Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jade
I wish I could say that I got myself together after sneaking back into 7D’s apartment to find everything set to rights. Or that I didn’t rush down to the lobby when I saw the mailman approaching so I could see if mail easily still fit into his slot, or if there was some struggle involved because 7D hadn’t cleared out his box in days. Or that I didn’t sit up at all hours of the day and night listening. But hearing… nothing.
I was actually avoiding calls from my mom because I knew that, of all people, she would be the one to pick up on something being wrong with me. I just wasn’t quite sure I wanted to talk to anyone about my concerns.
At least not without some other bit of information to go on.
I tried to remind myself that if 7D wasn’t around anymore, like I sincerely suspected, that eventually his rent was going to come due. Then maybe I could convince someone that something happened to him.
Even if the blood was cleaned up, the police had ways of finding traces of it.
I knew that because my paranoia and lack of sleep had led to a researching problem.
I was practically a pro when it came to crimes and cover-ups now.
The only thing my research hadn’t given me was the ability to compartmentalize the situation, to just let it drop so I could eat or sleep or even just think straight.
I wasn’t sure how people who witnessed actual, for sure crimes managed to ever go back to their lives. I kind of maybe overheard one and I was a freaking wreck.
I did manage to finish my canvases for Mrs. Jackson. As well as one for Lily, Curtis, and their kids since I knew they weren’t long for the building either.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to function without someone else around that I knew, that I felt like I could run to if I was feeling threatened or like I was losing my damn mind.
I was in one of my daily spirals when there was a knock at my door.
My whole body jolted as I shot off the couch in my bare feet, the blanket I was wrapped in pooling on the floor as I stared at the door like it might burst inward. Like the bad guys who wrote the note might try to force their way in and attack me in the broad daylight.
Realizing I was being stupid, that it was probably Lily, Mrs. Jackson, or even William showing up for some reason or another, I forced myself to move forward, ignoring the chill working its way up my spine as I got closer to the door.
When I looked out the peephole and saw a very welcome face, I practically clawed at my locks in desperation to get them free, to get Levee in my apartment with me.
The door was no sooner open before he was stooping downward.
Before I could even guess at his intentions, his hands grabbed the backs of my knees and pulled me right up off of my feet.
My arms flew around his neck instinctively, holding on for dear life as he held me aloft as he moved into my apartment.
He kicked my door closed. Then he slammed me back against the wall just to the side of it as his lips crashed down on mine.
He swallowed my surprised gasp as he kissed me with a sort of frenzied desperation, like he’d been dying to do exactly this for so long that he couldn’t control himself now that it was happening.
My body sank into his as my arms wrapped around him more tightly, wanting him as close as possible, to feel the comforting strength of him around me.
Levee’s teeth nipped my lower lip, nipping just enough to drag a moan out of me.
Taking the opportunity, his tongue slipped in to toy with mine, making desire spark and catch fire, spreading wildly through my system that was desperate to feel anything other than the unending uncertainty and fear it had been riddled with for days.
My hand slid up Levee’s neck, slipping into his hair and tugging. His groan vibrated against my lips as he pressed me more firmly against the wall.
His hardness was pressed against me and I didn’t hesitate to hook my legs around his hips so I could rock against him.
Levee’s hands slid up my thighs, slipping under my skirt, then continuing their path upward until his fingers were teasing the edge of my panties over my hip.
He pulled himself back from me, dragging a frustrated grumble out of me that quickly fell away as his hand slid under my panties.
My head fell back against the wall on a moan as his fingers wasted no time sliding inside of me. A welcome fullness. A needed friction. A perfect distraction.