Page 311 of Flirting with Darkness

And she was going to besomad if she ever found out he’d told the entire Corp to stay away from her.

He yanked his shirt off and threw it into the hamper a bit more aggressively than was strictly necessary.

Dex didn’t know how to deal with this.

He had no problem keeping things as just friends between them. But if anyone else fucking touched her, he’d kill them.

Gripping the counter, he took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool.

Looking up, he studied his Korean-like features in the mirror, trying to see what she saw.

He took after his mother in looks, but the size was all his dad. Not for the first time, he wondered if his mom was still alive.

Dex turned on the shower and considered what the fuck he was going to do about Nova.

Why didn’t she want him as more than a friend when she was obviously attracted to him?

She’d said it out loud or he would just chalk it up to harmless flirtation. The way she’d leaned back against him on the rooftop made his brain short-circuit every time he thought about it.

Turning the water as hot as it would go, he let the bathroom fill with steam as he stripped.

Did she think he was a player?

Who the fuck was he kidding? Dex had no interest in anyone really. Most of the time, he was checked out until his bloodlust rose to the surface. Every once in a while, he’d go to another city to find someone to fuck, but that was it.

Dex was the farthest thing from a player no matter how much he liked to mess with people. George probably thought he was losing his mind since Dex gave zero fucks about anyone ever and now here he was telling everyone a witch was off limits out of nowhere.

Letting the water scald his skin, Dex tried not to think about how she’d looked sleeping on his chest.

Nova felt safe with him.

He quickly washed and got out, grabbing a towel on his way to the closet. It was only mid-afternoon and now he had to deal with whatever this new problem was.

Ever since the other syndicate had arrived in Seattle, things had been going sideways.

Dex yanked on his sweatpants and scrubbed his hair with the towel. What had they been looking for?

A scream pierced the apartment like a knife and his heart literally stopped before he used every bit of speed he possessed to find her.

It was unnaturally pitch black in the living room. He couldn’t even see her outline. Dex slammed into the table and stumbled before reaching the couch.

She wasn’t there anymore.

What thefuckwas going on?

The growl that came out of his throat warned him he was right on the edge of losing control. His teeth and shoulders ached and Dex felt the urge to rip apart everything and everyone.

“Dex?”

He whipped around and grabbed her, backing up until they were against the wall. Putting his body between her and the rest of the loft, he cocked his head and listened. There were no other heartbeats except the ones in the other apartments.

A quick scan of the building with his magic and he found nothing out of the ordinary.

“What happened?” he demanded, keeping a hand on her shoulder so he didn’t lose track of her in the dark with those fucking charms on. “I can’t see a fucking thing.”

He couldn’tsee.

“I—I had a nightmare,” she whispered, voice shaky.

---