- RAYA -
I’m still shaky, perched at the kitchen island, looking back out across the pool to where the guest house is, expecting to see shadows passing by while Dex is working over the stove.
"I’ll have the locks changed and an alarm system put in tomorrow," he says, turning to glance at and reaching for a package on the counter.
My eyes dart to him. "No. You don’t have to do that for ."
"I’m doing it for . So that I won’t worry about you," he glances at again, this ti with a smile that makes my heart want to stop. And that’s really unfair, given the scare I just had. "We should already have an alarm system back there anyway."
"Who do you think it was?" I ask, readjusting my arms and the hold I have on myself.
He turns from the stove and braces himself against the island directly across from , and I get to see those muscular forearms perfectly on display. "What did you hear exactly?"
"A door click shut. Then I saw a shadow in the kitchen, and before you got there I heard a lot of creaking. I’ve never heard any of that before today."
He studies , obviously thinking—but whether he’s wondering if I imagined it all or considering options of who it might be, I don’t know.
"Will you stay here tonight until I can get new locks tomorrow?" He asks.
I bite my lip and look back out into the night. A light breeze is swaying the flowers in the garden, and honestly anyone could be out there. There’s enough ground cover and shadows, and we’re out away from the city in the middle of so dense trees.
"Okay." I nod.
I don’t think I can stay back there after being so certain soone was in that house without announcing themselves. It felt far too sneaky to simply be a misunderstanding.
"You can sleep with Moira Rose tonight. I’m sure she’s missed you," he says with a crooked, reassuring smile before returning to his task at the stove.
"Thank you."
"Ah!" He turns, spoon poised in the air toward . "No thank yous allowed."
"But you asked if I was okay twice," I reply, and I hear him chuckle even though he has turned back away from . "So I am actually allowed one more."
A plate is set in front of with thick noodles covered in heavenly slling sauce, and my stomach imdiately responds. Dex Mobius can also cook. Of course he can cook.
"Would you like ice water? There’s also tea." He slings a small towel over his shoulder and walks to the fridge.
"Water is great. Thank you."
His eyebrows pitch upward at the expression of gratitude, but he doesn’t say anything—just smiles again.
"Now we’re even," I smirk, the first ti I’ve allowed myself an expression other than fear since we got inside.
"Let’s sit at the table." He gestures to a dining table while he carries the glasses of ice water over. "It will be more comfortable."
We sit down, and I pull the chair under the table before turning back to the windows. My attention imdiately goes there, paranoid now that soone is watching.
"Hold on," he says, getting back up and searching for sothing in one of the drawers.
Finally he retrieves a remote and points it at the windows, and blinds begin descending, blocking the outside view. "Better?"
I glance back at him and nod, and his eyes stay on as he pulls his seat under. There are a lot of things going on in those eyes—so many emotions. It reminds of the dreams I’ve been having lately where those soulful eyes of his are always on mine.
Dex starts eating without saying anything more, and when I take the first bite, it elicits a soft moan before I can think to hold it back.
"Good?" He asks, his gaze lifting to mine.
"Amazing."
"It’s the fresh pasta. It makes a huge difference." He curls the noodles around his fork before taking another bite and then watching again as I do the sa.
"How was work?" I ask when my thoughts shift back to what had hidden under bed pillows in the first place.
"We did a shoot today for the Luxe Life campaign. Have you heard of it?"
"Yeah. I rember when the creative team was working on the pitch. That one is a pretty big deal, right?"
He nods, taking another bite.
"Did it go well?"
"I think so." There are a few monts of silence. "Have you been on one of the sets before?"
"No, but I’ve always wanted to. Jay sent a few photos today."
Dex smirks. "Jay took the model to dinner tonight."
I’m in the middle of chewing when I almost choke from the surprise of that comnt. I have to wipe my face with a napkin to make sure no sauce ca out of my nose. "Really?"
"They were both laughing the majority of the day. It made the job a lot easier," he smiles, obviously recalling it. "She’s my ex, and it was uncomfortable up until that point."
"Wow." I can’t help but grin. "Good for Jay."
"Jay’s a good egg," Dex says.
"So you’re not like... jealous or anything?" I ask, hating every single word of that question the mont it cos out. It’s so obvious that I’m fishing for information, but I can’t help myself. "It can be hard seeing exes with soone new."
Dex looks at again with that deep gaze, this ti with amusent clearly threaded through all the other emotions. His lips twitch toward a grin. "No, I’m not jealous."
"Well maybe you should be. Jay is a sweetheart." I tell him, eyebrows arched as I take a drink of water.
"To be jealous, I would have to want the sa thing," he squints one eye at , like he’s looking for the real question and not this pretend one I have asked him. "Right now there is only one person who could text in distress and have co running."
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