Chapter 55

Alistair’s POV

Through my closed lids, I heard her footsteps clicking against the floor in uneven rhythms. With every measured step, I felt my heartbeat thunder in my ears—and, more embarrassingly, my “little monster” growing harder by the second. The urge to pull her toward me, push her gently onto the couch, and explore every curve of her body rose inside me, mounting with each footfall. Yet more than raw desire, it was the anticipation of what would happen the moment she paused right in front of me that drove me nearly insane. Would she finally feel comfortable enough to… you know, do that thing with me again?

Suddenly a pulsing beat began thumping in the room, soft at first and then growing louder. A bright, excited voice—hers—broke the silence. “Okay, you can open your eyes now!”

I flung my eyelids apart, braced to see her in lingerie, or maybe a skimpy bikini, hair up in a playful ponytail. Instead, there she stood in baggy gray track pants, an oversiz