Page 40 of Soulless Deeds

“Sir? The delivery. It?—”

“—I don’t care. Put the package inside. You know the code.” Without a reply, I hung up. What else had my lovely new resident got her sticky fucking fingers on?

I logged into online banking to check the damage, and the corner of my eye gave an involuntary spasm.Surely, there is something wrong with my eyesight?

Nope. Fifty-two thousand dollars and counting, all spent on various luxurious brands. The bitch was lucky I was rich. Her spending habits would have pushed any other commoner into the deficit. Spencer said she didn’tneedme, but she was more than happy to spend my fucking money.

Slamming the safe shut, I launched for the exit, grabbing my keys on the way.Time to drag my Ghost home so I can slap that ass raw.

I came up short when I entered the lounge area, confronted with an alternate reality. Countless flower arrangements dominated the space.Everythingwas covered, from the floor to the furniture. It was absolutely crazy.

I spotted Ralph step inside the open elevator. Chasing after him, I pressed a solid hand to the closing doors, preventing his escape.

“You’ve got the wrong apartment?—”

He cut me off by extending a crisp white envelope, the paper expensive and smooth between my fingers.

“Miss Spencer lives here?”

My eyes drilled over her printed name, the letters turning fuzzy from the added concentration it took to not rip the paper to shreds.

“Sir?”

I nodded, the action foreign, like my neck was going to snap off from the tight motion. Distantly, I processed the elevator ding, alerting me to its descent and my sudden isolation.

As if moving on their own, my frozen digits opened the accompanying note.

To the most beautiful woman in the wo?—

I didn’t get any further since my vision filtered over with red-hot fury, the transition correlating with the overpowering stench of fragrant flowers and the deafening growl that echoed in my ears.

Before my brain could even register my actions, I’d ignited the fireplace, feeding the ravenous flames with overflowing flowers and vegetation.

Soon, blessed smoke was all I could smell, accompanied by Spencer’s love note andgiftburnt to ashes at my feet.

SPENCER

After a lovely dinner with Remi and an immeasurable amount of time placating my sisters, I returned to Echo’s apartment. It had been a successful afternoon, my new wardrobe due to arrive the next day.

Upon entering the foyer of Echo’s sub-penthouse, I stilled. Something was off, and I had one good guess what it was.

The apartment was spotless—pristine, even—but there was a delicate scent that lingered in the air. Echo sat in a stylish armchair, legs crossed, book in hand, fireplace roaring beforehim. He wore a white dress shirt and checkered grey pants, accompanied by gleaming formal shoes.

On anyone else, it would have looked tacky—on him, it was sophisticated and fucking irresistible. My teeth sank into my bottom lip to prevent myself from drooling.

Echo ignored me as I took one step forward, then another. I was stuck in a rip, the gravitational force so strong, I couldn’t stop my desire to venture further into his uncharted, treacherous domain.

I halted before him, pushing my hands into the pockets of his jeans I still wore. “Ralph mentioned I got a delivery today. Do you have it?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the “p”, all nonchalant. He still hadn’t looked up from his book, flipping another page.

A slow smile elongated from my lips. “That’s unfortunate. I was looking forward to opening my package,” I said, peeling a single stray flower petal from the bottom of his designer shoe.

Echo’s gaze leisurely dragged up my body, lids narrowing on the fragment between my fingers. Rapid-fast, he snatched the petal and chucked it in the fire, the vibrant petal disintegrating in seconds.

Echo smothered a fake cough behind his fist, flipping another page of his book. “I’m allergic,” he said as explanation, shutting down any conversation in the span of two words.

I tried to fight my wide, toothy grin from gleaming…and failed. Echo could deny it to himself all he wanted, but anyone could tell he wasn’t reading a damn thing. All his focus was onme, and my insides lit up from the confirmation.

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