Page 20 of Corrupted By the Shadow King (Hope Runs Deep #3)

Nikki

I hadn’t expected his text. Well, I mean, I had been expecting it.

Since he left me so abruptly the day before, I’d been waiting for some word or something to tell me all is all right in his world.

It never came, and I will admit it irritated me.

I thought about ignoring him when the text or call finally lit up my phone, but the moment his name popped up on my screen, I couldn’t answer swiftly enough.

I should play hard to get, shouldn’t give in too easily, should do a lot of things, but here I am, my fingers flying over the screen.

I want to see him, and even though our introduction was less than ideal, and I know he has secrets he is not willing to share, I find myself unable to force any kind of distance between us. It isn’t logical.

I’m not an idiot. I know full well the man has a file on me.

They know my family, my employer, and everything in between.

Hell, he might even know what I had to eat on my birthday in second grade.

Yet, when he asks me for my address, I melt.

He has all the information at his fingertips, and he still chooses to inquire.

There is something charming and sweet in that.

I know full well that I’m deluding myself. He could be into a million different things, many of them questionable, but he’s a good guy. Isn’t he? Maybe? Once again, I ignore the small voice inside me that tells me to be careful and screams DANGER.

Instead, I race into my room and start combing through my closet.

I walked in the door about twenty minutes ago and took a shower, throwing on a robe over my bare skin.

Scrubs are comfortable as fuck, but when they are covered in sweat, blood, and other things, they are less than ideal.

On those days, I don’t want anything other than my terry cloth robe to touch me for the better part of the night.

Of course, a text can change things almost immediately.

Pushing clothes this way and that, I finally spot a dress I haven’t seen in years.

I initially got it to wear to a wedding I attended with an ex-boyfriend four years ago.

After that disaster of a ceremony ended in the bride leaving the groom at the altar after she screamed at him like a banshee, I got it cleaned and threw it into my closet, never wearing it again.

Ninety percent of the time, I am in scrubs, sweats, or jeans.

The other times, the last thing I want to do is throw on a dress and heels.

It requires effort to go out. I really hope Alex is worth all this effort.

I pull the dress out of the closet and throw it on my bed. It’s a bodycon black dress with ruching that falls to my knees and accentuates all the right curves. Four years. Will it still fit? If not, I am sure I can find a potato sack to wear.

Padding to the bathroom, I throw my hair quickly into a ponytail to get it off my neck.

If we are going dancing, I already know I am going to get hot.

That thought flitters to another. Hot…getting hot with Alex in bed…

no clothes, both of us covered in sweat, breathing hard.

I have to shake myself out of that daydream because I can feel that urge between my legs.

No. Maybe on date two or three. We are still trying to get to know each other.

But then that pesky voice says, “This is the second date. Lunch was the first.” Is that voice for or against this?

I reach over to the tap, turn on the cold water, and splash some on my face before putting on a little makeup. Nothing much. I’ve never been one to wear more than a little mascara or eye shadow, but tonight, I do a little more, pulling out the eyeliner and blush.

By the time I zip up my dress, I’m out of breath and seriously thinking about texting Alex to cancel. What the hell am I doing? I have no time, though, because before I can reach for my phone, someone knocks on my door. Fuck! He’s here.

I’m nervous, and the butterflies in my stomach are threatening to make me upchuck everything I’ve had to eat over the past week. I’m frozen, standing in the doorway to my bedroom, staring at the door on the other side of the living room. Another knock makes me jump and squeak.

“Nikki?” Alex calls out, and I roll my eyes at myself.

“One second,” I say, my voice cracking as if I’m a teenage boy going through puberty.

The silence allows me to hear a low chuckle from him, which makes me feel like a fool.

I’m acting like a crazy idiot. One minute, I’m ready to jump his bones, and the next, I’m so nervous that I think I’m making a mistake by pursuing anything with this man.

Maybe it’s because in some ways, he is out of my league.

He wears suits that probably cost more than one of my paychecks, lives in a penthouse in downtown San Antonio, and exudes power and sexuality.

I’m a bossy nurse who doesn’t like to take shit from anyone, especially when I’m tired and stressed, which is my job most of the time.

I love what I do, though, and wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Nikki?” Alex’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

“Coming.” I slide my feet into my shoes and move quickly to the door. When I swing it open, I say, “Sorry about that. I was in the middle of a call.” I don’t want him to know I was in the middle of talking myself out of going tonight.

“Are you ready?” He grins, and that smile has the power to melt me.

“Yeah.” I return his smile with one of my own, excitement building inside for the night to come. I can’t wait to see more of the man I saw at lunch.