On top of that, I’m not sure how to handle our work relationship back in the office. Are we allowed to date? I need to look into the corporate policy on office relationships. Not to mention that I suspect I’ve been wrong about him. He doesn’t seem like the horrible person I’ve been led to believe he is, although I remind myself that I don’t know him well yet and it could be an act.
I file these thoughts away for later and focus on my phone, scrolling through my itinerary. It’s our last day of meetings before we fly out tomorrow, and it’s looking pretty boring. On the bright side, we’re being treated to a nice dinner tonight, so I have that to look forward to.
17
DESPERATION
ASHER
Her entire beinglights up when she sees me in the lobby that evening and it’s a punch of the brightest sunshine straight to my withered heart. It knocks the breath out of me, and I have to take a second to compose myself before I melt into the floor and start panting after her like a lovesick puppy. It’s ridiculous how quickly this woman has wrapped me around her finger, though luckily she seems to have no idea.
I inwardly chastise my aching gums—now is not the time for fangs—as she walks over, and I take a deep breath to calm the urges hounding me.
Mistake.
All it does is pull her coconut scent in so it’s in my nose and on my tongue and all I want is to let my fangs drop and ravish her. I give her a closed-lip smile instead, and she tilts her head in response.
“Why are you being weird?” she asks, amusement clear in her sparkling eyes.
“Shouldn’t you go get ready?” I change the subject, not willing to get into the many things about her that make me feel slightly unhinged while we’re standing in a hotel lobby.
She rolls her eyes. “Okay then. Are you waiting down here?”
“We can meet at the bar if you want. Then walk over together," I suggest, and she nods.
Turning away, she tosses a quick “Give me thirty,” over her shoulder as she strides to the elevator.
I sidle up to the bar, ordering my usual, which the bartender already knows as I’ve been here every day since we arrived. I’m not normally a big drinker—well, not alcohol anyway—but it’s been nearly impossible to be in our hotel room without my fangs dropping. Raya’s scent is everywhere, coconut with a hint of strawberry, and it becomes more enticing by the hour. So, instead of torturing myself in her space, I’m torturing myself by not being in her space instead.
Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse.
When she steps out of the elevator a half hour later, my eyes pop and I nearly drop the glass tumbler, managing to clatter it against the bar at the last second instead. I feel like a cartoon character, and I don’t blame myself one bit because she isbreathtaking.
Her cocktail dress is a sparkling emerald green, the jewel tone bringing out the rich chocolate brown of her eyes, which are further accentuated with long, dark lashes. I could easily get snared by those doe eyes, and I blink to escape their trap. Her hair is up, and my fangs ache to meet her exposed neck.
I gulp, nearly swallowing my own tongue when I force my gaze away from her neck and I catch her legs next, because they’re perfection. Toned muscle and creamy skin; I immediately want them wrapped around my head with those heels stabbing into my shoulder blades.
I mutter to the bartender to close my tab for the night, and receive a confirming chuckle that the bill will go to the room. The guy could charge me triple and I’d have no idea, nor would I care.
Raya strides over, and I bask in the confidence radiating from her.
“Sunshine… you’re stunning," I say, reaching out to lightly glide a hand down her arm, then mentally kicking myself because she deserves so much better than that. She’s impossible to resist, and it scrambles my brain.
Raya’s nose scrunches up and I hold back a cringe for whatever idiotic thing I did to cause that reaction.
“Why do you always call me that?” she asks.
“Sunshine?”
Raya nods, her eyes narrowed, and I step back, taking in her newly stiffened posture and the wariness in her gaze.
“Because you brighten the world around you.” My voice softens, and I step back into her when her posture loosens slightly in response. “You’re like the sun; as soon as you enter a room, it brightens. When you speak, people listen, and you offer genuine warmth and kindness to literally everyone. Your smiles radiate joy. You breathe life into everyone around you, including me.” I consider stopping there, but I’m already in too deep, so why stop now? I lightly trace the shell of her ear with a finger.
“My life was grey until you burst into it, bringing color wherever you go. You’ve brought light to my darkness, and I’ve come to crave it. Crave you, little shifter, my ray of sunshine.” The last few words come out a low murmur, so quiet I’m not certain she even heard them.
Raya’s eyes are huge, and I suddenly worry that I’ve said too much. Her gaze flits back and forth between my eyes, and I feel like she’s searching for more than I know how to give. I want to tell her there’s nothing else to find, I’ve laid myself bare before her, but I don’t. I stand perfectly still, keeping my barriers down and letting her search for what she needs.
When she seems to find it, her eyes drop to my mouth for a millisecond, so quick I may have imagined it if not for theway her pulse jumps at the same time, before she meets my gaze again.
