Page 23 of Watch Me Burn
We were butt naked under her covers, the graze of her thighs still tingling my skin. The soft light of daybreak illuminated her features, her parted lips rising slowly with each breath.
For a while, the only thing I stared at was her. I admired her face with my cheek propped on one elbow, magnetized. To be with a woman so amazing, I had to literally pinch myself to confirm this wasn’t a dream.
Too quickly, her alarm rang. A grumble vibrated from her chest while she aimlessly slammed her phone in frustration.
Chuckling, I whispered, “Let me get that for you.” I hovered her body to turn the blaring alarm clock off.
“Thanks,” she groaned, sluggishly opening her eyes to see me staring down at her. Daringly, her lips curled into a smile.
“Now that’s how I like to start my mornings,” she quipped between a quick smooch. I savored every last bit of her touch, reeling for a second kiss before she raised a finger between us. “Nuh-uh. I have work today.”
My smile drooped. “What about Mr. Lautner? We have a meeting with him today.”
Stroking my cheeks, Anna crooned, “Shit. I totally forgot to cancel my meeting for today.”
I forced a gulp down my throat. “Yeah. I can see that.” Crawling to the edge of her bed, I looked up at her bedroom ceiling.
I didn’t blame Anna for a busy job. Public defenders worked hard for little and she was barely scraping by compared to the top dogs. So yeah, of course she needed to work. But she knew about this meeting and its importance. How could she just “forget”?
Anna must’ve sensed there was friction between us and rubbed my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. There is a teen who has a bail hearing today. I really can’t cancel that. And my mom wants to meet in the afternoon. But I’ll message Lautner and ask to reschedule.”
Whatever. I’d solo run a search for more teachers while Mr. Lautner hopefully didn’t fade into nonexistence as we canceled the meeting short notice. Just so Anna could go on to live her life while mine was put on hold because I was labeled a murderer.
Cursing under my breath, I moped to Anna’s living room and sat myself at the dining table.
“Here’s to another day of working by myself,” I mumbled sarcastically.
Chapter 10
Anna
“So, how are things going with . . . I mean, you know,” my mom murmured next to me. Her eyes were covered in cucumbers, while her skin was slathered in some green mask. We both reclined in leather chairs as nail experts bathed our feet in a petal-infused soak, steam soothing our calves from the heat below.
Losing myself in the relaxation, I lied, “Good.” My mother uttered a sound like she was enthused by the fact.
She was in a good mood. It was my time to strike.
A shudder shot within me. Even in the most peaceful of atmospheres, nothing could work up my nerves enough to confront my mother on the Ethan situation.
“Can someone get us mimosas?” my mother asked. “This place pampers us like we’re goddesses.”
I chuckled like her request was a joke, but after a few moments, a cold stem was cushioned between my fingers.
I gratefully raised my glass in the air, clinking mine with my mother’s as I took a sip.
“Mmm,” my mother said. “I feel like I can do anything with this in my system.”
“Mom, I need to talk to you about Ethan,” I muttered. Silence washed over our room in the spa. I could hear my mother spring up from her seat.
“What did he do?!” she snarled, already in an accusatory tone. God, was even a pampering at the spa not enough to calm this woman’s jumpiness about him?
Clearing my throat, I corrected, “He hasn’t done anything. That’s pretty much why I think we should leave him be. I mean, that you should leave him be.”
Snorting, my mother scowled, “Is this about the no-contact order? When have I ever agreed to let this man endanger my daughter?”
I waved away one of the workers’ efforts to blind my vision with cucumbers. “Come on, Mom, look at all of this. I’m enjoying myself, you’re enjoying yourself! Do we really need to go through the same back-and-forth on this topic again? What will most likely happen is that nothing will come of this investigation and then he and I will part ways. Just let us try for a few weeks, at least. I promise if don’t find the real killer, I will drop all this and won’t ever see him again.”
