Page 23 of His Lair
“It’s what you pay me to do.” I smirk. “Did you catch her before she boarded?”
“Of course I did,” he says, walking to the door. “You might want to check in on your boyfriend, though. He almost got killed tonight.”
“What?” I ask as the door closes behind him, only to be left mumbling to myself, “Asshole.”
I grab my phone off the entry table and contemplate calling Sammie. I should give him space. He’s with his friends at the hospital. Besides,almostgetting killed is a long way off fromactuallygetting killed.
I pace up and down the small area of my living room. I’m not clingy. I don’t need to call him.Also, he is not my boyfriend.
With that thought cemented in my brain, I throw my phone down on the sofa and walk into my bedroom. A shower and some sleep are what I need.
I’ve always been a light sleeper, which is why when I hear footsteps creeping through my apartment, my hand wraps around the gun under my pillow. I don’t move, though. The element of surprise is always better than letting whatever stupid motherfucker thought he’d break into my home know I’m awake.
The footsteps get closer and then they’re in my room. “Fuck,” a familiar voice hisses out. It’s followed by a loud thud.
I slide the gun under my mattress before tugging on the string on the lamp by my bed. “Sammie?” I question.
“Shhh, go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He slurs his words, and I roll my eyes.
He’s drunk. Great.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of my tone.
“You’re mad,” he says, crawling onto the bed and heaving himself onto the mattress.
“Not at all. I love being woken up in the middle of the night by drunk men breaking into my apartment,” I snipe.
“You’re really pretty, Lailani. Even mad, so fucking pretty.” His hand reaches up and caresses my face. And a little of my annoyance melts away.
“Why are you here, Sammie?” I ask him.
“I wanted to see you. Sleep next to you,” he answers.
“What happened tonight?”
“I missed you.” He smirks.
I have no idea what to say to that. “Okay, let’s just go back to sleep.” I didn’t think he’d actually tell me anything.
“I’m supposed to stay away from you and I can’t,” he says, closing his eyes.
“Why?” I press him.
“Because you’re addicting.” He blinks at me.
“No, why are you supposed to stay away from me?”
“Because you’re so sweet. Innocent and good. You are too good for me, Lailani,” he tells me.
“I’m really not.” I swallow, guilt sitting heavy in the pit of my stomach.
I don’t get back to sleep. Instead, I lie awake and watch Sammiesleep. Trying to figure out a way to ease my guilt about lying to him. I don’t have any other options. I can’t tell him who I really am. I can’t tell him I’m here doing surveillance for his friend. Or that I’m far from the sweet girl he thinks I am. If he knew the things I’ve done, well, he certainly wouldn’t be sleeping so soundly next to me.
People always assume the devil is a man. They’ve never met me, though. If they had, they would know there’s a high chance the devil is a woman.
Sammie’s sandy-brown hair falls over his forehead. My fingers reach up and comb it away. He really is the most-beautiful man I’ve ever seen. I wonder how much maintenance it takes for him to get his skin this soft. I should ask him what products he’s using.
“What are you thinking?” he asks, his voice husky and full of sleep.
