I can’t stop thinking about him.
Glancing up, Ellie was completely taken off guard by herreflection. Not because she hadn’t expected to see herself in the mirror. But because she hadn’t expected to see the smile currently spreading across her lips.
Someone wanted her dead, and she was standing in Lucky’s bathroom—dressed in Cassie’s t-shirt and sweats and looking like a drowned rat—and she wassmiling. And there was only one reason…
Lucky.
Ellie shook her head at herself, barely resisting the urge to grab her phone for a breaking news alert. She could practically see the headline now…
Hell Has Officially Frozen Over!
Her soft chuckle filled the steamy space. Of all the things that had occurred in her life, somehow the fact that she wanted to sleep with Lucky Lucas should not have been the most shocking.
She’d always thought he was an attractive man, after all. Anyone with a brain and a set of working eyes could see that he was extremely good looking.
And yes, he’d starred in more of her recent dreams than Ellie cared to admit. Hot, passionate, heart-racing dreams that had left her waking with a racing mind and a body filled with need. But that’s all those were.
Dreams.
The dancing…the erotic desires she’d just imagined…those were real. Just like the man himself.
Ellie glanced back up at the mirror. There was no reaction this time. No surprise at the hint of a smile present on her freshly washed face. But had she really expected there to be?
When a person standing at a crossroads finally made a decision on which direction to go, the element of surprise ceased to exist. In its place was a sense of purpose. An end goal to strive for.
She filled her lungs to their capacity, holding the drawn-in breath a few seconds before letting it out in a slow, steady stream. This would turn out to either be the very best decision of her life…or the worst mistake she’d ever made.
Only one way to find out.
Ellie picked up the brush she’d found earlier and ran it through her damp locks a final time. Not giving herself time to change her mind, she gathered the clothes and heels she’d worn to the club and tossed them into the duffle Cassie had provided. Zipping it closed, she picked it up from the expansive countertop before sliding the bag’s wide strap over her right shoulder.
Her timing wasn’t the best, she knew. But if the last few days had taught her anything, it was that life was too damn short not to enjoy it. And after the week she’d had, she was in desperate need of some joy.
Here goes nothing…
Ellie stepped out of the bathroom, the soles of her bare feet immediately sinking into the plush, soothing comfort of Lucky’s cream-colored carpet. Like the rest of his apartment, the master bedroom was modern and sleek. Black furniture came together with white linens, the style creating sharp, sexy lines against a sleek, monochrome landscape.
Making her way out of the room, Ellie passed by the massive flat screen mounted above the recessed linear fireplace to her left. The electric heat source was set inside a wall of horizontal ceramic tiles, putting a modern twist on the traditional fireplace look.
The corners of her lips twitched as she considered how perfectly the design fit the man. Sexy. Attractive. Comforting.
Just like him.
Reaching out, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway. The cold from the hardwood floor was in stark contrast to the warmth of the carpet, but she didn’t let it deter her from her goal.
Nerves danced in her belly as she stalked down the narrow, shadowed space. Stopping at the opened doorway on her right, Ellie entered Lucky’s spare bedroom and dropped the duffle onto the foot of the bed before returning on her previous path.
She passed by a door to her left—a skinny one she assumed was a linen closet. Next to it was another door leading to a second full bath, and on her right after that was the last room in this part of the apartment.
A beam of light cut through the darkness from the half-opened doorway. Ellie slowed her steps as she drew near, stopping just shy of the door jam.
The sound of fingers flying over a keyboard reached her ears, and she smiled. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Ellie wondered how it was even possible for something so simple—a sound she, herself created damn near every day of the week—could suddenly create a sense of…what?
Happiness?
Excitement?
Anticipation?