His dad had sent him an address. The same address I saw in Geo’s phone. It had to be connected to the society in some way. I stared at the address, memorizing it. Closing everything out on his phone, I locked it again. With one last look at Alex, I snuck out of the bedroom.
“Lake Drive,” I muttered as I repeated the numbers in my head. The second I read numbers, I forgot them. I needed to remember this until I got to a pen and paper. Running down the hall, I rushed into the kitchen, not even stopping to turn on a light. I’d been here so long, I didn’t need a light to see where I was going. I pulled open the drawer and grabbed the notepad before rifling through the junk to try and find a pen.
“What are you doing?”
“Fuck.” I nearly shut the drawer on my hand as I jumped.
Whirling around, I could just make Niko out in the darkness as he sat at the table. He had a glass in his hand, and I knew it was tequila on ice. That was his drink of choice besides water. I groaned when I realized the address had disappeared from my mind after him scaring the hell out of me. Now I was going to have to go back into Alex’s phone again.
“What are you doing, Sage?” he repeated, standing up and setting his glass down.
“Um.” I bit my lip as he advanced closer. I had learned to think fast since I’d been here, but I couldn’t come up with one good excuse. “I needed water.”
“From the drawer?”
I crossed my arms. “It’s none of your business what I was doing. I live here too. If I want to do something in the middle of the night, I can.”
“Hmm,” he hummed out, leaning over me and grabbing the counter on either side of my waist. His usual minty scent was mingled with alcohol as he brought his face only inches from mine. “How was your first night with Alex?”
His voice had a hard edge, and I scowled. “Fine.”
“Are you ever going to admit what we both know?”
“And what would that be?”
“That you don’t want him.” He lowered his head until his lips brushed my neck. “That the thought of him touching you like this makes you want to run away screaming.”
Goosebumps trailed over my skin as his lips grazed down my neck. Niko had kept my secrets so far. But I didn’t trust him. Not with everything. He refused to open up about the society, which meant he was still loyal to them.
“What are you doing up?” I asked, changing the subject.
His lips left my body, but he stayed in front of me. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Why?”
“Because the thought of him touching you like this is my own personal fucking nightmare.”
I sucked in a breath when his hands went from the counter to grasping my hips. I wasn’t sure if it was the tequila talking or not. “Is it just about sex to you?”
“What do you think, Sage?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” I muttered, trying to ignore the growing heat between us as he held on to me.
A beeping rang through the silence, and the warmth of Niko’s hands immediately disappeared as he hastily stepped back.
“Alex’s alarm.” He stated what we both already knew. “Better get back in there before he realizes you’re gone.”
His blank expression was back, which meant he was done talking. Shaking my head, I didn’t say a word as I left the kitchen. Hoping I could slip back into bed before Alex woke up, I snuck down the hall. Alex had to set five alarms to wake up. There was a good chance he’d still be asleep.
“It’s not just about sex.”
Niko’s quiet admission hit me like a wall, but I was too tired and confused to think about it. And now I’d have to wait another night to get that address from Alex’s phone. It had been a long damn night. I breathed out a sigh of relief when Alex hadn’t moved an inch. Lifting the blankets, I lay down and buried my face in the pillow, praying for sleep to claim me.