Page 52 of The Reaper's Vice

He whips around, and my heart stops as I take in the cut features of Orion Adair. A strand of wavy black hair falls over his forehead, and it takes every ounce of control not to reach out and brush it back.

I bet his hair is soft. Soft and silky and?—

“Brandy. What a pleasant surprise.” The smile he gives me reduces me to a drooling puddle, and for a moment it’s all I can do not to let my jaw hang open in awe.

It should definitely be illegal to be this hot…

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” My eyes are stuck on his lips—puffy and red, like he’s been biting them recently.Maybe a girlfriend?The thought causes my stomach to flip strangely, and I quickly shake it away.

Orion laughs like I told the joke of the year, and I find myself smiling back, caught up in the intoxicating sound of it. His aura swirls in magnificent dark hues, the sheer beauty of it catching me off guard once more.

“How did everything go last night? Any monsters under the bed?”

His words—so similar to the one the masked man uttered last night—has my heart thumping in my ears. But that’s ridiculous. “No problems.” I drop my eyes as I utter the lie. “I slept like a baby.”

“Wonderful.” He says the word with such gusto, but that smile of his doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m so glad to hear it, Brandy.”

I nod, a strange guilt clenching my chest as he uses that fake name I gave him so long ago. The man woke out of a dead sleep to come and look around my apartment just because I was worried about a noise. Surely, he’s earned enough trust for me to give him my real name.

I clear my throat, heat creeping up my neck as I force myself to look him in the eyes. “I guess I should probably tell you now… my real name’s not Brandy.”

“What?”He gasps dramatically. “No.”

I roll my eyes, though I can’t deny the smile tugging at my mouth. “Shocking, I know. It's just… I’m wary of strangers.”

“As you should be.”

We stare at each other for several seconds that seem to stretch into hours, but when he blinks, the spell is broken. “Well, I should be going…” Still, he doesn’t move from the spot.

“Shouldn’t you…?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” His pupils blow as he stares deep into my eyes. “Call me if you run into trouble, okay?”

“It’s a promise.” I stick out my pinky for some godforsaken reason. We both stare at the gesture with wide eyes as I wait for the ground to swallow me whole. But then, he does the strangest thing—he hooks his calloused finger with mine.

“Pinky promise,” he says, leaning in and kissing his thumb. His eyes are bright and expectant, holding a dare. With a huff, I duplicate the motion, and he takes the opportunity to place a kiss square between my brows.

I reel back with a horrified expression, and he throws his head back in a laugh. “Sorry. I just always wanted to do that.”

“What?”

“Kiss your forehead.” His face breaks into a smirk. “You have a very kissable one.”

I frown. “You’re really weird—has anyone told you that?”

“More so than people who haven’t.” He smiles like that’s agoodthing. “At least I’m memorable.”

Well… I have to give him that.“You’re right. I’m sure I’ll be seeing this interaction in my nightmares tonight and thereafter. Good day,” I say, trying and failing to walk away from him. He grips my arm, wheeling me back to face him, our lips coming within an inch of the others.

“We weren’t done.”

“Really? I was.” I smirk cruelly, ripping my arm from his grip. “Better places to be and waste my time.”

“You’re a cruel creature,Seraphina.”

I stop mid-step, realizing with horror that I never actually got around to telling him my real name. “Wh–what did you say?”

“You heard me, little dove.”

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