Page 63 of Texting the CEO's Obsession
He tucks one finger beneath my chin to tip my head up, forcing me to meet his blue-grey eyes, twinkling with mirth.
“What was that, Princess? I didn’t quite hear you.”
Heat floods my core, but before I can choose between repeating myself or just jumping him, a sharp knock sounds from his front door.
I jump in surprise and Nick’s head whips up, eyes narrowing sharply.
He told me he’d cleared the schedule of his usual staff for the night and had his assistant field any work messages for the evening.Icertainly didn’t invite anyone over to crash our romantic evening. Nick’s brows pull together in a confused frown as the knock comes again, louder this time, and he huffs out a sigh before dropping my wrist and scooting his chair back.
His shoulders are tense, a dark glint to his eyes that I’m not familiar with, but the smile he offers me is as soft as always.
“Just a second, baby,” he promises, leaning forward to kiss my forehead before standing and straightening his button down. “Be right back.”
CHAPTER 19
NICK
Something feels off.
Maybe it’s just because of the timing—I’ve never had an unexpected guest aside from Thomas since I moved here, and he knows not to come calling tonight. I’m not usually a suspicious man, but the closer I step to my front door, the more my gut tightens with the insistent certainty that something iswrong.
I pause at the little storage table in my entryway, silently reaching beneath it to pull free the gun I keep there in case of emergency.
Normally, I wouldn’t be so concerned, but I have something to protect tonight. Riley is here, and if trouble has somehow decided to find me, I’m not going to let her get hurt. I’d rather her see me as a monster than have a single scratch on her skin.
I check the chamber to ensure a round gleams there before creeping closer to the door on silent feet.
Pulling up the security feed of the hallway, I’m met with… nothing.
There’s no one standing on my doorstep, no ghost of my past looming in the shadows. I lean into the peephole just to confirm it with my own eyes, but my doorway is empty. Tucking the gun into the waistband of my pants and hiding the bulge of it with my untucked shirt, I slowly pull the door open.
The only thing out of place is a manila envelope lying innocuously on my welcome mat.
Is this some sort of trick? A weird ding-dong ditch scenario? Did the building staff find some of my mail that had been misplaced and decide to bring it up?
“Nick?” Riley asks. “You’ve been out there a while, is everything okay?”
I jolt at the sound of her voice, scolding myself for letting my mind run so rampant that I didn’t even hear her coming.
“Yeah,” I say, shaking off the weird feeling in my gut as I bend down to pick up the envelope with one last glance down the hall. “I was just trying to remember if I was expecting anything.”
Riley closes the distance between us as I pull the door shut, triple checking that it’s locked before I look down at the envelope. There’s no writing on it, no indication of who it’s from or even who it’s to.
“A delivery?” Riley asks, tilting her head curiously.
I hum uncertainly, tipping the envelope side to side, feeling the contents slide around. “Apparently. Come on, let’s go sit, Princess. No need to let this interrupt us.”
Riley smiles as I place one hand on her hip, turning her around. She lets me steer her into the living room without any resistance,making happy little noises in her throat as I sit her down on the couch, taking a seat beside her.
“Want to watch something?” I ask, tossing the envelope onto the coffee table to be dealt with later. “Or pretend to?”
I grin as I tuck her under my arm, pulling her close, fingers tracing the curve of her hip teasingly. She laughs, swatting my hand away playfully as her pretty hazel eyes stray back to the envelope.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” she asks.
“It can wait. I’d rather spend my time with you.”
“What if it’s important?” she replies, giving me a pointed glance. “There’s no writing on it. Don’t you want to know who it’s from?”
