Sylvi Monroe rubbed her eyes as she
unlocked the door to the
apartment she shared with her boyfriend. She tossed her keys in a
basket on the side table and then shut the door behind her. Taking a
deep breath, she leaned back against the door.
"Home at last," she murmured.
Her wet blazer clung to her skin, and she peeled it off before hanging
it on the coat rack. A shiver ripped through her as cool air from the
air conditioning touched her skin.
Traffic had been horrible, and then
it'd been almost impossible
to find a good parking spot. She'd had to run the couple of blocks in
torrential rain. Her landlord needed to think about assigned parking,
but what could she do? Nothing, really.
Sylvi walked to the bathroom,
stripping off layer after layer
of clothing as she went. She sighed and leaned over the sink, staring
at herself in the mirror. Her dark hair was plastered to her head, and
mascara trailed down her cheeks. She looked like a drowned rat. A nice
hot shower was just what she needed after the day she'd had. If only
Lukas were here, he'd know just the thing to say to make her feel
better.
A frown curved her lips.
His job forced him to travel a lot,
and she hated it. Nothing
she could do about it though. He enjoyed his work, which was more than
she could say about her own employment. Most days she wanted to throw
the pillow over her head and scream at the alarm clock.
Shaking the thoughts away, she grabbed
a towel from the linen
closet, then stepped into the shower and cranked on the hot water. The
feeling of warmth and heat pushed deep into her bones, helping to
eradicate the chill within her.
A smile spread across her lips. This
was the best moment she'd
had all day. Maybe she had been too pessimistic. Her crappy day at the
office didn't really matter, nor did the lack of parking her apartment
building provided.
After her shower, she'd change into a
nice set of pajamas, curl
up in bed, and try to call Lukas. And if she couldn't get in contact
with him, she'd cozy up with one of the romance novels she'd picked up
yesterday. There, that was a good plan.
Sylvi turned off the shower and dried
herself. She wrapped the
large bath towel around her then set off to grab the cordless phone
from the living room. There weren't any flashing lights on the phone to
indicate that Lukas had called. Disappointment fluttered in her chest
before she shoved it away.
He probably had a busy schedule filled
with meetings and schmoozing galore.
She headed for the bedroom and paused
in the hallway, staring at
the closed door. Had she closed it this morning? Lukas couldn't be here
since he would have come out to greet her. However, he wouldn't close
the bedroom door either. They had no reason to.
She chewed on her lower lip and looked
down at the phone. Her
thumb hovered over the number nine. Should she call the police? What if
no one was there? What if she'd had a strange memory lapse? She'd look
like an idiot.
Stop acting like a child, she scolded
herself.
Taking a deep breath, she jerked the
door open and flipped on
the light. Her gaze raked the room. It was decorated in delicate shades
of blue and white. She and Lukas had done this together, as a team. The
memory brought a smile to her face. Until she saw him...
Demetrius stood by the window
overlooking the street, staring
into the rainy night. She knew it was him by his overwhelmingly
muscular build and shoulder-length brown hair. How had he found her
after all these years? They'd experienced a short, wild rendezvous
before she'd come to Florida, but it was so over!
"What are you doing here?" Her voice
shook slightly. He turned to face her, and she stepped back toward the
door.
Tension rose and filled the air.
"Hello to you, too." He stalked over
to the bed. His hands
splayed over the blue velvet comforter. "Mmm... Soft. You certainly do
have superb taste." The bed groaned under his weight as he crawled onto
the mattress and stared at her.
"What do you want?" Sylvi shivered and
pressed herself against
the doorframe. She had to get out of here. There was no telling what
he'd do, especially with her being so vulnerable.
Demetrius licked his lips and ran his
gaze over her as if willing her towel away. "You."
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