Page 148 of The Villain

He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “Baby?”

“Yes?”

“I think we need some new bans.”

Damn. I should have kept my mouth shut.

***

His new phone is so high tech it baffles me. What could he possibly need it all for? When we get home, he gets his laptop out and angrily hacks into the four asshole’s devices to wipe any memory of him away.

They still owe though.

I refuse to see what he’s deleting. Those memories are not mine and the thought of sharing this with them nauseates me.

Instead, I watch anime and munch popcorn while he works.

An hour later he freezes up and I glance over.

He’s been working steadily and so focused I might as well not be here. It’s interesting to watch. I’ve snuck at least fifty pictures of him.

“What’s wrong?”

He found something that he certainly doesn’t like.

He shifts until his back is against the armrest of his side of the couch and taps the screen of his phone, his glare getting darker as he goes.

“Shade. Show me and I’ll fix it,” I tell him in a gritty tone.

His eyes slowly lift to see me and I stare at the monster looking back.

“All my texts came in.”

The dark, hungry tone baffles me. Is he mad or not?

When my head tilts curiously his lips twist up into a grin that raises the hair on the back of my neck. I blink in surprise as my heart slams against my chest. The feeling is uncomfortable and new.

I snap a picture of it to study later. For now, I want to know what it means.

“You started a game that I didn’t know about.”

I try to think back but nothing substantial comes to mind.

“Who has your pajamas, baby?”

The picture Tera took of me handing my shorts to the landlord. He just found it. My head reels with pleasure over this reaction. It’s so much better in reality than my imagination. My feral grin comes out as I lick my lips.

“Find out.”

“I plan to. And I don’t accept bans.”

“You’re so perfect.”

I take another picture.

Epilogue

Amanda

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