Page 12 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family

Chapter

Eight

Emir.

A week.

It had been a full seven days since I last saw Baylyn and I felt every fucking second of not having access.

The distance damn sure wasn’t because I was avoiding her. I had a job that required my full attention. One that didn’t allow distractions, no matter how much I wanted one, and she was the worst fucking distraction I had ever allowed in my life.

I was ready to finish this shit and get back to Baylyn which had me smiling big as hell and dragging a hand down my face. She wasn’t mine to get back to but she was exactly what I needed in my life. So like it or not, I was making her mine.

I shifted my weight but kept my stance relaxed. The job was simple. A clean hit with no unnecessary theatrics. The target was a high-level investor banker who had fucked over the wrong people. He smiled at cameras while robbing others blind, but his ass wouldn’t be smiling for much longer.

I was chillin’ in a prime spot, a rooftop across from the hotel where he was staying.

The scope of my rifle was trained on the room with the tented glass still providing, enough visibility for me to see the movement inside.

I watched him all week, learning his routines, habits and weaknesses.

He had just finished one of them. Bringing women to suites to keep them distanced from his wife and kids.

He liked to drink, alone talking to his wife, after fucking women too young for him. Always in the same spot, on the balcony, overlooking the city, cigar in hand, feeling untouchable.

He wasn’t.

I adjusted the scope, waiting. He was too damn predictable but most men like him were and right on schedule he stepped onto the balcony, drink in hand, oblivious to how little time he had left.

A single silenced shot left my rifle. The glass slipped from his fingers before his body dropped. I lowered the gun and was already disassembling it so that I could take my ass home.

I pulled the burner from my pocket and sent a single message to confirm the job was done, then powered it off.

No more distractions except for the one already in my head.

Baylyn.

I finished packing up and was on my way to the access door to take the stair down to the first floor so that I could leave.

Now that this shit was handled, it was time to see her.

I drove straight to Baylyn’s place because the week of silence was fucking with my concentration.

I hadn’t planned to go that long without talking to her but if I didn’t, I would have fucked this up.

That was the type of hold this woman had on me.

The second I powered my personal phone back on, the first thing I checked was her name. I went straight to our text thread.

No messages.

So that’s how she was doing it?

She could have at least hit my line once but cool.

I had a remedy for that. I pulled up to her building, stepped out of the car, and locked the doors behind me as I made my way to her apartment.

The hallway was quiet when I reached her door.

I didn’t knock right away. Instead, I leaned in to listen, considering for a minute that she might not be alone, but if she wasn’t and I had to drop a body, oh fucking well.

I lifted my hand and knocked. Seconds passed with nothing, then I heard movement. The door cracked open and my entire fucking body settled. Her eyes narrowed and she chewed on her bottom lip trying to act tough but I saw right through that.

I missed you too beautiful…

She looked good as hell, dressed in lounge clothes that made me want to close the space between us and get my hands on her but her pretty ass glared at me, blocking the doorway with an unimpressed expression. “You’re alive, I see.”

Damn she had either being praying I was safe or plotting on my downfall all week…

“Disappointed?”

She shrugged. “Maybe?”

“Been busy, beautiful. Wasn’t intentional.”

“Busy required you to vanish for a full week?”

I took my time raking my eyes over her, enjoying the way her posture tightened, like she was trying to guard herself.

“You miss me, Baylyn?”

She rolled her eyes so hard I was surprised then shits didn’t get stuck.

“I didn’t say that.”

I stepped closer. “But you thought it.”

She lifted her chin, being stubborn as hell. “I thought it was weird, that’s all. You show up everywhere, then you don’t.”

“Sounds like you missed me or were worried about me.”

“I missed the free food.”

Nah, your ass missed me…

“You’re avoiding the question because the food isn’t me .”

Her jaw tightened. She was trying so damn hard to hold her ground, but I could see the way her eyes kept moving to my mouth and the way her arms tensed, like she was debating uncrossing them to relax her posture. That pull between us was strong as fuck and she felt it.

Hell, I did too and I wasn’t about to ignore it. “Say it, beautiful.”

Her brow lifted. “Say what?”

“That you missed me.”

Her eyes shifted to mine with irritation in them but she was also happy to see me. I planned on pulling a few more emotions from her before the night was over.

“I missed you.” Her pretty ass pouted and that had my dick thick against my thigh.

“Which is why I’m here.”

It took her a minute but she eventually stepped back. “You gonna stand out here all night or are you coming in?”

“Just waiting on an invitation.”

I stepped inside, locking us in before my eyes swept the space, taking in the world Baylyn had built for herself. A million and one times I considered coming here to find out what her life was like outside of what I knew but I didn’t want to be all up in her shit uninvited.

The place was, lived-in, and comfortable.

A sofa sat against one wall with a thick ass fuzzy blanket draped over one side.

Candles were scattered on the surfaces, most of them unlit, but their scent lingered in the air.

Most importantly there was her pretty ass, standing in front of me, arms crossed, watching me like she was still debating whether or not letting me in was a mistake.

She was in a loose T-shirt that looked like she cut the neckline. It slipped off her shoulders, exposing skin that I wanted my mouth on and a pair of boxer brief style shorts that showed off her legs.

Her hair was down, brushing her shoulders and tucked behind her ears fully exposing her pretty ass face.

Those brown eyes were on me admitting what she refused to say.

Me being here was exactly what she wanted.

She looked good as fuck, making it hard for me to keep my hands to myself instead of on her.

“Nice place.”

She walked past me toward the kitchen. “I doubt you care about my decorating choices.”

I chuckled, following her. “You’d be surprised. I like knowing shit about people and how they live says a lot.”

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, twisting off the cap. “What does mine tell you?”

I followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, letting my eyes roam over the small space again. The iPad propped up on the table with an open planner next to it. The small pile of laundry folded neatly on the chair but not yet put away.

“That you work a lot and don’t have a much personal time and also that you live here.”

Her pressence was all over this apartment.

She frowned. “That’s a given.”

“You’d be surprised how many people make their places look like they don’t belong to them. Yours does.”

She hesitated and shrugged, drinking her water. “I like it to feel like home.”

I watched her as she leaned against the counter across from me. The tension in her shoulders was now gone.

She’s comfortable with me in her space…

“What did I miss?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, setting the water down. “Not much. Just work, work, and more work and dealing with a certain someone not sending me unsolicited food deliveries which meant starving for a few days.”

I chuckled. “I’ll make up for it.”

She smiled but didn’t argue.

I watched her for a moment, then asked, “And outside of work?”

She hesitated, then shrugged. “Not much. Caught up with my girl Rachelle, had dinner with her one night, did some planning for an event. Umm, that’s about it.”

I took in the details she didn’t say. The way she avoided my eyes when she mentioned the dinner. The way she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, like she wasn’t sure if she should say something else.

I pushed off the counter and stepped closer. “You hesitated.”

Her brows pulled together. “No, I didn’t.”

I lifted a brow. “You did. Say what’s on your mind?”

She shifted her weight and crossed her arms again. “It’s nothing.”

“Baylyn.”

She sighed, frustrated but not enough to shut me out completely. “It’s stupid. I just… when I saw another article about the guy from the event it messed with my head a little.”

I stayed quiet, letting her talk.

“He was an asshole. They keep trying to make it seem like he was some great guy but he wasn’t. I caught myself thinking that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that you did what you did.”

She grimaced, like the thought made her uncomfortable. “And then I felt weird for thinking that.”

“Why?”

“Because normal people don’t think like that.”

“I disagree.”

Her frown deepened. “Of course, you do.”

I chuckled. “People like to act like they’re on some moral higher ground but we all have dark thoughts. Some people just aren’t honest about it and don’t act on them.”

She stayed quiet, considering my words. Then, after a pause, she sighed. “What about you?”

I lifted a brow. “What about me?”

She studied me carefully. “What have you been up to? Acting on those dark thoughts?”

She tipped her chin and waited. She was asking what kept me from her all week but battling with whether or not she truly wanted the answer.

“Do you really want to know?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I watched her for a long moment, then nodded. “I was working.”

Baylyn wasn’t like any other woman I dealt with so I wasn’t surprised when she kept the questions coming. “And what does ‘working’ mean for you?”

“I handled a job, which means someone paid me a lot of money to act on their dark thoughts.”

She didn’t back away and damn sure didn’t seem to be judging me. I dragged my eyes over her face, watching for any hesitation or fear, but there wasn’t any.

Just understanding and curiosity.

“And now?”

“Now, I’m here.”

She didn’t push further and just nodded, accepting what I was, even if she didn’t fully understand it yet and I fucking loved the acceptance.

A lot.

“I haven’t seen your pretty ass in a week. We chillin’ or what?”

She stared at me like she was weighing the pros and cons of saying yes. Her mind told her no, but her body language told me everything I needed to know. She wanted me here.

Baylyn sighed. “I feel like I should say no.”

I stepped closer but didn’t touch her. “But you’re not going to, are you?”

She bit down on her lip, trying to fight a smile but failed before slowly shaking her head.

I was happy as fuck she didn’t tell me to leave. I pulled my phone from my pocket. “You eat?”

“Why are you always trying to feed me?”

I chuckled and shrugged. “A woman that’s fed and properly fucked always has a smile on her face. For now we’ll focus on the feeding you part.”

Without waiting for an answer, I walked over to the sofa, settling in like I had been here a million times before.

“Come sit with me,” I said, motioning to the space beside me.

She hesitated, debating for a full five seconds before sighing and joining me. The vibe was perfect but what I liked even more than the vibe was how natural it was sitting here like this was our shit. Chilling together because we were cool like that.

I pulled up the Munchies app and selected Leonardo’s. “You straight with meat on your pizza?”

“I thought you knew everything about me?”

I knew enough but still admitted, “Not everything, but I’m learning.” I scanned the menu, then added, “My resources didn’t have pizza intel available for me.”

Her smile dropped. “Intel?”

“Yeah,” I said, not looking up. “Your page. You put all your shit on there. You’re forever taking pictures of your food and the places you like. Didn’t take much for me to find out the things I need to know.”

She was too damn quiet which had my eyes on her.

“What’s up? Why you frowning?”

“It’s nothing.”

I tipped my head. “Say what’s on your mind, Baylyn.”

She hesitated and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s part of what you do, isn’t it? Paying attention to people to learn everything about them so that you can… you know?”

I watched her carefully. “I have to know who they are, how they move. So, yeah, it’s part of what I do.”

Her brows pinched. “Hmm.”

“Does that bother you?”

I waited, because if she said yes, that was going to be a problem. I was who I was. That wasn’t changing and if she couldn’t handle that? We wouldn’t work.

I’d rather find out now but needed to know. She sighed and shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. That doesn’t bother me.”

A satisfied smile eased onto my face. “You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Then she muttered, “And that probably makes me just as twisted as you.”

I barked out a laugh. “Damn, so you think I’m twisted?”

She grinned, lifting her hand and making a gun motion with her fingers. “I think you have an unconventional occupation and that makes you not like most people.”

“That would be correct. I’m one of one, beautiful.”

Her pretty ass smiled but tried hard not to.

“Back to my question. You cool with meat?”

“Can you do half veggie and cheese?” She lifted her legs and turned her back to the arm of the sofa. I grabbed both of her ankles and tugged until her calves were draped over my thighs.

“Yeah, I can do that.”

I placed the order and we spent the next couple of hours after our food arrived eating, talking, and flipping through random shows.

She stretched out on the couch, getting more comfortable.

I sat next to her slouched low, legs stretched out, relaxed in a way that didn’t happen often.

Somewhere between the conversation and the food, we fell into a vibe and by the time the credits rolled on some show neither of us paid attention to, she’d tucked herself against my side and was half asleep.

“You tapping out on me?”

She mumbled something under her breath, already gone.

I chuckled, grabbing the throw blanket from the armrest and tossing it over us. I could’ve left but didn’t because this shit felt right and I didn’t want to be anywhere else.