His mouth curves at the corners. “Idohave a professional curiosity about the sudden schism between our esteemed leader and his new favorite asset, though.”
“Nothing to discuss.” I resume typing, pulling up maintenance logs with more force than necessary. “My place in the business was clarified. I made my choice.”
Orien rubs his chin. “We had bets on whether you had the balls to show up here again.”
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s a good-paying job.” I clench my teeth. “If Rowan wants me gone, he’ll have to fire me and pay my severance, per my employment contract.”
“Balls of steel on this one.” Orien leans back, stretching his long legs beneath the desk. “The boss prioritized which systems need upgrades first. Your assignment sheet is in the top drawer.”
I retrieve the paper, scanning the list of tasks.
“Not sure you’ll be able to avoid him for long,” Orien says, cutting through my concentration.
“I don’t plan to avoid him. He’s my boss, and this is his business.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” He rises from hischair with fluid grace. “Because to me, it looks a lot like two people who?—”
The door crashes open, and time freezes. Rowan’s amber eyes lock onto mine before his focus drops, not to my mouth, but to my throat, and his nostrils flare.
His teeth clench, and his scent spikes, heat rolling off him in a wave that causes my pulse to stumble. “You replaced it.”
I lift my chin, denying the guilt flashing through me. “It’s functional.”
His nostrils flare. “That wasn’t the point.”
No, it wasn’t.
I thought I was prepared for this moment. I thought I could stand in front of Rowan and remain unaffected, but I was wrong.
Desire hits before my mind can mount a defense, slick gathering and skin prickling with awareness as my heart slams into my ribs as if trying to reach out to him. His pheromones wrap around me, invisible fingers stroking places he has no right to touch anymore.
“And that’s my cue to leave.” Orien slides past Rowan, leaving us alone in the security hub.
Rowan ignores him, all of his focus on me, a predator on the hunt. “We need to talk.”
The deep rumble sends an involuntary shiverthrough me, and as I fold the assignment sheet into quarters, my fingers tremble. “Is this about business?”
“No.” The conversation he wants to have hangs in the single syllable.
“Then I’m not available.” I tuck the paper into my pocket, hyperaware of his eyes tracking the movement, the way his nostrils flare to take in my desire perfuming the air.
For the last week, I’ve pictured this moment of seeing him again, hearing his voice, breathing his scent. In my imagination, I remained untouched, unmoved, my control absolute.
The reality is a knife-edge balance between want and pride.
“I’m on shift,” I say, my stomach tightening. “Keep your personal life out of company time.”
He grips the door handle, knuckles whitening, and the veins in his forearm stand out. “I gave you space to calm down,” he says, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave that makes me want to whimper, “but you can’t keep avoiding me.”
“I’m not avoiding you,” I rasp, and clear my throat as I tap the paper in my pocket, aware of how his eyes linger on the pulse hammering in my throat. “I have work to complete.”
Rowan’s stare burns into me, and the room shrinks with each breath we share.
“How’s Lena?” he asks at last.
The question catches me off guard. “Fine.”
I won’t tell him how returning to our old apartment felt like returning to hell, or how Lena is still mad at me for dragging her back there. Or how much I worry it’s reminding her of what happened with Danny.
