Read Online Sleeping With the Entity by Cat Devon - Free Book Online Page A

big business ruled by large corporations, as was much of the country these days.
    But here on her block, the Evergreen Funeral Home lived on. Her dad said business was booming since Gordon stepped in. She found that a little hard to believe given her brother’s gambling habits. But she’d never had any interest in the family business per se. Embalming wasn’t her thing. She and her mom had focused on comforting grieving people, while her father and brother were more interested in completing procedures. Daniella and her mom were into people. Her dad and brother were into the process.
    Daniella was so deep in her thoughts that she shrieked when Nick suddenly materialized beside her. The large garage door leading to the alley was still open, which was clearly how he got in.
    “You need to be more aware of your surroundings,” he chastised her. “You haven’t forgotten that incident in the alley a few nights ago, have you?”
    “No.”
    “Good. Here, let me help you with that.” He took one of the canvas bags filled with food from her. “So this is Shirley, huh?” He eyed her pink scooter.
    Daniella returned the favor by eyeing him suspiciously. “How did you know I named my Vespa Shirley?”
    “I must have heard it in the neighborhood,” he said smoothly. “Where are you going with all this stuff? To the shop?”
    “No, to my apartment above the shop.”
    She hung her pink helmet on the scooter’s handlebars, set the garage security system, and closed the door before heading down the alley to the narrow walkway between her building and the neighboring one.
    “This is a danger zone,” Nick said.
    “If the bag is too heavy for you—”
    He interrupted her. “I meant you’re in an enclosed area.”
    “There’s a security camera mounted on the front corner of the building,” she said. “It covers this area as well as my shop.”
    “Does it cover the alley?”
    “No, but I’m looking into adding one there.”
    She passed the shop’s door and headed for the one next door. Nick followed her, watching her as she jingled her key in the lock.
    “Do you need my help?” he asked.
    “I’m okay.” Her nerves were caused by his proximity. She could feel the heat emanating from his body. He was wearing his customary black, and he looked better than she remembered. He smelled better, too. Not that he’d smelled bad before.
    Right. She was definitely losing it here. She needed to focus … and not on how sexy Nick was. No, she needed to focus on practical things like opening this darn lock. There. She finally got it and yanked the door open.
    A steep flight of stairs led up to her one-bedroom apartment.
    After unlocking her apartment door without any trouble and punching her code into the security system, she turned to see Nick still standing in the hallway. “Come on in,” she said. “Would you like something to drink or anything?”
    “No, thank you.” He closed the door behind him and set the tote bag of food on the kitchen counter to the right of the entrance.
    Daniella had kept the vintage feel of the kitchen with white subway tile on the kitchen walls and the pink refrigerator. Granted, pink wasn’t the usual color for the appliance, but it added a nice dash of color. The original wood flooring had been sanded and varnished throughout the apartment. While the kitchen might look Old World, her cooking equipment was top-of-the-line.
    Danielle noted the way he was surveying his surroundings. “I’ll bet you were expecting lots of pink and ruffles, right?” she said
    “You do drive a pink scooter and you have a pink refrigerator.”
    “I like pink,” she readily admitted. “A lot. But I also like other things.” She gestured toward her living room with its bright palette of raspberry red and ivory. Stationary floral curtain panels subtly defined a cozy reading corner with a window seat beneath large tall windows.
    Instead of commenting on her decorating, Nick said, “I wanted to talk to you