Page 46 of The Reaper's Vice

The line goes dead.

20

SERAPHINA

“RETURN OF THE MONSTER”

I place the phone down,then head to the couch, never taking my eye off my bedroom door. I sit with my back to the front door, barely blinking for the whole ten minutes it takes Orion to get here. When he does, I throw myself from the couch, stumbling in my haste to open the front door.

I wrench it open, having to jut my chin up, up, up to look Orion in the face. His eyes are piercing in the shadows of the hallway, day-old stubble covering his jaw and adding to his attractiveness.

“Brandy. I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece.” His smile is teasing, and I can’t help the flush it brings to my face. I step to the side to let him inside, his signature scent of smoke and cedar invading my nostrils, giving me a head high.

“Thank you so much again. I’m sure it’s nothing, I just needed someone to check it out,” I say, hating the way my voice comes out all husky.Keep it in your pants, Seraphina. He’s here to make sure no one murders you in your sleep, not to shove his parsnip in your fairy garden.

I shake off that last disturbing thought as I follow him into the kitchen, my eyes tracking the corded muscles along his back and arms, at the way they strain against his thin black tee shirt with each slight movement.I wonder what it would be like to run my tongue across his?—

“Did you happen to see the intruder?” He interrupts my indecent thoughts as he gazes around the kitchen.

“Um, no.” I wring my hands together as I look toward my bedroom door. “I just…heardsomething. Like a scraping or tapping noise…” Orion raises a brow, and heat creeps up the back of my neck as I realize how ridiculous it sounds aloud. I can practically hear the question in his mind:you called me over because you heard anoise?Really?

But to my surprise, he doesn’t say anything of the sort. His face fixes into a deadly serious expression, eyes thinning and scanning the room for threats. Without a word, he takes off in the direction of Maggie’s room.

”That’s my roommate’s room!” I whisper-shout, racing after him as he wraps his hand around the handle. “I already checked it, but?—”

The man barges in, doing a swift sweep of the closet and bathroom like I had earlier. Miraculously, Maggie sleeps through all his rude clomping, only occasionally opening her mouth to let loose a mighty snore.

When Orion is satisfied, he hastens from the room, closing the door silently behind him. Still not looking at me, he heads into my room and does the same thing, not even questioningwhythe door had been locked.

He comes out a few minutes later, a deep scowl etched on his face.

“What?”

“When did you say you first heard the noises?”

“Around 2:30.” A blush creeps up my neck at the intensity of his stare. “Why?”

“And have you been… drinking tonight?” he asks, completely ignoring my last question.

What the fuck?“Are you trying to insinuate that I’m making up someone breaking into my house?”

“It wouldn’t be the craziest thing a woman did to get me into a room with her.”

My veins flare with anger, and I have to dig my fingernails into my palms until I draw blood to stop myself from kneeing him where the sun doesn't shine. “I think you should leave now.”

Orion shrugs nonchalantly, though the aura pulsing from his shoulders deepens to a swirling black hue. “Well, I didn’t see any signs of a break-in. If you heard anything, it was likely some old pipes settling.”

“You think?” My voice shakes, but if Orion notices, he doesn’t mention it.

“I’m positive.” The smile spreading across his face is the same one he gave me that night in the bar, and like that night, I’m deeply unsettled by the sight. Something so beautiful shouldn’t be so… sinister.Should it?

Orion makes for the door, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his gray sweats. “Well, call me if anything else happens. Or if you just need someone to keep you company.”

I’m about to tell him I have Maggie for that, but before I get the chance, he slides out of the front door, snapping it closed behind him. I stare at the closed door for several minutes, trying to convince my heart to cease its wild thrumming.

It does me no good.

With a sigh, I trudge into my bedroom, checking once more beneath my bed for good measure. A prickle of anxiety runs the length of my spine as I climb under the covers, and though I try for several minutes to get comfortable, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not alone in this room.

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