Chapter 41

Alexi is standing there looking at me like this is the most normal thing in the world, and all I can do is blink back at him, feeling underdressed and my heart hammering like a war drum as I try to calm my sudden breathless demeanour. He made me almost shit myself, and I’m not used to people creeping up on me like that.

“I thought you said you would be gone all night?” I snap at him accusingly, frowning, more in reaction to the fact my body is in a trembling meltdown of aftershock, hand on my chest to calm my erratic breathing and slow down the manic panic of my heart. He gazes at me, still dressed in his earlier outfit minus the jacket, so it’s all rolled up sleeves with tattoos on show and a fitted waistcoat moulded to the muscles under that expensive shirt. His tie is loosened and the top button of his shirt undone, so overall, it’s a more winding down ensemble than the rigid, groomed and foreboding of earlier.

He looks like he has had a tough afternoon, and the sligh