“That’s…” Raya stops, clears her throat. I have to tear my eyes away from it when she swallows; I haven’t been this tempted in well over a decade.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She reaches up and cups one palm on my jaw. “Thank you, Ash.”
“Ash?”
“Ash,” she shrugs, “feels like it suits you for some reason.”
It does feel like it suits me, but only from her. If she’s a ray of sunshine, she’s effectively burning my demons into ash with only her presence. I’ll take all of it—all of her—that I can get.
I offer an elbow for her to take, if she wants.
“Shall we?” I ask.
Her smile is a soft one, nearly heartrending in its tenderness. It fills my chest until I’m worried it’ll burst.
“We shall," she says, and tucks herself right in against my side, both hands wrapped around my biceps as we walk back out to the lobby.
Her heels click a staccato beat against the floor, and I can’t help glancing down at them. I force my thoughts away from the pictures forming in my head; pictures of her without the dress, pictures of the dress pooled on the floor around her shoes, pictures of my hands gripping those incredible thighs, and what her face might look like when she comes. I’ve actively avoided getting involved with a coworkers in the past, but here I am, falling head over heels for this ridiculous shifter.
I suck on my teeth as we walk across the street to the seafood restaurant, tonguing my fangs in an attempt to lessen the ache, but it does no good. As I knew it wouldn’t.
It’s her. She’s under my skin and irritatingly stuck there.
When we follow the hostess into the reserved section in the back, heads turn toward us and I do my best not to glare at the eyes running up and down Raya’s body. If I had hackles,they’d be up in arms, and as it is I have to pinch my mouth shut to stop the growl threatening to emerge.
She isn’t mine, and I have no right to be so territorial or possessive. That thought is unbearable, and everything in me rebels at the idea of not having her. I want her to be mine, and I want to be hers. The idea that we aren’t anything close to that starts an irritating headache behind my eyes. I dig my fingers into my temple, only now realizing what trouble I’m in.
“Are you okay?” Raya asks, her voice quiet as she squeezes my arm.
I look down at her, and although she’s still smiling, there’s concern in her gaze.
“I’m fine," I say, doing my best to look reassuring. Based on her pinched eyebrows, I’m not doing a good job.
I pull her chair out for her to sit, doing my best to prevent my gaze from lingering on Raya’s legs as she gracefully lowers herself and smoothes her short dress over her thighs. It feels like tearing my own eyeballs out, but I manage it somehow. I take the seat next to hers, accidentally-on-purpose brushing my knuckles down her thigh when I drape my napkin over my lap, satisfaction floating through me when goosebumps break out across her skin.
We sip on our drinks, making small talk with the others seated at our table as we wait for the meals to be served. I don’t participate much, which isn’t out of character for me, but I am much more invested and attentive than usual. Of course, my attention is solely focused on the enchanting creature next to me.
Raya is animated, polite and friendly to everyone, and fully engaged in each conversation she’s drawn into—which is basically every single one. I meant what I said earlier; she radiates light and it draws people to her. Everyone wants to speak with her, make her smile, hear her laugh, be graced with herattention. I can’t blame them for it, because I feel the same way.
When the servers come around with our orders, I tug at my shirt cuffs and sigh at how slowly this dinner is progressing. I’ve been holding myself back as best I can, but I can’t help tracing my fingers along her leg, brushing her arm with mine, nudging my knee into hers at every chance I get.
All I want to do is sprint back up to our room where I can have Raya and all of her attention to myself. I don’t eat much; vampires can eat human food, but it doesn’t do anything for us and I prefer not to as it doesn’t always sit well. I pick at the fresh seafood, pushing it around so it looks like I ate more than I did, and keep an eye on Raya’s plate.
When it looks like she’s done and has carefully crossed her utensils over the remaining scraps of food, I stand and offer my hand.
Raya’s eyes bounce up to mine in surprise, a question in her gaze.
“I thought you might want to turn in early, since we have an early flight tomorrow. I’ll walk you back to the hotel, if you’re ready to go?” I offer in explanation, not feeling one iota of guilt for the lie. We don’t fly out until mid-afternoon, but no one else needs to know that.
A rosy flush creeps up her neck as she places her hand in mine, and one side of my mouth tilts up at the corner.
“Right, probably best to call it a night. It was great chatting with all of you!” Raya waves as we leave, tucking her hand against my upper arm again. It takes all of my concentration not to flex my muscles in response to her light touch.
18
THIS ISN’T EVEN OUR FLOOR
RAYA
