Too stunned to speak, I nod in disbelief, lips parted. “Why would you do this for me?”
She shrugs. “Don’t overthink it.”
I gulp, overcome with an emotion I can’t fully decipher. “I promise I’ll come back in time for work tomorrow.”
“You better.” She smirks in that too-cool way of hers, then nods her chin at the sky. “Now, get going before I come to my senses and change my mind.”
Before I slip away, I lift her hand to meet my lips. Pretty chivalrous, I know, but she’s older than me. I figured this would be the best way to show her my appreciation at the moment.
“And Cleo,” I call out, heart thumping. “Words can’t describe how ethereal you look tonight.”
Her lips part again. She raises a hand to her lips to cover a soft smile before nodding her chin.
“Get out of here and enjoy a sunrise from down below for me.”
With that, I take a deep breath and teleport to my real home, starlight consuming my thoughts the entire journey there.
Sixteen
Cleo
He’s late.
He promised me he’d return to Eloras in time for work. The chiming of a clock echoes around me, signaling the strike of a new hour, and still, no trace of him. As calm and composed as I try to be day in and day out, I’d be drenched if I still could sweat.
Perhaps I misjudged him. Or maybe he let his impulses get the best of him.
I’m assuming that’s what happened last night, too. I lift my fingers to my forehead, lightly stroking it, recalling the heated sensation of his lips against me again.
I’ve been intimate with a decent number of men in my existence. Never have I experienced something likethat.
I’m convinced we were suspended in time for a moment.
But surely, that can’t be the case, because that would mean our game of pretend is one-sided.
And it’d be ridiculous for me to be on the losing side. Utterly ridiculous.
Consequently, I push these thoughts to the back of my mind and declare myself unwell for even considering this moment was anything other than a meaningless act fueled by adrenaline.
Okay,fine. It may have been more than that. But that’s beside the point. It won’t happen again, I’m sure.
Hadley has been breathing down my neck about Kai’s whereabouts. Apparently, the Archangels tasked her with making sure we appear at work daily unless we give her notice otherwise. Not to mention, she’s monitored me since I entered the archives, insisting on helping with sorting through the highest shelves in his absence.
Usually, I’d find this type of behavior odd, but because it’s coming from Hadley, I’m not remotely concerned. I’ve known her for quite a while, and she’s always had her quirks.
“When will Kai be coming in again?” she calls out from above, hovering in front of the top bookshelf with a feather duster. I’m almost positive Kai has already dusted that shelf, but alas. No point in correcting her.
“For the fifth time, we had a long night,” I answer. “I imagine he is still sleeping—”
“Fat chance,” a voice drawls from the entrance. Kai saunters deeper into the room, draping his arm around my shoulders. “He’s totally a morning person. He never oversleeps.”
Ignoring the butterflies swarming in my stomach, I glance up at him. “Oh, is that so? Then, pray tell, where were you this morning?”
“I went on a jog.” He shrugs, then nods his chin at her. “I had a feeling you’d hold the fort down in my absence, Hadley. I owe you.”
She smiles widely and descends, planting her feet on the ground in front of us and eyeing the way Kai’s arm is resting over my shoulders. I roll my eyes and set down the book I was holding, crossing my arms.
“Glad you arrived! But please don’t be late again. I wouldn’t want to have to report your tardiness to the Archangels… They gave me specific instructions when assigning you to labor under my supervision.”
