Page 95 of Liar's Point

“Basketball?”

“Whatever you want.”

She closed her eyes, and a feeling of warm contentment washed over her. The kiss was over. The weird, wonderful kiss that had left her mind swirling. Her pulse was calming now, and the blood in her veins seemed to be turning thick and sticky, like maple syrup.

She turned her head on the pillow, facing him without opening her eyes. The glow of the TV flickered, and a low sound drifted over her. Her head was spinning, spinning...

“Emmet,” she murmured.

His big hand closed around hers like a hug.

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Emmet woke up on alert. Something was off. He blinked into the gloom and saw a pair of eyes staring down at him.

“Shit!” he croaked, bolted upright.

The cat hissed from the nightstand.

Beside him in the bed, Nicole stirred. She was on her back, a blanket draped over her, oblivious to the warmth of the overheated room.

Emmet sat forward and raked his hand through his hair. Gray bands of light seeped through the mini-blinds. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and checked the time. It was 6:52. He’d planned to leave after giving Nicole her four a.m. pill, but instead he’d drifted off again.

Shit.

He had to get home.

And shower and check his messages and get to work. The empty hole in his stomach reminded him that he’d skipped dinner last night, so he had to eat something, too.

Emmet got up, eyeing the floor to make sure he didn’t trip over the cat. Nicole’s body was a shapeless lump beneath the blanket, but it looked like she’d made it through the night with her boot propped on the pillow, so that was good.

He stepped closer to the bed and gazed down at her in the dimness. She was out cold. Gone was the fire in her eyes and the stubborn set of her jaw. She looked... soft. He stared down at her, drinking in the sight.

Thwack thwack thwack.

Across the room, the cat pawed at the mini-blinds.

“Damn it, Lucifer.” Emmet grabbed his boots off the floor, then stepped to the window. “Out. Let’s go.” He corralled the cat out the door, and it raced into the kitchen, probably eager for breakfast.

Emmet stopped to adjust the thermostat, then made his way down the dim hallway, his mind filling with all the shit he’d planned to do last night before he’d ended up here.

In Nicole’s apartment.

In Nicole’s bed.

He sank onto the sofa and dropped his boots on the floor.

Fuck.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and tried to think about work. But all he could think of was Nicole’s smooth skin and the sound she’d made when he’d kissed her nipple.

A noise at the door had him glancing up. Shit. Did David have a key? Emmet hadn’t even thought of it.

The door swung open, and Nicole’s sister stepped inside. She turned and switched on the light.

“Hey, Kate.”

---