Page 19 of Stalked By Pestilence

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but my lawyer senses were tingling. They only did that when I picked up on empty truths andevasive measures to redirect conversation—which was exactly what he did anytime I asked about him.

Over the time it took to order and eat, the light outside had greyed. The air chilled. And just before we walked out, the sky rumbled. I clicked my tongue and peered down at my phone, the traitor still claiming clear skies all day. I didn’t have a jacket, and we’d walked here.

Sighing, I prepared myself for a trek in the rain, but weight came down on my shoulders. I peered at it to find Zelus’s jacket. He pulled the door open and gestured for me to go ahead.

“You know this is about as helpful as my purse,” I remarked sardonically, noting the leather jacket didn’t have a hood and all it’d do was keep the rain off my shirt.

Chin lifted, I left the café with a semblance of my prior determination to end this little thing between us before it started. Whatever was off about him, I didn’t want any part of it. I didn’t need a damaged bad boy to fill out my schedule. I had shit to reimagine for my life. I couldn’t fall into distraction, no matter how attractive and smooth and desperately good at sex that distraction was.

I needed to put a clean end to this.

“So—”

“It—”

We’d both started and been cut off in the same breath. I glared at him and tried to ignore how cute the singer’s smile was when he turned to peer down at me, but it faded before his eyes reached mine. It was only a flicker, but the reptilian slits made a staggering reappearance. Then, as if none of it happened, his smirk was back.

I’d come to terms with the fact that I was seeing things that didn’t make sense, but I refused to call attention to it. It was likely amental breakdown from quitting my job at the law firm and having almost no plan for what I wanted to do next. I really couldn’t account for anything else that might’ve brought it on, aside from my best friend’s departure from singledom.

I was self-aware enough to admit it made me the teeniest bit lonely to watch her meet her knight in shining leather.

Zelus’s grin bedazzled on sight. “At least it’ll keep a bit of the rain off you, and now you won’t be cold,” he said, referring to his jacket. “I’m told I run hot,” he murmured, his eyes sliding from mine to peer around us in a searching sweep.

He’d slid back into his flirtatious airs, but his posture gave the impression of a snake coiled and ready to strike. Just like when he came strolling toward me after I’d been approached by Blue Eyes.

I couldn’t figure out what caused it, only that he hadn’t thought I noticed. Guess this giant wasn’t used to women who paid attention to anything other than how hot he was and what that mouth could do.

Being a lawyer demanded attention to details others missed, and that included body language. His was hostile as fuck. Not with me, but with whatever was out there in the street I hadn’t caught sight of.

I let my eyes wander around the area, seeing nothing and no one to warrant the change in his behavior. Everyone was just trying their best to get out of the rain.

“I do actually have things I need to do,” I started, attempting to shrug off the jacket he’d forced on me, but his arm came down around my shoulders to keep it in place.

His gaze slid back to mine, the muscles in his neck strained. “Let me escort you. I’ve got nothing but time today.”

I rolled my eyes and shrugged off his arm. “Good for you.”

After I yanked his heavy jacket from my shoulders, I offered it to him. He folded his arms, his jaw firmly set to deny me, all the impression of a toddler digging their heels in.

Stubborn jerk.

“I don’t need your jacket. I’m fine.”

“Take it, Emily. I’ll have it back soon enough,” was all he said before he stormed off the way his eyes seemed to keep going. His massive frame ate up all the space in front of me for nearly a minute before he disappeared around the corner. I watched him go with a huff of resignation.

He’d fought so hard to get me out here, but all it took was me saying no to hisescortto get rid of him now? Whatever. I didn’t want him around. Iwasn’tdisappointed to see him go. If anything, it was a pang of relief that hit my gut.

I swallowed and slipped my arms into his jacket. Like promised, it was a hot embrace on my tinier frame. It roused those forbidden memories of just how hot he could get. How dangerous it was when that heat was all over me. How consuming. Being with him was nothing like any guy I’d been with before, and honestly, that was what made me most uncomfortable.

I sucked in a sharp breath and opened my eyes, having not realized I’d closed them in the first place. Then I set off the other direction.

I didn’t want to miss opening hours or get caught in the rain on my way home, so I hurried off to the clinic with a pharmacy attached. Thankfully, they did walk-ins. It’d take weeks to get my primary doctor to sign off a quick prescription.

It only took an hour to procure the pills I needed—both Plan B and birth control, because I didn’t trust myself not toslip up. After gulping down the solution to my possible problems, I did a quick test to find any new tagalongs I’d gotten from the asshole upstairs.

The doctor warned me to take a pregnancy test even if I got my period and to come back if necessary, and I made a promise I’d get an IUD the first chance I got. Asha would’ve kicked my ass if she found out I forgot for months to make the appointment and been too busy to refill my birth control.Again.

By the time I stepped out of the clinic, the sky rumbled and flashed ominously. I didn’t love the idea of getting struck by a stray bolt of lightning, but my apartment was only a few blocks away. It’d be ridiculous to get an Uber for that short of a distance. By the time someone showed up, I could be home. If I hurried, maybe my luck would hold out. For once.