Sweet Evil(49)

I went back in and grabbed my running clothes, then changed in the bathroom. I opened the door to the bathroom, stopping when I saw Kaidan’s toiletry bag on the sink. I was overcome with curiosity about his cologne or aftershave, because I’d never smelled it on anyone else before. Feeling sneaky, I prodded one finger into the bag and peeked. No cologne bottle. Only a razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. I picked up the deodorant, pulled off the lid, and smelled it. Nope, that wasn’t it.

The sound of Kaidan’s deep chuckle close to the doorway made me scream and drop the deodorant into the sink with a clatter. I smacked one hand to my chest and grabbed the edge of the sink with the other. He laughed out loud now.

“Okay, that must have looked really bad.” I spoke to his reflection in the mirror, then fumbled to pick up the deodorant. I put the lid on and dropped it in his bag. “But I was just trying to figure out what cologne you wear.”

My face was on fire as Kaidan stepped into the small bathroom and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. I stepped away. He seemed entertained by my predicament.

“I haven’t been wearing any cologne.”

“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Well, I didn’t see any, so I thought it might be your deodorant, but that’s not it either. Maybe it’s your laundry detergent or something. Let’s just forget about it.”

“What is it you smell, exactly?” His voice took on a husky quality, and it felt like he was taking up a lot of room. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. Something strange was going on here. I stepped back, hitting the tub with my heel as I tried to put the scent into words.

“I don’t know. It’s like citrus and the forest or something... leaves and tree sap. I can’t explain it.”

His eyes bored into mine while he wore that trademark sexy smirk, arms still crossed.

“Citrus?” he asked. “Like lemons?”

“Oranges mostly. And a little lime, too.”

He nodded and flicked his head to the side to get hair out of his eyes. Then his smile disappeared and his badge throbbed.

“What you smell are my pheromones, Anna.”

A small, nervous laugh burst from my throat.

“Oh, okay, then. Well...” I eyed the small space that was available to pass through the door. I made an awkward move toward it, but he shifted his body and I stepped back again.

“People can’t usually smell pheromones,” he told me. “You must be using your extra senses without realizing it. I’ve heard of Neph losing control of their senses with certain emotions. Fear, surprise... lust.”

I rubbed my hands up and down my upper arms, wanting nothing more than to veer this conversation out of the danger zone.

“Yeah, I do have a hard time reining in the scent sometimes,” I babbled. “It even gets away from me while I sleep now and then. I wake up thinking Patti’s making cinnamon rolls and it ends up being from someone else’s apartment. Then I’m just stuck with cereal. Anyway...”

“Would you like to know your own scent?” he asked me.

My heart swelled up big in my chest and squeezed small again. This whole scent thing was way too sensual to be discussed in this small space. Any second now my traitorous body would be emitting some of those pheromones and there’d be red in my aura.

“Uh, not really,” I said, keeping my eyes averted. “I think I should probably go.”

He made no attempt to move out of the doorway.

“You smell like pears with freesia undertones.”

“Wow, okay.” I cleared my throat, still refusing eye contact. I had to get out of there. “I think I’ll just...” I pointed to the door and began to shuffle past him, doing my best not to brush up against him. He finally took a step back and put his hands up by his sides to show that he wouldn’t touch me. I broke out of the confined bathroom and took a deep breath.

Shoes. I needed to get on my tennis shoes. I scrambled through my things on the floor and found them, shoving my feet in and tying the knots. Of course Kaidan Rowe would know what freesia smelled like. He probably had to take a flower course during lust training.

“Going somewhere?”

In my peripheral vision I saw him standing in the bathroom door. I wouldn’t meet his eyes, afraid they’d be as stormy as they were after our kiss.

I stood and looked at the clock. It was nine. “Yeah, I’m going for a run.”

“Mind if I join you?”

I huffed out a determined breath and looked at him now. “Only if you’ll do something for me.”

He raised his eyebrows in response.

“Teach me to hide my colors.”