He starts laughing for a minute, and then he shakes his head while acting as if he’s throwing in the towel after our brief fight.
“I suppose we should end this while it’s still appropriate for viewing,” he salaciously offers, and I beam with embarrassment.
Everyone gets a good chuckle, and he waves his hand to the young ones.
“Pair up and work on your skills,” he murmurs with a snicker, and then he stalks over toward me.
“Couldn’t handle the heat?” I playfully snark.
“I couldn’t handle your lips being so close to mine without contact. This is damn near torture,” he freely offers.
“Don’t,” I warn, seriousness mixed with dread rising back to my tone.
“Don’t what? Tell you the truth? I thought that was what you wanted from me.”
“It was… three years ago. It’s too late now. Stop trying to act as if we’re going to pick back up where we left off. It’s not going to happen. I’m not ever going to leave Brazen. He’s good for me.”
“The week isn’t over yet,” he smolders, and I know I’m in so much trouble if this game of chase continues.
“It will be soon enough,” I retort, and then I break free from his entrapping gaze.
“You still love me,” he announces out as I walk away.
I know. I wish I didn’t.
“One week. Just let me make it through one week, and then we can both get on with our lives,” I choke out, tears trying to stain my eyes, and I almost blur out of the room to escape him.
One week.
“Ms. Crush?” a timid human asks.
“Yes?” I say with an insidious and exhausted tone before even looking at her.
“Captain Banner has requested your company in his quarters for breakfast,” she murmurs with too much of a chipper tone.
“Tell Hale I’m in the process of packing. I’ll be leaving in an hour because the week I promised is over,” I almost growl.
I finally turn to see it’s Wendy, the giggly human smitten with my old hybrid - the sad little thing posing as his assistant to stay closer to her crush. She fidgets awkwardly, and then her eyes reveal a grimace.
“I’m really sorry, Ms. Crush, but he was rather insistent. He told me to remind you of his rank versus yours,” she very hesitantly babbles.
“Tell Captain Banner he can send the firing squad after me if he likes, but I’m not obliging him in a breakfast farewell,” I snarl out, and the sad little girl sinks down even farther.
“I could lose my job if I come back without you,” she mutters.
I roll my eyes in exasperation, and I hand her my bags while stalking toward the door.
“Finish packing for me. As soon as breakfast ends, I’m leaving,” I assert.
“Yes ma’am.”
Hale is such an egotistical son of a bitch. I guess he really hasn’t changed as much as I thought. It’s a damn good thing I’m getting out of here. This whole game of cat and mouse has gotten too intense. His lips have almost touched mine far too many times, and his touch has lingered even after he’s no longer around. I’m ill, tired, and I’m going to fuck Brazen to death when I see him.
“What do you want?” I bark as soon as I barge into his room, and my anger flees the moment I see a picture of us sitting proudly on the table beside the door.
My face greets all of his guests? He probably just set it there for me to see. Conniving bastard.
“That was the day you said you’d marry me,” he softly inserts while walking over to me.
