a's

ly like the kind of place t

personality. No cracks, no chipped paint, not even a dying plant by the door to make it feel human. Just shiny black tiles and that we

l walk away. Go back to the cafe, order another bitter regret-latte,

pressed t

ud c

nlocked im

wasn't cr

w, comforting. I found the elevator, hit the button for the seventh floor, and tried not to let my nerves show. The

stepped out and found m

bre

noc

later, the d

of tall, dark, an

e some broody vampire who'd been alive for th

is shoulders like it had been custom-stitched by sins, and his jeans fit a little too well for someone who didn't care about

tarred in a high-budget perfume ad or buried b

tar

u gonna stand there drooli

Ri

into the apartment like I hadn't just spent a fu

g. I was judging.

Shut the doo

only see on villains who end up stealing your heart and ruining your life in the best way. I hated that I noticed. I hated that I cared. But let's be real-I'd been eating sadness and caffeine fumes for dinner three nights in a row. If my heart wanted to flutter over a walking red flag in a tailored black shirt, who was I to judge it? Still, I had to snap out of i

h, clean glass coffee table, no decorations. No pictures. No clutter. Nothing personal.

t a thousand times, grabbed a folder, and to

it, or don't. Doesn't matte

It was thick. Pages and pages of legal mumb

erwork for a place wi

a look. C

I'll sign your little soul-stealing con

gh. No

h cr

nature, he laid out the rules lik

sts. No drama. Don't touch anything that isn't your

w. And here I was, already p

't even

cool

oom's at the end. Sheets ar

f, disappearing into the mys

ering what kind of human hurrica

, small bed, empty dresser. No warmth, no perso

a groan. The mattress was firmer than I liked, but it didn't smell

the hall, I hea

le

na

my side and le

e out what kind of

four walls, a roof,

e than I'd h