Page 18 of Stalked By Pestilence
His beaming smile answered before he did. “Who’s the stalker now, Not Interested?”
I kept my smug grin to myself and folded my arms, letting my eyes take a leisure stroll down his body.
He’d worn another one of his rocker-boy outfits like he’d taken inspiration directly from an early 80s punk singer to style the entire look. He might not appear any older than his late-twenties or early thirties, but something about him gave the impression of older. Much, much older.
“That apartment, as of two days ago, was vacant.” I watched him closely, but nothing about his expression gave his game away. “I’d know. I was the whole reason they got in touch with a good lawyer when their eviction hit a snag.”
“Never said I’d lived there long.”
My lips twitched. “And yet, I never saw anyone move shit into it.”
A key came out of his pocket, and he twirled it around his finger, grinning. “Fancy seeing the place?”
My lips thinned. “Excuse me?”
“If you’re so skeptical, bird, I don’t mind showing it.” He sauntered a step closer, his size obnoxiously difficult to ignore as he leaned in. “You’ve been kind enough to give me the grand tour of yours. What sort of bloke would I be not to return the favor?”
Panic needled at my throat as I tried to stay calm and unaffected. “No need.”
His hand captured mine. “No, no, I insist. I wouldn’t want you to think I’d be daft enough to stalk a woman I just met. I reserve that sort of thing for the ones I’ve known at least a month or two. I do have standards, love.”
This asshole thought he was so damn funny. Remind me never to sleep with a singer again. Clearly, they were a new kind of obnoxious.
I tugged my hand out of his and growled a low threat, “I said no, and you’re headed directly for a knee to the crotch if you touch me again.”
When his head snapped my way, the glint of reptilian pupils caught the sunlight before they were gone. “Suit yourself, love.” His eyes dropped to my mouth. “Maybe another time. I’ve seen the things you can do with my crotch. I’m more than a little bit intrigued.”
For the love of all that was fucking holy!
Despite his grandiose playboy airs, the lethality this guy wore in a single glance had my teeth on edge. I might need to get Dom looped in if I had to be around him more than I planned. I itched to text my beefy friend, but then the asshole spoke again.
His hands were up in mock surrender, as if approaching a skittish animal. “Just a meal.” My stomach chose that exact momentto gurgle, and despite my hope he hadn’t heard it, his smile said otherwise. “I’ll buy.”
My jaw worked as I weighed my options. I’d dealt with annoying men at my job every day. Granted, none of those assholes had seen me naked, but having one meal wouldn’t kill me. And whether or not I wanted to admit it, the singer intrigued me as much as he annoyed me.
Maybe I could wait a day before turning over a new leaf and humor him. He was likely to disappoint me before the day was over. I’d give him that long, and then make it very clear how little interest I had in pursuinganythingwith him.
Fixing the shoulder strap of my purse, I rose an eyebrow in outright defiance. “I won’t play nice, but I’ll agree toonemeal.”
Victory practically radiated off him. “You wouldn’t be the saucy bird I met last night if you did.” With more pep than fit his hulking form, Songbird swept over and guided my arm into the crook of his. “Where to, Not Interested?”
“It’s Emily.”
The way his eyes twinkled made it feel as though I’d done something I shouldn’t have. As if I’d lost a game I didn’t even know we were playing.
“Zelus,” he responded with a little too much husk in his voice. “But I’d love it if you called me Z, Emily.”
I was meeting too many guys with weird-ass names lately.
“There’s a café around the corner,” I told him, ignoring the sudden rush of my pulse. “They have good quiche.”
Chapter Nine
Emily
Zelus was far more of a gentleman than his appearance initially suggested. His gallantry wasn’t obnoxious either. The way he did it didn’t demean me the way the men at the office did. It gave the impression of utter respect.
I didn’t give him much over the meal. He’d asked a lot of questions about what brought me to the city and played the part of an interested party when I deigned a reason to answer, but I still sensed something off about him.