomed in my chest, she left it at that and changed subjects. “Tell me about the rescue. Any new animal besties?”