Page 44 of The Night Shift

Chapter 8

Theo

Now

April’s flat

Heaven is real and I have arrived.

Holly stands at the door with one hand on her hip, a mixture of horror and annoyance flaring across her face. “Theo?”

She’s wearing a mid-length blue dress. It’s cut low at the front and has a slit all the way up to the top of her thigh. Her short blonde waves are pushed to one side, held together by a silver clip — and that’s where my ability to describe what I’m seeing ends, because as soon as my gaze travels to her bare shoulder and the thin satin strap sliding off of it, all the blood in my body rushes straight to my dick.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she asks, and my eyes flash up to hers.

“I could ask you the same thing, Hollister.”

Her face tightens with disgust. “This is my sister’s apartment. Last I checked, I don’t need your permission to be here.”

The satin strap of her dress slides further down, barely hanging off her shoulder. A numbness settles over me and I feel myself getting hard again.

“Hello?” Holly snaps her fingers in front of my face, knocking me out of my trance. “Answer me. What are you doing here?”

The reprimanding tone of her voice makes me want to fall to my knees and run my hands over her perfect calves, kissing every inch of her soft skin while she goes on yelling at me. My eyes skim over her bare arms, over her shoulders, then down, tracing the curve of her waist, the flare of her hip, her perfect arse leading to long legs that drop into a pair of silver heels. She is a goddess.

My cock stiffens painfully, and it takes me a good two seconds to gather my thoughts. “You look ridiculous, by the way,” I finally say. My response is nothing but a feeble attempt to will my swelling dick to settle down.

Holly scoffs. “Must be why you can’t stop staring.” She pulls the strap up and slides to the side to block the entrance with her dainty little body.

“What? Not going to invite me in?”

“Do I look stupid to you? You’re not supposed to invite vampires into your home.”

“Don’t know which part of that sentence I should tackle first.”

“Whatare you doing here?”

“Stalking you, obviously.”

“Theo,” she warns.

My cheeks grow warm. Gosh, I really do adore the sound of my name from her mouth. “Yes, love?” I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, careful not to touch her skin.

Holly swats my hand away and pokes her index finger into the center of my chest. “Don’t you get tired of being such an asshole all the time?”

The corner of my mouth arches up. “You wanna see what I look like tired?”

“You’re disgusting.”

I take a step closer. “You’re fascinating.”

The words come out of nowhere, unbridled but true.

Holly’s glare diminishes into something less, her pupils dilating like a startled cartoon character. For someone so adept at killing, there sure is a remarkable softness in those eyes — sultry and amber, full of secrets no one will ever comprehend. No one but me.

The satin strap of her dress slides further down, barely hanging off her shoulder, and before I can stop it, the word leaves my mouth, “Fuck.”

Holly looks up at me, her eyes growing wide. Mine, however, stays glued to the bare spot on her shoulder.