Something nice and normal like a date didn’t feel like Stray’s style. He was a womanizer. A crime lord. The man who held a knife to my throat and a gun to my head. What the hell would we do on a date?
“I’m not asking. It’s happening. Either you can meet me outside your building at seven, or I’ll come upstairs and get you myself. Your choice. See you then, strawberry.” He had the audacity to kiss me then. A firm exploration of my mouth right there in front of anyone who passed.
The scent of him brought me right back to last night. To him on top of me, pinning me down beneath him. A rush of heat stole through me. Watching him walk away tore me to pieces.
Two different versions of me existed now. The one from before Stray and the person I’d become since he entered my world. Somewhere in between was the part of me that I hid from both of us.
I hurried down the hallway. I needed to find Noah now. I feared that it was already too late.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
STRAY
What the hell was I thinking? I stared in the mirror at my reflection, running a hand through my hair. It was still slightly damp from the shower. Maybe this was all a huge mistake.
Taking Codie on a date had been a stupid idea. I woke up thinking about her. About how she looked tied up, unable to bitch at me or hurl insults my way. She’d had no choice but to be utterly at my mercy, and I loved every fucking second. Too much.
My obsession with her was starting to take over my life. Taking her on a date was normal. Mundane and possibly even boring. It was the only thing I could think of to prove to myself that I had no real feelings for her. That anything I felt was tied to this dangerous game we’d been playing. Without the freaky sex, would I even feel anything for her at all?
She and I had never really talked to one another. Nothing more than banter and insults. Maybe a chance to get to know each other would help us both walk away from this with a clean conscience. To cut ties without regret. She kept saying that she wanted nothing more to do with me. I didn’t believe her. For some reason, she was holding back. Trying to keep me at a distance.
Perhaps it was better that way for both of us. That’s what I intended to discover tonight. If all we had between us was hot sex and a dangerous game, tonight would make that abundantly clear.
I slipped my leather jacket on over the black T-shirt I wore. Stuffing my phone into the pocket of my blue jeans, I headed for the door. Unfortunately, I had to pass Auryn on my way out of the house. He hung out in the living room near the front entry, sprawled on the couch, stuffing his face with nacho chips.
“Where are you going?” He eyed me suspiciously, like I was hiding something.
“I’m going out with Codie. I probably won’t be too late.” I pulled open the door, ignoring the whip cracking sounds he made as I exited. One day that asshole would fall in love, and I would be right there to throw it in his smug face.
Those words echoed in my head as I walked down the front step toward my car. Fall in love. Wait a minute. Was I in love with Codie? Was that even possible? She sure hadn’t made it easy to get close to her. And yet, I couldn’t keep myself away.
Would I even know what love felt like? I’d never been in love before. I bounced from girl to girl, never dating seriously. How would I possibly know?
Shoving that thought aside, I got into my car and turned the music up loud. One of the many metal bands on my playlist blasted from the speakers. I only turned it down when I reached Codie’s street and pulled to a stop in front of her building.
I fully expected her to ghost me. To leave me sitting there like a jackass while she lounged around upstairs in her apartment. She surprised me by stepping out of the lobby.
Wearing a black skirt that hung shorter on one side and longer on the other with a pale blue top and knee-high boots, she was both stylish and sexy as hell. Her long black hair cascadedover her shoulders in curls, begging me to sink my hands into it and pull hard.
Codie jerked open the passenger door, tossing her black bag in first. She slid onto the seat, pulling her hair over one shoulder as she buckled the seatbelt into place. “I’m here. Happy?”
“Surprised mostly,” I said, hiding my smile. “Where do you want to go to eat? Do you have any favorite restaurants?”
She gave me that stare again. The one she’d given me when I pulled her aside and told her we were going on a date. Like she didn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.
“I don’t know. There’s a little diner just off Willow Drive that has pretty good food. It’s not usually too busy. I don’t think a lot of people know about it.” She gave me a brief once over. “How do I know you’re not going to pull a weapon on me and force me to suck you off or something?”
I chuckled, pulling the car away from the curb. “You don’t. Although that’s not a bad idea. I wouldn’t say no to some road head.”
She made a noise of disgust, even though a small smile tugged at her lips. “You’re an animal, you know that?”
“I’ve been called worse. Probably by you, actually.” I poked her in the side, succeeding in making her laugh
“It’s all true,” she said, her laughter fading as she stared out the side window. Something shifted in her energy. Something fell off more than usual.
I noticed that the shirt she wore had long sleeves. To hide the marks the rope had left on her wrists. I should’ve felt bad about that. Instead, I only felt satisfied. I wanted Codie to always bear marks that proved she was mine. That told the world she belonged to me.
She was right about the diner. It turned out to be a cute little restaurant nestled away on a side street away from thebusier locations. Even though the menu had typical diner food, everything was delicious. We shared a plate of fries and gravy before ordering a burger for me and a personal sized pizza for Codie. Never in my life had I enjoyed a milkshake as good as the one the waitress sat in front of me.
