“But you said Roy’s been threatening you for eight years now. What suddenly made you so reckless?”
“He sent me a box at work.” My hands start shaking, and I grip my fork and knife tighter, although I can’t decide if I’m doing it to hide my reaction or because I need something that can be used as a weapon. Maybe both.
Tolyan’s expression remains placid. When I don’t speak, he gestures. “Go on. What was inside it? Some sort of roadkill?”
Shudders run through me. His guess is a good one. And I would’ve preferred that. “My underwear. He went through my stuff at home. So that’s why.”
“Poor security at your old place,” he murmurs.
I nod. The garage apartment has zero security. The door is flimsy. The landlord only converted it into a living space so he could make some extra cash that he doesn’t have to report to the IRS.
“So now you understand why I said you needed to move in with me.”
I nod again, flushing at the memory of how I initially objected to that suggestion.
Still, that doesn’t explain why he’s helping you when he doesn’t have to.
But do I really have to know his reason?
His phone buzzes. He glances at it and stands up. “I need to take this. Excuse me.”
He goes into another room, making sure I can’t hear the conversation.
I pick at my dinner, then shake my head. I’m overthinking this because of what Courtney said. I should just accept that meeting Tolyan is the first really good thing that’s happened to me in the last eight years and be happy. Unlike Courtney, I know what’s actually going on.
But do you?
He comes back and sits down. “Is everything okay?” He is looking at me like he knows exactly what’s going through my mind.
But the words get caught in my throat. It feels like if I question my good fortune, it’s all going to go away and I’m going to be back outside, alone and unprotected…
Running again.
I’m so, so tired of running. Tired enough that I’m willing to overlook a lot of things.
So I just nod. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Angelika
I take advantage of the home gym and do some treadmill jogging in the morning. I watch the dogs frolic on the vast deck while Tolyan swims in the pool.
Holy cow. He has an amazing body. I mean, I knew there was a strong, tight physique underneath his clothes. It’s obvious in the way he moves, the way his shirt pulls across that flat waist when he turns to get something. But seeing him in nothing but black trunks is quite another.
His body is more muscular and leaner than men a decade younger. There doesn’t seem to be an ounce on fat on him—just solid, functional muscle, like if a tree trunk suddenly decided to become a bodybuilder. The morning sun kisses the taut, lightly tanned skin of his broad shoulders, thick arms and legs, and gorgeously ridged abs.
I lick my lips.
And watching him cut through the water with seemingly tireless power and speed? My body temperature rises for reasons that have nothing to do with the treadmill. I chug down some cold water, but it doesn’t do anything to lower the heat curling in my belly.
About the time I’m winding down, he pulls himself out of the pool. Water sluices off, then lingers on his skin in droplets that sparkle like diamonds. My mouth goes drier than sandpaper. I want water. And not from the bottle stuck in the treadmill holder—off his body.
You have it bad.
Courtney implied that he might be helping me for sex. I find myself suddenly very okay with the idea.
Besides, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Courtney’s just being paranoid. She doesn’t know the full story between me and Tolyan, and I shouldn’t let what she said bother me.