Page 9 of Beyond Enemy Vows

Damn it. I would be soaked by the time I got home. Maybe if I'd had the rest of Connor's uncle's whiskey, I'd go, but I sigh and turn to him.

"Ugh. Fine."

He pops open an umbrella and hands it to me. We then start walking toward a black car.

"Wait," I say and hold it up. I hesitate for a moment, but it's not right to let him get soaked. "Here, we can share it."

He comes over and grabs it, raising it higher over us. He then wraps his arm around my waist and guides me forward.

I'm shocked. Not because it's him touching me, but that it's anyone, really. My brothers would murder someone so familiar with me. What I find most interesting right now, however, is the fact that Niko knows that too.

And yet, he's doing it anyway.

The interior of the car is warm and smells like leather and his cologne. In the back is a nicely folded jacket.

Niko pulls away without a word, and while I've only been in the car for seconds in silence, maybe it's the part of me that doesn't want to be there, but I have to break it.

"So you know you're kind of a stalker," I say, glancing at him. "You know that, right?"

He smiles, eyes on the road. "If that's what you need to tell yourself."

"What would you call it?"

"Determined."

I snort. "To do what, exactly?"

He glances at me then, just a flicker of his eyes, but it's enough to send heat blooming across my skin.

"We'll get to that."

I cross my arms and look out the window.

"You just showing up. Your cryptic lines. You're lucky I didn't call my brothers."

He smiles again. I see it out of the corner of my eye. "Then don't."

"Then don't," I repeat, shaking my head feeling flustered.

The drive is short but feels endless. By the time we pull up to the cottage, my thoughts are running wild. The engine cuts off, and in the silence, I hear the sound of the rain tapping on the roof.

I turn to face him. The dim light from the dashboard catches the sharp planes of his face, the intensity in his eyes. Up close now, he's even more devastating than I remember.

"You're not coming in," I say.

He tilts his head. "Didn't ask."

But he's looking at me like he could devour me whole, and part of me, that silly curious part, is, well, it's curious.

I look away to reach for the door handle.

"Thanks for the ride," I say, pushing the door open.

"Calli," he says, and I stop just as I'm about to get out.

"Yeah?"

"I don't plan on leaving without that drink," he says, "and I don't wait long for what I want."