Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best black authors .txt) 📕

her flat took him by surprise. He had been inside a few times to make repairs for past occupants, with the most recent being when he repainted the walls after the previous tenant moved out. Liam took in the charming, homey feel of her flat. It was girlie, soft, and delicate, but sophisticated. Her sofa was a neutral cream tone, as was most of her furniture, but she accented the space with bits of color in soft shades that welcomed you in.

For a moment, Liam pictured himself lounging on her sofa, drinking a beer while having a conversation with her. He had no idea where that thought had come from. He blinked, pulling himself back to the present before he crossed her living room to examine her window.

Liam rounded the corner of the basement stairs once more, and the dreadful feeling from a few minutes ago had grown in intensity. He cautiously made his way toward the furnace. When he knelt to examine the pilot light, he gasped before falling back. His heart hammered, and he felt himself go pale. “What the fuck?” he whispered. Liam knew it had been out. How could it be lit now?

Liam rubbed his hands across his face and surveyed the basement again, making sure there was absolutely no one down there who could be fooling around. Crossing to the apartment door across from the furnace, he checked that the padlock was still there. It was locked from the outside, making it impossible for anyone to be hiding on the other side of the door.

Baffled, Liam wasn’t sure what to think. His mind moved a hundred miles a minute with potential theories. Needing to get to a place where he could think clearly, he hurried up the stairs to Emily’s flat. As he reached the top of the stairs, the furnace kicked on and heated, as if it were good as new.

Liam pulled in three long, deep breaths to steady himself before knocking on Emily’s door. When she opened the door, and her angelic face came in to view, he willed his heart to stop pounding.

“Hey, thanks! Whatever you did worked. The furnace just came on.”

“You’re welcome. It was just the pilot light. If anything else happens, let me know right away. No matter the time. Okay?”

“Okay.” Emily paused, her lips slightly parted as if she were going to say something.

“Well, it was good to meet you, Emily.” Liam wanted to reach out and touch her. Stroke her hair, caress her cheek. He tamped down the feeling. His senses were an erratic mess, and he needed to pull his head together.

“It was good to meet you too, Liam. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything. I’ll be back in the morning to install those extra latches on the window. Ten o’clock okay?”

“Yes. That will be fine. I’ll be here. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Emily smiled, and Liam caught the gold flecks that he remembered from his dream shimmer in her brown eyes.

“Good. I’ll see you in the morning. Have a good night.” Liam watched as Emily closed her door. He stood in the hallway for a minute, collecting himself. Needing fresh air and to clear his head, he decided to walk to the hardware store.

Outside, he stood in the front of the old building and glanced up toward Emily’s window. It was still closed. A part of him hoped he would glimpse her peering out. But her curtains remained drawn. Only the soft glow of her lights shone through. Liam’s heart raced. The woman he’d dreamt about for years was real, and she was living in the flat below his. A moment later, his stomach twisted, a feeling of anxiousness overtook him. Something was going on. He was sure of it. He just needed to figure out what.

Three

Emily woke feeling more exhausted than she did when she had gone to bed. Her sleep had been inundated with vivid nightmares that woke her throughout the night. She had dealt with terrible dreams for as long as she could remember. But lately, they were more frequent, and she couldn’t put her finger as to what the cause may be. This morning, she wanted nothing more than to bury her aching head under the covers and sleep the day away. She whimpered softly to herself, knowing that was not going to be an option.

With her head pounding, she rolled to the side, and using only one eye to squint at her phone, she saw it was 7:30. That gave her a couple hours to get ready, put herself together, and nurse her headache. She had work to do on her new website for her photography business. Since she lived in a new city, she needed to update her site and social media pages to make her online presence known to the local community. Plus, Liam was supposed to be coming by to fix her living room window.

She needed to get up. But first, she snatched her phone from the nightstand to respond to her friend, Lexi. In typical Lexi style, she had sent Emily a text message first thing in the morning. The two of them had been friends for forever. They considered themselves sisters and texted with each other all day, every day. Only lately, it had been less frequent with Lexi being busier than usual at her job and Emily’s recent move.

Lexi: What’s up, woman? It’s Saturday. You have any plans today?

Emily: Not really. I may go for a walk later. Maybe find a coffee shop and get some work done. You?

A few moments passed, and Lexi responded with…

Lexi: Claire called in sick. Again. So I’m at the hotel covering for her.

Emily: Again? What’s up with her?

Lexi: No idea. I’m tired of it though. I need a change.

Emily: Move down here?

Lexi: I’ll work on it.

Emily: I gotta get ready. TTYL

Lexi’s response was a ridiculous amount of emojis of hearts, smiley, and kissy faces. Followed