I bend down so I’m more on her level and place a hand on her shoulder. I try to keep my voice calm in light of the situation.
“You still don’t talk to people through the door. You ignore it and come get me. Okay?”
She bites her lip worriedly and nods. “Okay.”
I pull her forward by her shoulder and kiss her forehead. Standing back up, I look through the peephole, then just barely refrain from squeaking in surprise. He’s the last person I expected to see on the other side of the door.
I take a minute to pull in a deep breath, then make sure the towel is securely tucked around me before unlatching the dead bolt and pulling the door open.
The smile he gives me has my heart hiccoughing in my chest.
“What are you doing here, Nathan?”
ChapterEleven
Nathan
I STALK ACROSS MY LIVING ROOM, my eyes trained on my phone and Emberleigh’s last message. I delete the message I was going to send, type something else, only to delete that one too. Turning on my heel, I pace to the other side of the room. When I pass by the window, I lift my head and look across to her apartment and scowl at the closed curtains. Five minutes ago, she pulled them closed, and I didn’t like it. I hated that she closed herself off from me, even though I know this happens every Thursday. I just didn’t know why.
I stop and glare back down at my phone.
Emberleigh: With my sister. We do a movie night every Thursday. Tonight, we’re going scary.
Clenching my jaw, I fight with myself. She’s with her sister. I should leave her alone. I’m getting too close. I’ve only been with her a few times, and I’m already looking forward to the next, wishing it were now instead of two days from now. I should back away and just go back to the way things were; me watching her unawares on Tuesdays through my binoculars.
Remembering her sweet body against mine, how good she felt, the sighs of pleasure coming from her lips, the way she sounds when she reaches her peak, her intoxicating smell…. My dick hardens. There’s no fucking way I can go back to just watching from afar.
It’s turned to more than that though. I want to fuck her body, but I also want to know her mind. I want to know what she does for a living. I want to know why she’s not home most of the time. Where she goes, and who she’s with. I want to know about her family. If she’s close with them and if she has any other siblings. I want to know when her birthday is and what all her favorite things are. I’ve never experienced this curiosity for a woman before. I’m not sure I like it. It complicates things.
Grumbling to myself, I make a decision. Walking to my pantry, I pull out a paper bag, grab several items from the shelves, and throw them inside. Swiping my keys from the counter, I lock the door behind me, and being the impatient bastard that I am, I take the stairs instead of waiting on the elevator.
I curse under my breath the whole way over to Emberleigh’s apartment. This is a huge fucking mistake, but it still doesn’t stop me from going. I want to see her, and damn if I can wait two more days. It’s her fault anyway. She’s the one who pulled the curtains closed. Even if she was going to stay fully clothed and not show me her stellar body, I still wanted to see her, in any capacity I could.
I take her stairs too, and before I know it, I’m at her door. I stare at it for several seconds, debating on whether or not I really want to do this. This isn’t just some random fuck call. Her sister is in there. Her kid sister. They’re watching movies. There will be no sex against the wall or fucking on her couch. This is more personal than that. I’m inserting myself into her private life, and by doing so, inviting her into mine.
Hell, I don’t even know if she’ll let me inside.
The bag crinkles in my arms when I switch it to the other. I look down at the contents inside and randomly wonder why I even had popcorn in my pantry. Probably from one of the many times my friends have come over and demanded a movie night.
Fucking grow a pair and knock, you asshole, my inner mind growls at me.
I straighten my back, huff out a breath, and knock. Several seconds pass before I hear light footsteps on the other side, then a small, timid voice. “Hello?”
It takes me a moment to realize that this can’t be Emberleigh and that it has to be her sister. I only barely got a glimpse of her the other day when Emberleigh was on video chat with her, but from what I did see, she’s young. Really young. Too young to be talking to a stranger through the door.
Where in the hell is Emberleigh?
I clear my throat. “Is Emberleigh there?” I ask, hoping like hell this small person doesn’t open the door.
“Umm…,” she says so quietly I barely hear her.
I’m just about to pull my phone from my pocket and call Emberleigh, when I hear her voice on the other side of the door. I smirk when I hear her reprimanding her sister for talking to me. A moment later, the dead bolt unlocks, the door swings open, and… fucking hell….
“What are you doing here, Nathan?”
I clench my jaw and silently curse my dick for picking a really bad time to stand at attention. The woman is beautiful, I already know that, but to stand here in nothing but a towel when I know just what she’s barely hiding, really tempts my control. The only thing holding me back from catching the water drops cascading down the valley of her breasts with my mouth is the small figure standing behind Emberleigh.
My dick wilts to a quick death. I look at the little girl, smile, then bring my eyes back to Emberleigh. Her brows are raised in question.