“Come on.”
The words are so low, I almost miss them.
“What?”
He sighs deeply, grabs my hand, and pulls me out of bed. Boo glances up, seems to contemplate following us, then decides against it, cuddling deeper into the blankets.
So loyal, my demon-dog.
“Hey!” I hiss quietly at Nate’s back as he tugs me across the loft, past Parker’s sleeping form, toward the doorway. “Where are you taking me?”
He doesn’t answer. He just twines his fingers tighter with mine as he leads me out the front door of his apartment into a low-lit hallway, tows me toward a service elevator, and slides open the gate so we can clamber inside. There are only three buttons on the panel —1,2, andB. He hitsBand the elevator rattles into motion a few seconds later.
“Hello?” I yank at my hand, trying to get free, but he’s latched on tight. “I’m barefoot. Braless. My butt is barely concealed by these boy-short undies. And I would really not enjoy meeting your neighbors while practically naked.”
“No neighbors.” Nate’s eyes flicker down to my chest as if to confirm I am, in fact, braless, then move slowly down my body. “I own the whole building.”
I cross my arms over the girls, feeling my heartbeat pick up speed as his eyes slide down to linger on my bare legs.
He owns the building? Thewholebuilding?
Does that mean we can hook up in this elevator?
Eeek! Danger!
I push the thoughts away and take a step back, so I’m pressed against the wall as far from him as humanly possible. His eyes never leave me as we descend.
It’s easily the longest thirty seconds of my life.
“Well.” I swallow, searching for composure. “Where the hell are we going? It’s, like, one in the morning. I could be sleeping right now.”
Not.
He runs his free hand through his hair, expelling a harsh breath. When his eyes lift to mine, I see frustration in their depths. “Neither of us is going to get any sleep, and you know it.”
My mouth opens, closes, opens again. I can’t really protest — he’s right.
“So you’re taking me where, exactly?” I adopt a haughty expression. “You hitB— is that basement? Batcave? Bottomless pit into which you will throw my lifeless body?”
“You’ll see.”
I roll my eyes. “Could you be any more cryptic?”
“Probably.” His eyes crinkle. “If I tried.”
“You’re annoying,” I inform him.
Annoyingly good-looking.
Annoyingly funny, in your own smart-ass way.
Annoyingly charming, when you look at me like that.
“Uh huh,” he says, like he doesn’t believe a word I’ve said.
“I don’t like you.”
“Boo likes me.” He shrugs, as though that makes everything balance out.