Free Naughty Nights: A Bad Boy Romance by Sophie Brooks Page A

glass door. It was under the stairwell—I didn’t think that anyone would be able to see me, but I still kept a few feet back.  
    The Barracuda rounded the side of the building a moment later. She headed right toward the two cars with their hoods up. Even from inside, I could hear the engine revving from the dark black Buick connected by jumper cables to Luke’s Honda. The man standing between the vehicles must’ve been Luke’s brother. But where was Luke?  
    Barbara must’ve been wondering the same thing, but then the Honda sputtered, turned over, and roared to life. Luke himself climbed out of the driver’s seat. He was even wearing different clothes—khaki shorts and an olive green t-shirt. When and where had he changed? But it was a nice touch. He certainly didn’t look as if he’d been wearing yesterday’s clothes a few minutes ago.  
    Luke high-fived his brother, who started removing the jumper cables. Only then did they appear to notice Barbara. Luke said a few words, and then Barbara reluctantly shook hands with his brother. That was my cue to leave before she headed back my way. I hurried back down the hall, happy that Luke was safe. We’d done it.

Chapter Eight

    “CAN I SEE you tonight?”  
    Hearing Luke’s voice made my heart leap. It had been nearly a week since I’d seen him. After his great escape, the hotel hosted members of a conference, and every room was booked. The conference attendees kept Luke super busy, and though I’d tried, I never managed to speak with him alone. I’d been half hoping that he’d stop by to see me after his shift ended some night, but I could understand why he’d be reluctant to do that after all we’d gone through with Barbara.  
    And then on Wednesday morning, someone from that apartment complex I’d really liked called. A slightly smaller, and therefore more affordable, unit had opened up, and it was available immediately.  
    Things happened quickly after that. My manager at Hampton Acres offered to pay for movers as a bonus for my hard work. He was particularly impressed that I’d managed to find a new resident. So on Friday, hours before Luke’s shift even started, I checked out of Luke’s hotel. The movers took everything from my room and my storage unit, and just like that, I had my own place. My new apartment complex was nice, but it was sorely lacking a friendly, funny, sexy night manager.  
    “That would be great,” I said, possibly a little too enthusiastically.  
    “I’m really sorry about before. With conference it was just so busy. And we’ve been short-handed. Reynaldo quit, did I tell you that? It’s been nuts.”
    “It sounds like it,” I said, truthfully. But I also knew how much I’d missed him. It had been disappointing not to be able to spend time with him since last weekend. Part of that was my abrupt departure, I knew. I hated telling him I’d checked out by text message. Things were going to be different now that I wasn’t staying at his hotel. But we could make it work. At least I hoped we could. “Do you want to come over here? There are boxes everywhere, but I could clear a path.”  
    “That’s okay,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s some place I want to take you, so why don’t you just meet me here after my shift is done? Park in the back by the fence, but wait in your car until I get there.”
    “Why? Barbara won’t be there that late, will she?”  
    “No, but I meant, keep your doors locked until I get there. I want you to be safe.”  
    “Oh. Okay.” The fact that he was thinking about my safety did a lot to ease the apprehension I felt about not seeing him this week.  
    * * *  
    After work that evening, I tore open every box marked bedroom or bathroom trying to get ready for my date with Luke. I made a huge mess, but by the time I was done, I had my favorite purple dress on with black high heels. I wasn’t sure where he was taking me, but I was excited about actually dining in one of