Regardless, Atria saw the kohl staining his hands and thought,Not for me.
A scalding wave of anger, hurt, and loneliness washed over her.
She didn’t want someone who was already mated, and she didn’t think she was into sharing. Even if it turned out that he and his mate were separated, she didn’t think she could stomach it. Everyone knew that the person who came between mates always lost in the end.
It would be just her luck, though, to find herself so very attracted to a man who was already taken.
High Priestess Desdemona would call it a just consequence,she thought, pricking her old wounds,and I guess she’s right. If the gods are real, then why would they give me a mate to cherish? I abandoned them.
Norman had asked her several times to bond with him, but she turned him down again and again. She had wondered many times in the year since their breakup if that was a mistake, ifhewas her only chance.
Atria tried to shove that thought aside even as it wormed into her mind, carrying with it the sting of humiliation she now associated with what had passed between herself and Kaz.It’s not like it matters, anyway. I wouldn’t want to find myself mated to a man like Norman, and especially not to Kaz. It’d be like hitching myself to a bulldozer.
Kaz’s fingers were warm and a little callused when he tilted her head back toward him. Atria’s gaze moved reluctantly as well. For a moment, they simply stared at one another, their faces only a scant few inches apart. She could feel his breath on her cheeks and the drowsy sort of heat that radiated off of his bare chest.
Her stomach swooped again, very much against her permission. It was utterly mortifying to feel her sensitized core clench when he skimmed the pad of his thumb over her scraped chin. The warmth that pooled in her lower belly when she felt his hips flex against the sides of her knees was even worse.
He’s a mated man,she tried to tell her rebellious libido.And he didn’t bother to tell you so before he went down on you.
It was as humiliating as it was infuriating. The only reason Atria didn’t immediately begin to rail at him for it was because, after tomorrow morning, she planned to get as far from him as humanly possible — and never lay eyes on him again.
She hadn’t planned on making this athingbetween them anyway. It was just as well that he turned out to be a huge asshole.Better to know now rather than later.
Gods only knew what he might have been able to get her to do with that tongue. She might have actually let him take her back to his apartment!
For Kaz’s part, he seemed not to notice her sudden tension. His dark eyes were half-lidded as they slowly roved her features. He appeared to be looking for something, but what that was, she couldn’t fathom. If he expected her to lean in for a kiss, or make some comment about his kohl, then he was sorely mistaken on both counts.
She did not go around kissing mated men — again — and she had no intention of prying into his private life.
Slowly, a frown began to pucker his forehead and turn down the corners of his mouth. Kaz eased back a few inches, gave his head a tiny shake, and then set about his task in earnest.
She flinched when he touched her cheek again, but when she glanced down, all she saw were dark knuckles, long, tapered fingers, and a curious set of what appeared to be retracted claws.
“Oh,” she breathed, settling as he smeared the ointment with more confidence. Her voice was tight when she said, “I didn’t realize you could do that with your claws.”
“Elf thing,” he muttered. “Finish telling me about your work.”
Back to business.
ChapterSeventeen
Atria clearedher throat and tried, with minimal success, to ignore the fact that he was no longer simply touching her face. His other hand was anchored on the outside of her thigh. Ungloved, it was hot and a little rough against her skin. Did he realize he was hitching her leg up slightly on his hip?
Calling attention to it would probably only make things more painful than they were, so she was determined to simply rigidly ignore it. There was no point in talking it out when she never wanted to have anything to do with him again. It wasn’t like she was invested in him, or evenlikedhim. His touch felt good, but she would rather walk back to the airport on her own than let him get any farther.
Summoning her crispest, most academic voice, she answered, “I don’t know what more you want me to tell you. This is the most important scientific conference in the territories. It only happens once every three years. It’s the biggest platform we could possibly have to announce our work.”
“Okay, but if your discovery is as big as you say it is, wouldn’t the impact be the same as if you announced itanywhere?Why does it matter that you do it in front of a crowd of big-wig scientists?”
She watched his clawssnikout when he picked up one of the bandages. Using the very tips with precise control, he managed to cut a perfect strip just big enough to fit over the split in her cheek without being uncomfortably close to her eye.
Holding very still as he applied it, she answered, “You don’t understand. Science is— the academic world can be cruel and competitive. Ruby and I have been the butt of jokes for adecadefor our research. I’ve been looked down on for even longer. This was our chance to show everyone how wrong they were and make a difference at the same time. And we’ve been booked for this presentation for over a year. If we back out now, we’ll be a laughing stock. Permanently.”
Kaz snorted. “So it’s one part service to your fellow beings and one part pride.”
Atria hated that his simplification and easy dismissal made her eyes water. He, like everyone else besides Ruby and Norman, had neatly waved away her entire reason for existence. Not only was he about to snatch this from her, but he thought she only cared about it because she wanted the clout.
She didn’t give a rat’s ass about the clout.
