Free Bad Nerd Falling by D.R. Grady Page A

indirect ones. This way he could reach her quickly in the
event of danger.
    Or so he told himself. It didn’t help
that he wasn’t buying his own explanation.
    Instead, he cut those thoughts off as
he coasted to a stop in front of her apartment building. It looked
like what it was. A stately old mansion that had long ago been
converted into flats. Judging from the outside, he bet her
apartment was nice inside. He hoped, for her sake, that it was
safe.
    He approved of the heavy-duty bolt and
lock on the door and the small, but nice foyer. A locked door led
to the stairs and first floor flats. Mailboxes lined one wall.
Beside them was an intercom system and the last names of the
residents. A series of numbers completed the list. He punched in
the numbers after her name and waited.
    “ Hello?” Helena
inquired.
    “ It’s Vlad.”
    “ Oh my goodness.” She
sounded breathless. A buzzing indicated she had unlocked the door.
One he could have easily gotten through without her buzzing him in,
but he would obey the rules. Helena didn’t know his skills and
there was no reason why he couldn’t play at being
normal.
    Helena’s place was on the
third floor. Vlad approved. It would be harder to break in to. Not
impossible, but harder. As he traversed the hall, he was busy
assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the floor. Where could an intruder hide? Where was the
structure at its most vulnerable? Were there easy access points to
this floor? To the roof?
    All that data rolled through his brain
as he stopped in front of Helena’s door. Before he could knock, the
barrier opened and he found himself staring into the green eyes
that haunted his dreams. “Hi.” Her shy smile melted some cold
places inside him.
    His answering smile wasn’t shy. “Hi.”
He trailed a finger down her cheek.
    She stepped back to invite him inside.
He gained as much ground as she allowed. The door snapped shut
behind him and he locked it out of habit. Then he got lost in her
eyes.
    Bad, bad, bad… pay
attention to your surroundings his
survival instincts roared, trying to recapture his attention. Only
those swirling pools of green were so heady, it was impossible to
tear away from them. His head descended while hers ascended and
their lips connected perfectly.
    A tiny sigh of happiness escaped her
before their lips sealed. He wrapped one arm around her and
plastered her against him, full length to full length.
    She felt right in his arms.
    Liking that, he kissed her with
everything he was. All he had to give. Admittedly, it wasn’t much.
But all he had was hers. They kissed, time stood still, and he only
raised his head when he realized his heart threatened to stop
beating.
    His lungs seized and he heard her draw
in several deep breaths, panting like him to keep bodily functions
working properly. That had been close. Still, as soon as the spots
stopped forming in his vision, he lowered his head to kiss her
again. She met him halfway.
    This kiss was a little easier because
both of them remembered to breathe. When they parted, Vlad loved
how slumberous her eyes were. Her lips pouted in a sultry,
beautiful woman way.
    “ You came to kiss me?” Her
eyelids half-masted – like it required too much energy to open them
wider.
    “ No, I didn’t come to kiss
you,” he refuted.
    Her lips curled up in a knowing
feminine smirk.
    “ Okay, I did come to kiss
you. But I also came to just spend time with you.”
    Her smile faded as hope and awe took
its place. “Really?”
    “ That was the plan.” He
ran a hand through his hair, but kept the other arm fastened
securely around her. For some reason, it was hard to let her go,
even to put a few centimeters between them.
    Her smile lit up the dark places deep
inside him. He wanted to burrow deep inside her light, to bask in
the warm, soft glow. This is what drew him here tonight. The sense
of contentment he knew only when he was with Helena. It was
addicting. Like her lips.
    “ I’m glad you came.”