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I glare at him, but it lacks heat. “I had a bad experience when I was a kid. That’s all.”

His teasing fades, replaced by something softer. “What happened?”

I shrug, not wanting to get into it. “Got bit. Or almost bit. I don’t know. It scared me.”

His hand lands on mine, warm and solid. “I’ll protect you. Even from scary dogs.” His grin is back, and it’s doing things to my insides I don’t want to name.

The buzzer interrupts whatever weird moment we’re having, and Eli pushes to his feet. “Let me get that.”

I exhale, grateful for the distraction, but as he heads to the door, I can’t stop the small smile tugging at my lips. Ridiculous or not, Eli Grayson is impossible to ignore.

I hear him murmur and then I hear the low voice of someone else.

Eli walks back into the living room, his phone still in his hand. “You have your ID on you?”

I glance at my bag. “Yeah, why?”

He motions for me to follow him. “Come here. Need you to sign for something.”

I hesitate, curiosity prickling at me, but I get up anyway. “What am I signing for?”

He doesn’t answer, just smirks that stupid, cocky smirk and leads me to a sleek black screen on the wall near the door.

“Right there,” he says, pointing at the screen.

I stare at it, then at him. “What is this?”

“You’ll see,” he says, and his tone’s all casual, like this is no big deal.

The screen flashes to life, and a message pops up.

Add New Resident: Enter Biometric Data and Full Name.

I blink. “What?”

He leans against the wall, arms crossed. “Adding you to the access list.”

I shake my head, stepping back. “No, you’re not.”

His smirk deepens. “I am. What if I punch another wall and you need to get in?”

I gape at him. “That’s your reason?”

He shrugs. “It’s a good one.”

“That’s so stupid. I’m not doing it.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Eli… No, I’m not.”

“It’s for emergencies, princess. If you haven’t noticed, I’m here all alone.”

“You mean you don’t have family or parents or siblings or roommates?” I ask, looking around.

He shakes his head, and my stomach plummets. “I need someone I trust.”

“You trust me?” I scoff. “You don’t even know me.”