Page 97 of I Accidentally Summoned A Demon
Nex: I’ll be right there. Is he hanging around? Lock the door.
Kat crept to the window. She looked both ways but didn’t see him anywhere. A strange tingling remained where he’d touched her, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, just noticeable. She wiped her hand on her jeans to erase the sensation.
After surveying the sidewalk for several minutes, she decided he must be gone. She opened her phone and started a message, but hands landed on her shoulders, and she screamed.
“It’s me.” Nex rubbed her back and pressed his lips against her ear. “What’s wrong, Katherine?” He turned her to face him. “What did he do?”
“He . . . I don’t know.” In Nex’s arms, she was able to relax her shoulders. “He said something weird about being safe. It was a feeling, and how he looked at me and . . .” Wanting to tell Nex about the strange way he examined her palm, she worried she’d sound crazy. “He kissed my hand. I don’t think that was appropriate.”
“It most certainly wasn’t.” Nex growled, tightening his arms around her. “You shouldn’t walk home alone anymore. Especially at night.”
“Okay.” Kat chewed her lip. “I’m sorry. It was probably nothing. Maybe he was trying to be flirty. Guys are like that sometimes.”
“Don’t apologize. You shouldn’t ignore your instincts. Humans do that too often, and most often, their instincts are right. Never ignore yours.” He kissed her softly. “You’re much too beautiful, and the world is full of shitty people. If someone makes you uncomfortable, you call me right away.”
“Thank you.” She stretched on her toes to peck his lips. “Thank you for being nice.”
“I’m always nice.”
Kat rolled her eyes and pulled away. “That’s a load of baloney.”
“Baloney?” Nex followed as she started her loop around the store to ensure everything was back where it was supposed to be before closing. “For fuck’s sake, Katherine. Being with you is so back and forth.”
Kat frowned and grabbed a book someone left in the wrong place. “What do you mean?”
“You’re so innocent and proper, but then I take you home, and the moment I get my hands on you, it gets about as far from proper and innocent as it could.” He slipped his hand up the back of her shirt.
Kat pushed him away so he wouldn’t distract her and returned the book to its rightful place, then picked up another in the wrong place. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Come on, then.” He followed while she put the last book away. “Say one curse word.”
“No.” Kat scrunched her face, returned to the counter, and straightened the displays. “I don’t like talking like that.”
“Oh, but you like when I talk like that.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You like it a lot, don’t you? You like when I talk dirty. I bet you’re wet thinking about me sliding into you over and over until you scream.” Nex placed a hot kiss under her ear.
Kat’s breath hitched. There were cameras in the store, and he was too tempting. “You’re not supposed to put the moves on me at work.”
“Put the moves on you?” Nex laughed. “For the love of all that’s unholy, you are too pure for me, Katherine.” He released her and leaned against the counter. “I love that about you.”
The instant the words left his mouth, Kat’s eyebrows shot up. They stared at each other for a moment, and Nex cleared his throat, averting his gaze. “One curse word. You’ve done it before. You called me an asshole, remember?”
“Well, that’s because you—” Kat sighed, sending him a dirty look. “You got me all riled up.”
“Is that all I have to do?” He cocked his head. “In that case, prepare to get riled up.”
“Or you could, I don’t know, be nice?”
“Be nice? You said I’m not nice most of the time. I have a reputation to uphold.”
Kat gave him a scolding glare and checked the clock. Closing time.She turned off the open sign and shut the blinds before going to the alarm system. Nex came alongside her and held out his hand. She dropped the keys in his palm, and he strode to the front door. He’d been enough times he was used to closing with her.
Alarm activated, Kat stepped out the door Nex held open. He shut and locked it while Kat bundled her coat around herself, shivering against the frigid breeze. She dug in her pockets for her gloves, thinking about the man and the strange feeling she got from him.
Tugging on one of her curls, she twisted her finger around her hair as Nex locked the store. “Nex?”
“What is it?”
“Um . . .” Her gaze went to the snow-covered sidewalk. “The man who came by today reminded me a lot of—” Kat’s heartbeat spiked.
