Page 22 of Deadline for Love

He seemed taken aback by my request but smiled warmly and nodded.

The journey home to my house had been pleasantly quiet, but many thoughts circled in my head. I had no idea how I should feel, and I had no idea how to deal with the whole thing. Mr. Morgan was right; I was thinking things through too quickly, and perhaps I had a secret admirer, but why did the poems fit so well with the corpses? The strands lying on my hood were also as described in the rhymes and looked identical to the bodies—it couldn’t be a coincidence.

I felt something cool pressing against my lip, stopping me from gnawing on it.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you keep biting it that hard.”

Nathan leaned close and brushed his thumb against my bottom lip to stop me from the habit I had of chewing when I wasthinking. I noticed a slight metallic taste when I let go of my lip. I didn’t realize I had been biting so hard.

“You’re bleeding,” he mumbled, then opened his glove compartment, where he had a box of tissues and gently wiped the blood away.

“Thank you.” Holding the tissue to my lip, I grabbed my bag to get out of the car.

Nathan just followed me quietly into the apartment. Again, we had to take the stairs today as the elevator was still broken.

It was the first time I’d let a man I didn’t know into my flat since my last relationship.

I invited him to make himself comfortable in my living room and then fetched a drink before plopping beside him on the sofa.

“You have vibrant taste,” he observed, pointing to the diverse palette of colors decorating the room.

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. “I love aesthetic decorations and colors.”

“I can tell.” He leaned back, and the glass rested on his lap. With his other hand, he ran a hand through his beautiful hair, which looked silky smooth in the light, and glanced at me from the side. “It suits you.”

After his comment, I played with my fingers and watched him for a long time. He looked tired, with dark circles shadowing his handsome face.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

He raised his hand and quickly waved it off. “No need to apologize; if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn't be.”

Then he put the glass on the table and turned to face me, our knees touching in the process. The contact made me feel warm, but his gaze was what I noticed most. He looked at me with a yearning that simply left me speechless.

“I’m not a man who backs down from a challenge.”

With a smooth motion, he took my hand. “So, I’ll say it again, I’m attracted to you, and I’m glad you called me and even happier that you’re willing to let me be here when you need someone.”

Nathan had a way with words as he mesmerized me; even the cautionary voice in my head became so quiet it was barely audible.

He intertwined our fingers, and I felt electric shocks running through my body. I tried to convince myself that my feelings were mixed up and that it was just wishful thinking on my part that he was just so perfect—but the touch made me realize that it was reality; even the sparkle in his eyes appeared to be vivid and honest...

“Do you have to work tomorrow?”

I usually had weekends off, but I would be out with Nia to gather information for my next article.

“Unfortunately, I’m not in the office; I have a couple leads to follow. I have to gather information, so I don’t miss the deadline…” I sighed, thinking about my car and realizing I needed to get a rental.

“I’m free tomorrow. I can go with you if you want.”

My brows shot up. “You would do that?”

“It’s not safe right now, and I can protect you. I might work in an office, but I have a martial arts background.”

“That makes it sound like you want to play bodyguard,” I chuckled.

“If nothing else, I'll stay around until they catch your secret admirer.”

I rolled my eyes after saying, “Do you believe Mr. Morgan?”

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