Maybe this was our moment. Maybe with him, it wasn’t meant to be fast and wild. What unfurled between us would be slow, reverent. I could do that.
I slid my hands to his chest, trailing lower. Just as I reached his waistband, he caught my wrists, shaking his head with a soft smile.
“I can’t, Ni. You’re my client and?—”
I pulled away, fast and sharp. The boss mask dropped over me like armor. I wouldnotlet him see me break.
Flicking my hand dismissively, I laughed. “It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it. I get it.”
Turning on my heel, I walked to my desk, slipped on my heels, and shut down the computer. “Let’s go,” I said briskly, waving him toward the door. “We’ll come up with a game plan tomorrow.”
Burnt out, rejected, I needed my bed more than anything.
He nodded, following silently. It was one of the most painfully awkward moments of my life, and that included jungle survival training with my parents, where I had to fight without using my powers. Eventhathad felt less uncomfortable.
We exited the building and walked around the corner to my apartment. The elevator ride was excruciating, the atmosphere around us thick with unspoken words.
At my door, I struggled with the lock, even giving it a shoulder shove, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Here,” Alic murmured, stepping behind me. His arms circled around mine, and the scent of leather and peppercorn filled my senses. It ignited something deep inside me, something dangerous.
I nearly turned and kissed him, but before I could move, the lock clicked, and the door swung open.
Like he could read my thoughts, he guided me inside, then retreated just as fast, muttering, “I’ll be outside. We’ll talk plans tomorrow. Good night.” Then the door shut.
And I was left achy, flushed, and burning for a man I wasn’t allowed to have.
My heart went out to the little stalker.Run and hide, little stalker. Run and hide. The big, bad troll is coming for you.
9
STALKER
“Hahaha!”
I couldn’t stop laughing as I watched the screen. That big lug of a troll was having a full-blown meltdown over the tender little messages I’d been leaving for my star, and the stress was well-deserved. The brute kept turning her down, and that made my blood boil.
Him?!
That ugly, muscle-bound, brainless troll got to stand by my shining enchantress’ side andhad the fucking gallto reject her?Her?!
No. That was unacceptable. She should have anything and everything she wanted. No one shouldevertell her no. And him? He needed to pay for that sin.
I peeled back the lid on the chicken teriyaki bowl I got from that hole-in-the-wall across the street, uncapped my hellfire seasoning, and dumped it over the rice.?* As I stared at the green-skinned monstrosity on the screen, I imagined zapping him dead with my glare. Chomping into a mouthful, I closed my eyes for asecond, relishing the smoky kick of hellfire, the demon-fuel that reminded me of home.
Then I saw her—my star—trying to conceal my other gift, and it made me grin. She didn't even mention the envelope with pink petals I’d slipped under her door. Even when she was being honest, she was still covering for me.
I didn’t know what to say other than she justgotme. She understood that I wasn't going to hurt her—just the opposite, in fact. I wanted to praise her and lift her up, to make her feel like the only deity left in this world. I was the only one who saw it.
We’d connected all those years ago, but I felt it now as strongly as I had back then. She was my person, my soul, my heart. I didn't care if my horns never grew for her! She was my mate, my only, and no one was going to take that from me. I’d failed her once, five years ago, and I was paying for it now, serving my sentence until the moment I was worthy of her again.
I swiveled from the live feed to my recording of the footage from the thirteenth floor, watching Vanny boy try his best to hold it together. Honestly? He needed a little help.
I’d seen him have sex with her more times than I could count, and sure, he let her take the reins, fed her chaos like gasoline on a fire, but when it came to delivering that bone-melting orgasm? He always fell short. That part tookwork. Planning. Research. Knowing every inch of the person you were touching. That was something onlyIcould give her.
Soon, I told myself.Soon, we’ll be together. Then she’d finally see where I fit, how I had always fit, even if she didn’t know it.
I was mid-bite when a crash echoed through the feed. In strutted the English vampire in all his posh, brooding glory.
