Page 87 of Sweet Deception

We gaze at each other, frozen, like two paintings stuck in a fresco.

“What does that mean?” Irritation colors my voice. “Are you going to try and run away tonight?”

A hint of a smile plays at her lips. “Not tonight. It’s getting dark.”

I nod, then crack my neck, uncomfortable with the silence stretching between us. Which is weird as fuck.

I breedsilence, causing people to walk away, nervous and confused. But Nika isn’t going anywhere. She regards me with that cool, composed energy she’s carried through every chaotic moment.

At a loss, my brain lurches to the easiest way to break the tension.

I fish in my pocket and extract a peace offering. “Here.”

Nika’s mouth falls open before she snatches the phone from my hand. “You’re giving it back? Thank you.”

The genuine gratitude lighting up her expression causes an uncomfortable squirming sensation to kick off in my gut. “Hungry?” I hate not knowing what to say, what Nika needs to hear…or acknowledging the reality that even if I did know, I probably couldn’t deliver.

Anxiety? Is that what I’m experiencing?

I hate this shit, whatever it is.

Her fierce expression blunts a little. “I am hungry, but…honestly, I’m too exhausted to eat. More than anything, I just want to reclaim my kitty from Kiara and sleep.”

“Okay. Yeah, sleep.” After our several-day separation, the thought of saying good night fills me with disappointment. “I’ll leave you alone so you can…you know.”

Mechanically, I shuffle back toward the door she’s still holding open until her tentative voice says, “Wait.”

I jerk to a stop like I walked straight into a wall. “What?”

“Did you mean it?” Color blooms on her cheeks.

I wrinkle my brow. “Mean what?”

She fidgets with a loose thread on her shirt. “What you said earlier. Before we went in to see your uncle.”

Her words take a moment to sink in.“I didn’t want to leave you…”

Fucking hell, I forgot I said that. Now, I really do want to run.

But denying it would only make me an asshole, so…

“I meant it, Nika.”

Electricity zaps down my spine as my eyes connect with hers. The impulse to kiss her seizes me once again, but I stand frozen to the spot. Something delicate is unfolding between us, and I know if I make one single move, this fragile bond will break.

“Then…stay.”

Muscles in my back tighten, and everything inside me demands that I tackle her.

Tackle hernow.

“Don’t leave,” she continues, hesitating by the door. “I don’t want…”

She trails off. Maybe she’s nervous too.

Call me a dick, but that thought comforts me. I don’t want to be the only anxious one in this room.

“I don’t want to be alone.” She wraps her arms around her waist and bows her head, as if convinced I’ll still walk away.