Page 57 of Burn

Don’t worry, I’m not falling for him too.

Mostly because when I look at him, I don’t get unicorn tickles in my belly like I did the night I met Caleb.

And also, Scarlet’s in love with Shade, and I’mnotabout to get in the middle of that.

Shade sighs heavily and sits down on the floor next to me and bumps my knee with his hand. “Happy New Year.”

I laugh. “Not exactly how I thought I’d be spending it but yeah, happy New Year, Mr. Sawyer.”

The corners of his mouth twist into a barely-there smile. “It’s Shade, Mila. Mr. Sawyer’s my dad.”

He helps me up, and I stand at the door. “Do you need anything else?”

A shoulder to cry on?

An intervention?

A maid to sleep with?

I’m ready to hand over anything just to make him happy again.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you for those.” He motions to the cupcakes over his shoulder, the muscles in his body flexing again, and everywhere I look I see hard lines and tattoos. Scarlet is going to be very jealous of my eyes when I tell her. Not that she doesn’t know what his body looks like. I bet you she’s hooked up a hidden camera inside this room somewhere.

He reaches into his back pocket and hands me a wad of money. I don’t bother looking at it and stuff it in my makeshift pockets, aka, my tits.

“Have a good night, Shade.”

He still doesn’t smile, but nods.

In the elevator, I pull out the cash. He gave me four hundred dollars for getting him cupcakes he didn’t even look like he had any intention of eating. I’m not sure what to make of that whole situation when I’m walking back to my office. Scarlet’s waiting outside of it, purse in hand having just got off her shift for the night.

“What’s the matter, love? You look kind of awful.”

“Thanks.” I open the door to my office and motion her inside. “I never got to call 911 tonight. I was up in Shade’s room, and it was just weird.”

Her entire body goes rigid. “I swear to fuckin’ God, Mila, if you slept with him, I will cut your head off and set you on fire.”

Does she think I’m a vampire and she has to burn the pieces? But there’s an idea. Not a good one because I would more than likely die before Caleb arrived with my head cut off. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”

Scarlet gives me a pretty smile, tossing her arm around my shoulder as we walk into my office. “I’ll give you a New Year’s kiss. Might even give you tongue if you play your cards right, babe.”

“Though I appreciate the offer, I’ll pass.” I motion to the cupcakes. “I got us some cupcakes to wallow in our misery of being alone on New Year’s Eve.”

Her eyes light up. “Are those red velvet infused tequila cupcakes?” She’s remembering my twenty-first birthday.

“I think they’re just regular red velvet.” Opening the box, I carefully take one of them and then slide it over to her as we sit on my couch that faces the city, hundreds of sparks of light blanketing the city as people set off firecrackers to celebrate the New Year. “I had to call in a favor for Shade, and Trevor gave me these as a perk.”

Scar raises an eyebrow. “You mean an ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours’ type of gift?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t show him.”

“I can’t believe how men around this city of drooling over your perfectly tan ass.”

“Sadly, not the one I wanted tonight.”

Taking a large bite of her cupcake, she stares out at the city. “How about we go sit outside his apartment for the rest of the night and see if he comes home?”

I finish my cupcake and then lounge back against the couch. “As appealing as that sounds, I think I’ll save my remaining dignity.”

---