“Natalie?” My brows lifted. “What’re you doing here?”
She was a main-floor waitress. She had no business being on this floor.
She spun at the sound of my voice, eyes going wide. She jerked to a stop right in front of me and bowed low. “I’m so sorry, Miss Aniyah.”
Slowly, she lifted her head, her eyes avoiding mine. I exhaled, long and annoyed, crossing my arms as I waited for the excuse. Her eyes darted around before settling on mine.
“I—I…” she stuttered, her body shaking like a leaf.
I twirled my finger, signaling for her to spit it out.
“Mr. Manicotti and Mina had a little too much to drink downstairs,” she rushed out. “She asked me to help them up to the room he booked.”
It was believable and veryhim. Manicotti was a millionaire mage with a fetish for fucking under shooting stars. Claimed when they streaked past at the right moment, it felt like his dick was magic, making the star shine with his orgasm.
I nodded once. “Okay. Get back to your post downstairs.”
Without hesitation, she scurried into the elevator with a scared but grateful smile before she pushed the main floor button. The girl was just trying to help a friend. I had to give her a little slack.
Shrugging, I continued, but when I rounded the corner, any sympathy vanished.
Nathen, in full wolf form, was pinned against the wall by the throat, his teeth snapping furiously at Ras, who dodged the attacks like it was nothing.
“Did you and Van trick me into helping you?” he growled, the sound lethal. “I was minding my business, stalking the jewel of my existence, and then youhadto ruin it with your incompetence.”
He leaned in close, mouth near Nathen’s jaw, not a hint of fear in his eyes. “I’ve killed for less. I really hate when people disrupt our time together.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “How can you say you’re spending time with me,” I called out, “when all you do is watch from afar? That’s not exactly fair, Ras.”
He turned at the sound of my voice, and just like that, the monster melted. In two seconds flat, he changed from killer to cuddler.
A wide grin spread across Ras’ face as he dropped Nathen like a sack of wet laundry and strode toward me.
His eyes slowly roamed from my heels to my mouth, soaking in every inch of me. He looked at me like I was art—divine, untouched, worthy of unlimited devotion.
My stomach fluttered. I turned to the side, striking a playful pose. “Well? How do I look? Ravishing, right?”
He stopped a few feet away, inhaled deeply, then exhaled like he was trying to keep himself from combusting. When he opened his eyes, that boyish smile was waiting.
“Turn for me, my star. Put on a show.”
I winked, swaying side to side, giving him teasing glimpses of bare skin where the fabric cut away. His crimson eyes tracked every movement like a predator in tall grass.
Stepping closer, I slowly twirled, letting the dress move like a second skin for the finale. When I faced him again, his chest rose and fell in sharp bursts. His arms were tight at his sides, showing just how hard he was working to restrain himself.
I peeked around him and caught sight of Nathen. Now shifting back to human, he laid on the ground, coughing.
“We need to talk about how to treat people, especiallymypeople. You know, the ones who make me money?”
Ras trembled, every muscle in his body strung as tight as a drawn bow. The way he looked at me... I knew he wanted to trace every inch of skin he'd just seen with his tongue.
Sucking in my bottom lip, I tried my hardest not to laugh, not to let him know I was pushing him on purpose.
A strangled chuckle escaped me. His eyes snapped to my mouth, locking on the slight tremble.
Those ruby irises flashed like fire, and suddenly, I was over his shoulder with just a scoop of his arms.
“Ras!” I shouted, wiggling around, but his grip was unshakable.
