Wicked Torture (Stark World 3)

But I do know that my confession has moved him.

"I didn't sleep with Evie," he says.

"I see. And before. Was there a string?"

This time when he looks at me, his eyes are hard. "Yes. But the last one was a long time before Evie. At least a month. And since Evie, there've been none."

I press my lips together. "There was me."

"No." The word is fast and fierce. He moves closer, so he's standing right in front of me, and it's all I can do not to reach out and touch him. "You're something different."

"What?" I whisper, but he doesn't answer. Instead we're interrupted by a girl I don't recognize who stumbles into the kitchen, looks around, and shouts, "Damn. No wine."

"Come on," Noah says as soon as she's left. He holds out his hand for me. "You haven't met Griffin yet, and we need to get going soon."

"We do?" I put my hand in his, shocked that after the undercurrent of revelations that have passed between us he doesn't yank me toward him. He doesn't wrap me in an embrace.

But his grip is warm, and it feels safe and comfortable. I squeeze his fingers, acknowledging this connection.

"There's someplace I want you to see," he continues. "And we need to be there by seven."

"Oh. Where?"

But he just smiles and leads me toward the door.

It's dark in the yard, but Griffin has a canopy of white lights on strings, making the area look like a fairyland. We find him on a stone bench, and the first thing I notice is his face. Noah had told me on the short walk that Griff was a survivor of a terrible gasoline fire when he was a kid, and that the right side of his body is seriously scarred.

He's wearing a hoodie, but even so, the scars are visible, and my heart aches for the little boy he'd been, and the physical and emotional pain he must have suffered.

Then he speaks, and his voice is so beautiful and rich, I almost forget the scars. "You're Kiki," he says, then points at Noah. "I can tell by your accessory."

"Good guess," I say with a laugh.

"We only came by to say hello and goodbye to the host," Noah says. "I have plans for this woman."

"Noah!"

Griff laughs. "Oh, really? That's good to hear." He looks at me, his voice lowered as if in confidence. "We have a bet going. Considering how early you two are leaving together, I think I may win the pool."

I can't tell for sure in the dark, but I think Noah blushes, and that possibility amuses me so much that I completely forget to be annoyed.

As for me, I stay quiet, too. I'm afraid of what I might say if I open my mouth. I'd started out so determined to keep my wits and not fall for this man again. And yet I've fallen. Hard.

But I'm still not sure if it's smart to do anything about that.

I'm still pondering that question as we return to the car. Noah opens the door for me and waits until I'm settled before he shuts it. I take a moment alone in the car to sigh. I'd told him years ago that my grandmother's test of a worthy guy was if he opened doors for a woman.

"Where do we have to be?" I ask again when he slides in.

"You'll see."

I turn sideways in my seat and scowl at him. "You do remember me, right? Kiki? We dated in Los Angeles. Almost got married, even."

He pauses before pulling out into the street. "I have a vague recollection, why?"

"Because I'm the girl who really doesn't like surprises." Surely he remembers that much. Surely he'll tell me where we're going.

But he doesn't. Instead, all he says is, "You'll like this one." Then he pauses. "At least I think you will."