Page 92 of Wretched Soul

“I knew,” he confirms. He isn’t moving now, so I move towards him. “Just like I knew you were following me yesterday. Damn, that was a long walk home. Andthen, when I practically led you to my apartment, you fucking left.”

The tips of my fingers tingle as I search the space in front of me. I’m getting closer. “I was casing the joint."

"Right," he says. “So you could figure out how to breach security and get into my apartment?”

The sum total of my research was looking at the building on Google maps, but he doesn’t need to know that. “I got in, didn’t I?”

“Because I told the concierge to let you in.”

It’s hard to think of a comeback because he’s right… When my fingers touch warm flesh, Mace exhales at the same time I gasp. He’s not wearing a top. “There you are.”

“Here I am.”

My flattened palms explore his bare chest then circle over his shoulders as he rests his hands on my hips.

His mouth brushes mine, and when his tongue swipes across my lips, he groans. “The taste of your sweet mouth is so damn addictive.”

“Kiss me properly,” I beg. I chase his mouth, but he pulls back.

“All in good time.”

“Damn it, Shade, I won. I knew your name weeks ago,” I argue.

“How so?” he murmurs as I press my body against his.

My fingers splay across his shoulder blades, and I apply pressure to his left shoulder, then his right. “Mace. Griffin,” I say, for each of his tattoos. “I said your name when we were at the lodge, and you just made some smart remark.”

Shade peppers kisses along my jawline, and I tip my head back as he unzips my jacket. “No, I’m pretty sure you never once suggested it was my name.”

I reach for his hips and discover the waistband of his boxers. So, he’s not completely naked. Not yet. “Semantics. You’re a bad loser, Mace.”

He kisses just below my ear. “I don’t feel like a loser. Not when you say my name,” he whispers.

I let him slide my jacket off my shoulders and throw it to the floor. He pulls off my sweater next. When I kick off my boots, Mace pulls down my leggings. He crouches down to undress me, and my socks come off last. Now that we’re both in our underwear, I wait for him to stand up. When he doesn’t, I reach for him. The bastard has disappeared again.

Chapter 32

Mace

Iabsorb the sight of Lily’s figure in all its glory, albeit bright green glory thanks to the night vision goggles. I’d happily take her in any shade of the rainbow because she’s mine. I’d clung to Maddie’s words of hope, but it was the meeting request Lily had sent to Calder that allowed me to breathe again. I was being played, and there’s no one I enjoy playing with more than my Slayer.

“You’re going to trip over your jacket,” I warn as Lily does a mummy impression to find her way through the darkness.

“You’re an asshole, Mace.”

“Nice gesture,” I reply as she lifts her middle finger and adjusts her trajectory. Now she’s heading straight for the corner of the kitchen island. “Turn to the left before you do yourself an injury.”

She turns. “You could just turn on the lights.”

“But I’m in my comfort zone.”

Lily holds onto the back of one of the couches as she explores. “I’m not here to make you comfortable.”

She’s not wrong. “Why are you here, Lily?”

She turns a few degrees, but she doesn’t move forward. “Because I know all I need to know about you. I’m not scared when I’m with you. In fact, I’m the exact opposite.”

“You know I’m obsessed with you, right?”