The Girl's Got Secrets (Forbidden Men 7)

I sent him on his way five minutes later with a silly, dazed grin on his face and a hickey on his neck.

Giddy warmth bloomed through me as I turned to study his apartment, wondering what I was going to do for the next eight hours or so until he came back. I wasn’t sure why I actually wanted to stay, but the idea of being surrounded by his things just felt...nice. One of these days, I knew I’d have to go home and we’d have to return to normal life and try to begin our relationship from there, but for tonight, I was just going to enjoy being Asher Hart’s kept sex slave.

After dressing, because being naked for Mozart wasn’t nearly as much fun as being naked for his owner had been, I fixed myself something to eat. Then I tried to feed the squirrel some food, but I had a feeling I was about as whipped for that damn hairball as Asher was. When he refused my fruit offer, I broke out a couple peanuts. But I made him come up and take them from my palm...which the greedy little squirrel finally did.

As I watched him enjoy a nut, I rested my arms on my knees and shook my head. “I don’t know how the heck you don’t break out into hives with those things. Peanuts are freaking killers.”

But Mozart didn’t see the harm and kept eating, happily.

With a happy sigh, I pushed to my feet, then I raided Asher’s apartment until I found the cages he’d stowed away. What I thought would be a simple enough, helpful task ended up being hours of cursing and sweat and a little blood when I scraped my arm a couple times on exposed wire, but por Dios, the cages all got hung basically where he’d had them before.

When I was finished, I scratched my head, wondering how the hell Asher ever got his tree rat back into them after letting Mozart free, but then I threw up my hands and decided he could deal with that task when he got home.

So I played a little Call of Duty, but it was no longer as much fun by myself.

I missed my man.

It was late—I could probably catch a little sleep before he made it home—but I was restless for him to return. Something in me was worried that this was all a fluke and he’d never come back, or I’d never see him again...or something. I know, I was in his apartment, where else would he go? But the feeling persisted.

I just didn’t deserve this happy of an ending.

About half an hour before Forbidden was set to close, a knock came at the top of the stairs. At first, I jumped, but then a grin lit across my face, wondering what he was playing.

I raced up the steps and eased open the door, braced for whatever kind of entrance he had planned. But there was no Asher in the dark alley. Actually, no one was in the alley.

A feeling of unease stole over me, so I began to duck back inside when I noticed the slim box on the ground in front of the doorway. When I read the handwritten words FOR REMY on the top, a grin stole across my face.

How the hell had he known I loved little gifts? The man must’ve talked to my roommate. Swooping up the box, I closed the door and hurried back down into the apartment. Once I was seated on the end of his bed, I ripped open the brown wrapping.

The box of chocolates made me laugh. No idea why. It was such a suitor-ly thing to do, something a guy wooing his lady would do, which was probably exactly what he was doing. But damn, he already had me. There was no need for him to be this sweet.

But I’m glad he was, because chocolate sounded really good right about now. Popping the first truffle into my mouth and moaning when my teeth sank through the outer layer and into some thick gooey...mmm, caramel, I moaned aloud.

I downed three before I began to wonder where Asher was. Odd that he’d left me a present and then...not showed up to receive his thank you, which ooh, reminded me. I should thank him...sexily.

If only we were at my place, I could dig into the bottom of my undie drawer and find some of that lingerie I bought because it was cute but never wore.

Well, a girl would just have to make do. After stripping naked, I riffled through his shirt drawer until I found something soft and worn that I’d seen him in more than once.

When I slid it on, a little more winded than usual, I sat on the armrest of the couch to catch my breath, frowning over my sudden exhaustion. I ate another chocolate, but for some reason, that made my pulse race...or maybe it wasn’t the bonbon, but I felt awfully funny all of a sudden. Pausing mid-chew on my fourth—or was this the fifth—chocolate, I blinked rapidly when the room went sideways.

“Whoa.” Putting out a hand to catch myself, I shook my head.

What the hell? I tried to swallow, but the chocolate didn’t want to go down. Instead, I wheezed, and then a violent pain sliced through my stomach.

Clutching my abdomen, I slipped off the couch and landed on my knees, doubling over until I was pressing my forehead against cool wood flooring. Mozart’s face appeared from under the bed as if he were worried, and coming to check on me.

I tried to tell him I was okay, but it took me another second to realize I couldn’t speak...because my throat was swelling.

I blinked when the squirrel went fuzzy, my eyes swelling too.

Oh, shit. Allergic reaction. A little discombobulated because one had never really come on this fast before, I fumbled for my purse, but I couldn’t remember where I’d left it. I tried to look around the room, but I could barely see anything. My breathing got worse.

I rasped Mozart’s name, not sure what he could do—fetch my purse for me?

But I was glad at least he was here with me.

My lungs seized because I could no longer get oxygen, and I think I began to vomit, but I was so weak, and my skin was so cold and clammy, I just lay on Asher’s floor, shivering.