He was opening up to me, and I waslettinghim. We were sharing something intimate—a glimpse inside each other that felt significant until he shut it down. Things became painfully cordial after that. Our attention was on the humans and their interactions, but neither of us was truly engaged.
My mind was locked in that moment when my arms were wrapped around his neck, sharing his air. Stuck obsessing over his warm, sugary scent and wondering if his lips tasted just as sweet. I was busy wantingmorewhile he pretended I didn’t exist beside him.
Heignoredme, and I was fuming by the time he dropped me off outside my building. But before I could open my mouth to unleash my fury, let him know exactly what I thought about him shutting me out… he was gone.
Poofed away without so much as a goodbye.
He acted as though nothing happened between us, pretending something didn’tchangethat night.
Everything changed.
Everything,and that pisses me off even more.
The last three days have been excruciating, trapped in this cycle of wanting to bend him over and put him in his place while also wanting to… to…
God, I can’t even fucking say it.
Spend time with him.
Comfort him.
Know him.
By the time his impersonal, artificially polite summons arrived, my anger had raged into an inferno. I was breathing fire and ready to burn him, but he collected me with that same impassive, stony face, and it cracked something inside me.
Instead of fighting him, I just came along for the ride.
Hid inside this room.
“Fuck!” My temper sparks as I kick the chair, sending it screeching across the floor. “What iswrongwith me?!” I grab a pile of papers and fling them into the air, watching as they flutter peacefully, then swipe my arm over the tabletop as pens and folders go flying. I seethe to myself, stomping around the roomlooking for more opportunities for destruction when Micah’s irritated scoff rolls through the door.
“I have read and reread the research you sent me on the act of ‘egging’, Xalreth, and every one of the articles agrees this is the right time of day and the proper attire to wear. The ears were an obvious necessity.”
“Obvious,” I groan, dragging my palms over my face. “Nothing about this is obvious, unless we’re countingobviously moronic.”
“I heard that,” he grumbles, and I roll my eyes up into my skull until they burn, silently mimicking him.
What the actual fuck have I gotten myself into?
A sane man would have abandoned this ridiculousness the moment it became clear Micah had no tangible plan. I saw the impending disaster, realized this was nothing more than an excuse for him to inflate his self-importance, andstilldidn’t walk away from this harebrained scheme.
Asaneman would’ve put distance between the two of us as soon as I started catching feelings. It’s pitiful that, despite how angry I’ve been with him, I jumped at the chance to come the split second he asked to see me. All those muttered conversations dissolved into the wind—those one-sided arguments in the privacy of my house, when I told him I didn’t want him… where I gave him explicit instructions on where to shove this position.
Poof.
Gone, the very moment he beckoned.
Hell, if I had a shred of self-respect, I would’ve never volunteered at all. Although, time away from Drekoth is doing me some good… even if I’ve swapped one arrogant asshole for another.
“Are you done primping or do you need a few more minutes to fix your hair?” He chuckles like anything he said wasremotely funny, and the sound grates on my nerves as I stomp to the door.
“That’s rich, coming from a man who needs an entire afternoon to blow dry.” He stands right outside the door as I whip it open, and the force causes the pearly strands of his hair to flutter. He’s fuckingstunning.Pressed black slacks cover his legs while a black sweater hugs his broad chest. The plain outfit makes his face the focus, every beautiful line on perfect display.
His eyes widen as they take a long, leisurely stroll down my frame, and I realize I’m only wearing my boxer briefs. For the first time today, his composure slips as his throat bobs in a swallow. Let him look. He had his chance.
“If you’re done drooling, can we get moving?”
That’s all it takes. His mouth clamps shut, the muscles in his jaw tighten, and his eyes narrow into icy slits as his defenses rise. All those walls that had been broken down by our open conversation at the park are rebuilt and reinforced, stronger than before. What was a wooden fence around his heart might as well be a stone fortress.
