“Oh my god. You’re cutting in line,” I hiss.
“Lines are for humans. Vyastil do not wait.”
God, he’s such an arrogant ass.
I murmur an apology to all the disgruntled people who are watching Rathyn take their turn, my cheeks flaming hot as he drags me past them. No one is brave enough to say a word, of course, but I can feel the tension in the room increase.
When he makes it to the partition, he leans down and speaks to the woman, who looks like she lost her soul ages ago. Her hair is frayed at the ends, wild from neglect, and her glasses are missing their top half like they’ve given up, too.
I feel that. The hot dog stand was slowly killing me. Now I have this new gig, and god only knows how worn out I’m going to be after daily blow jobs. One man’s dream is definitely another man’s nightmare.
“We have an appointment,” Rathyn says once he has the attention of the woman behind the desk.
“Name?”
“Rathyn.”
She clacks on her computer for a moment, then sighs. “Wait here. Someone will be out shortly.”
Rathyn nods, and his hand moves to my lower back, which is an odd comfort in this sea of people who seem weirdly unhappy.
We take a seat in the uncomfortable metal chairs, and Rathyn’s tail curls around my calf. I bite back a smile at the way it tightens around me.
“Is this you holding my hand?” I can’t help but ask.
His gaze meets mine. “What is holding hands?”
I sigh and then reach over to take his large palm in mine. My fingers curl around his, and I realize in this moment how much bigger he is. His fingertips nearly brush my wrist.
“This is holding hands.”
He stares down at our joined bodies and then his ears flutter slightly, his skin rippling. “It seems…similar.”
I squeeze him gently and attempt to let go, but he doesn’t allow it. He holds on to me tighter, the warmth of his skin soothing as we wait. I wonder for a moment if I should make some kind of small talk, but I’m not sure I want any of these people overhearing our business. And frankly, I’m not sure Rathyn gives a shit about what’s on my mind.
“If it’s interesting, I will care,”he says, but it’s not aloud.
I twitch, a momentary headache before it eases, and I feel the weight of him on the inside of my temples.“You have to stop fucking around in my head.”
His tail squeezes around my leg again.“No.”
“You’re so annoying. I have nothing interesting to say. Go away.”
After a beat, he does, and not a few minutes later, a man appears, glasses perched on the end of his nose, his hair receding slightly.
He makes eye contact with Rathyn and then looks down at his paper.
“You’re here for the companion contract?”
Rathyn nods, his tail moving from me, but his hand still sits in mine.
Once again, I don’t pull away, and that seems to make him very happy. I can almost feel it radiating off of him, which is…well, that’s not something I want to think about right now.
We’re guided into a small room with flickering fluorescent lights and beige walls. The carpet is thin and gray, which kind of reminds me of my aunt and uncle’s place. It’s old and dated, almost like it wants to be forgotten.
A shiver moves through me, and I suddenly feel cold. I don’t like thinking about them. For a moment, I wonder why they haven’t tried harder to contact me, but then again, they have no reason to. It’s not like they’ll know what I’ve been up to. Unless Zane sells me out, which I know he won’t. He’s the only one who understands what I went through, living with them.
But I shove the thoughts of them out of my head. I’m nervous enough about this whole contract thing. I don’t need old, painful memories adding to my anxiety.
