Page 18

Chapter 18

Nova

D ex was far more perceptive than she’d given him credit for. Even though he was trying really hard not to hover, she could feel his attention on her like a brand. For the first time since she’d met him, it didn’t feel sexual.

He was worried.

Talking to her dad had been the right choice no matter how she felt about what he had to say.

The moment you’re compromised, you have to get out of there.

At first, she hadn’t told him what was really bothering her. Talking about boys with her dad was fucking weird, but he wasn’t an idiot. He’d yanked it out of her with a few carefully chosen questions.

Admitting that she had very strong…feelings—for a powerful paranormal who might just end up on her arrest orders hadn’t been easy. But her dad had made the whole thing really simple.

If you get the orders, could you arrest him—kill him if that’s what they told you to do?

At that point nothing else mattered except her ability to do what was needed. But could she do it?

Nova didn’t think Dex was doing something she couldn’t live with. She really didn’t think he was abducting innocents or causing problems that would make the Council want to take him down.

She’d hesitated too long on the phone though and her dad had demanded she abort mission and head back. It was no longer safe for her, not when she would hesitate if Dex ever came face to face with her monster.

What would she do if he was the one she ended up hunting?

Nova closed her eyes, hating herself.

Her first mission and she’d already fucked it up. Gianna would be so pissed at her.

“I never met my real dad,” Dex said, breaking into her thoughts. “My uncle raised me.”

That just made her feel even worse.

Nova bit her lip so the tears welling in her eyes didn’t spill down her cheeks. “Can we watch the next episode now?”

“Sure.” But he didn’t sound sure.

Thank fuck for scent charms.

The show started playing and she forced herself to focus on it so she could get her shit together. It was a good show and the concept was fascinating. But the space between her and Dex felt like a canyon. She was cold and she couldn’t figure out what she was going to fucking do.

Her dad was right, she should leave.

But she should also be a professional and ignore how she felt personally. That was the right choice. She couldn’t quit every mission she got when she wanted to fuck someone.

Stupid fucking boy in his stupid fucking loose tank top. He was practically taunting her to look at his nipple piercings and she didn’t think he even realized it.

The heater was on though and she was finally warming up.

Nova stood and peeled off her coat, tossing it on the couch as she headed for the kitchen. She needed some more alcohol. If nothing else, it would help her forget how miserably she’d already failed.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” The growl in his voice told her he wasn’t going to let her push him away this time.

Nova ignored him and grabbed another bottle of vodka, yanking the cork off without even trying.

The buzz was just starting to hit her. She was a hunter, which meant her metabolism was much, much faster than a witch’s, but still nothing compared to whatever Dex was.

She threw back the bottle and snarled when he yanked it out of her hand. The alcohol spilled all over her. Nova whirled around and suddenly found herself pinned against the counter.

He wasn’t touching her anywhere, but his arms caged her as he gripped the marble and he was pissed . “Tell me.”

“Thanks for that, asshole.” She flicked his nipple piercing.

Dex froze and she ducked under his arm, yanking off her stupid shirt. She held it in her hand, not sure what to do with it now. Was there a washer somewhere?

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dex snatched the shirt from her hand and went into what she assumed was the guest bathroom. She could hear him throw it in the washer and start it before coming back out.

He threw another shirt at her hard enough she actually stumbled backward when it caught her in the face. “I could ask you the same question,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong with me?” The way he stressed the word, Nova knew she’d managed to piss him off even more.

“Yeah, you.” Nova yanked his shirt on and tried to ignore the way it smelled.

Reaching under it to take off her soaking wet bra was probably a bad idea, but she didn’t want to be cold anymore. She pulled it out with a little maneuver and enjoyed the way his eyes widened. Nova walked around him and tossed it into the washer too before heading back to the couch.

He didn’t grab her like she expected him to.

“Maybe I’m pissed that my friend is upset and using unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with it.”

Touché.

“I’m not the only one with unhealthy coping mechanisms.” Nova gave him a pointed look. She’d seen how many bottles he’d had in there.

“It doesn’t affect me the same way it affects you.”

Right, he didn’t know she was more than a witch.

Nova sighed, staring at the food on the table and the water he’d put there as surreptitiously as possible. Dex had really tried and she’d managed to fuck this up too.

“What can I do to help?”

Nova didn’t know how to respond to that. Normally, she’d train with her dad until her body was in so much pain, or so numb, she’d fall into bed and sleep like the dead. But she couldn’t do that here, not without giving away what she was.

Sometimes she’d play her first-person shooter games. Starting up some Call of Duty and wrecking the shit out of all the boys sounded amazing, but she didn’t have a gaming setup here.

“I hate feeling like a failure,” she admitted, adjusting his shirt slightly. There was so much more she could say, but Nova didn’t trust herself. She should be telling him nothing.

“Why do you feel like a failure?” Dex finally sat on the couch next to her and she avoided looking when he rubbed the nipple she’d flicked.

“My family has a lot of expectations.” Nova suddenly wanted to tell him everything.

Being friends was somehow worse because now she had to constantly avoid direct questions.

She should have never replied to his text message.

Dex was silent as he watched her. “Is physically comforting a friend okay?”

How the fuck was she supposed to respond to that? “In what way?”

Without wasting any time, he grabbed her leg and yanked her toward him. Nova slammed into his side and he wrapped his arms around her. Dex didn’t look down at her though, his eyes were fixated on the TV. “Friends are allowed to platonically hug friends, right?”

“Would you hold a man like this?”

He grinned down at her then and winked. “Yes.”

Oh.

Well then.

“As a boyfriend or a friend?”

“Both.” Dex tapped the remote and let the show play. “Not all of us are afraid of nonsexual intimacy Nova.”

Fucking hell, this wasn’t making anything easier.

But it was warm, and relaxing. She watched the show and rested her head on his shoulder. Her mother had held her like this on rough nights when the nightmares wouldn’t stop.

It could really be this simple.

“I like this show,” she told him. “Thank you for inviting me over.”

“Mhm.”

Dex squeezed her once and she relaxed into him.

Her father was definitely right.

She needed to leave.