Stepping out of the shower, he dried off, dressed, and headed to the kitchen, head still in the story. He’d have to rework books two and three to accommodate this change. If he kept the childhood tie between the three female victims, he could keep the motive behind Nightmare’s desire for them. Instead of the brother saving them, though, Faith would do it.
Alec’s head reared back and the slice of pizza fell from his fingertips to the counter. Christ, he hadn’t even realized he’d been eating. Half the pepperoni pie was devoured.
Faith.
She’d wormed her way into his head, under his skin. He’d based his female lead off her physically and emotionally. Wavy brown hair and quizzically sad eyes. Quiet strength, brilliant mind. Because of her, he’d been writing again. And holy shit, it was the best book he’d ever punched out. Even not having finished yet, he knew. This story was different. Girl power. Danger. A little romance. Fear unlike anything in his previous series.
All due to Faith.
Jake was right. She was different than the others. Not a distraction, but a destination. Part of him wanted to grasp that shred of hope for a future, for something permanent and real. Try his hand at normal again. But that wasn’t possible and never would be.
Still . . . she stayed there, trapped in his mind as a maybe. As potential. Alec shook his head and tossed the leftover pizza in the fridge.
He absolutely shouldn’t go over there and see her. It wasn’t fair to Faith to ping-pong back and forth between brooding and flirting. So far, he’d kept himself in check. But if he kept drawing himself toward the temptation of her, he’d do nothing but tear apart her life the way he’d done to Laura. Faith was kind. She was devoted to helping others, and genuinely enjoyed it.
And for the love of God, what was it about her? What was the damn draw? She wasn’t a gorgeous supermodel with pouty lips. She didn’t even wear makeup most of the time. Her body didn’t sport curvy hips and a full chest. In fact, she was so damn wispy thin he could probably bench-press her with one arm. Half the time she didn’t seem to want him around. She’d brushed off that kiss instead of trying to rope him into a marriage proposal like every other woman he’d encountered.
So, yeah. What the hell?
Still worked up into a mild irritation, he lifted his hand to knock on the front door and froze. He sighed with dramatic flair into the humid afternoon heat. Whatever. So she was on his mind and he’d unconsciously walked over. It meant nothing.
Music boomed from inside the house, all but rattling the windows. That wasn’t like her. In fact, every time he’d popped by, the house had been quiet. She and Ginny were usually working on some lesson or baking something. They’d never hear the bell or a knock over this racket, though.
Testing the knob, he found the door unlocked. He strode in and made his way toward the living room where the noise seemed to originate. What he found had his jaw dropping.
Ginny and Faith were . . . dancing. If you could call what they were doing dancing. Ginny was jumping up and down, bobbing her head to the beat. Faith had her arms up, swaying her hips. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks flushed. The blue top she wore rose up to show a patch of pale skin near her navel.
Damn it. Just when he thought he had her nailed, understood her a measurable amount, he walked in to find this.
“Hi, Alec!” Ginny called.
Faith squealed, grabbing her chest and nearly falling. She went to the stereo and killed the power, blessedly silencing the noise. Sweat trickled down her temple and dampened her hair, curling the tendrils. Her chest heaved, drawing his gaze there.
“I wasn’t expecting you.”
“No kidding.”
“We were just getting some energy out.”
He had some ideas on more pleasurable ways of doing that. “Did it work?”
Ginny giggled as if reading his mind.
“I don’t suppose there’s any way you can unsee that?” Faith asked, a half smile curving her lips. No, her lips weren’t pouty. They were thin and naturally a dark pink, the bottom lip slightly more full than the top.
“Not a chance.” In fact, a sudden vision of her sweating with flushed cheeks for an entirely different reason came to mind.
“I figured.” She wiped her brow with her forearm. “Ginny, why don’t you go change into your bathing suit? We’ll go for a quick swim.”
“Yeah!” She bounded past Alec and up the stairs.
Alec kept his attention on Faith—as if there was any other choice.
She fidgeted. “Stuck with the book again? Do you need help to get going?”
“No.”
Surprise had her brows lifting and those honey eyes widening. “Oh. Why are you here?”
Christ. As if the only reason someone would pay her a visit was because they needed something. Just who in her life had given her that theory? “I don’t know. To see you.”
Great. Honesty. So much for keeping her at arm’s length.
“Oh.” Again with the oh.
“Go out with me tonight.”
The words were out of his mouth before his brain could warn him of the stupidity. Guess he had a lot of his dad in him after all. She was the type of woman a guy had to woo. Not the kind you met in a bar and had horizontal in under twenty minutes. He wondered if he even knew how to do this anymore. It had been a long, long time.
Her mouth opened and closed several times before he decided to clarify. Otherwise she’d think he meant anything but what he really intended. “I mean on a date, since I know you were wondering.”
“How do you know what I was thinking?”
“Call it a hunch,” he said dryly.
Her gaze darted to the window and back. “You said the kiss was a mistake.”
“Yes.”
“And that it made you feel like . . .” She waved her hand vaguely, as if not able to form the curse. He realized he hadn’t heard her swear before.
“Shit,” he finished on her behalf. “And I said I felt like shit for doing it, not that the kiss made me feel like shit. There’s a difference.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Forgive me, but I’m confused.”
“So am I.” He crossed his arms, wondering why in the hell he was pursuing this when she’d given him an out. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” Like an irritating song. And so help him, if she said “oh,” he’d . . .
“I can’t leave Ginny alone.”
There. Another out. Perfect. They’d call it off and . . . why was his phone out of his pocket and why was he texting Jake?
Can u watch Ginny tonight? Taking Faith out.
Moments later the response came.
Jake: Lacey and I will be over by 6. Stay out all night.
He sighed in . . . relief? “Jake and Lacey will stay with Ginny. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”
Ginny bounded down the stairs, a towel slung over her shoulder, as he made his way to the door.
“Wait. I didn’t say yes.”
God love her. He turned and grinned at her flustered face as she stood in the entryway. “You didn’t say no, either. Six-thirty, Faith.” He tapped the doorframe and left.
chapter
eleven
The seafood restaurant he’d found was nestled right on the tourist strip, close enough to the beach to smell the ocean. To avoid being crowded, he’d asked for a corner table out on the back deck. Faith hadn’t said much on the drive over or after they were seated. Oddly enough, the lack of conversation wasn’t tense. It was a comfortable silence he wasn’t used to. People tended to attempt to fill the quiet, as if something were wrong with just being.