And my dragon had suspected as such the moment we’d laid ey
es on her. He had known what this meant, how I’d feel about it, but had he warned me? No. Yet another thing to add to the list.
I just had to resist the urge. I swiped a hand over my face, wiping away the small telltale beads of sweat. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? “Make yourself at home.” I gestured to my large desk, proud that my voice didn’t crack, though it did sound a little hoarse.
She spun my chair around, settling in and scooting it closer to the desk. Setting a purse on the solid oak slab—something I’d been too distracted to notice before—she rifled around inside, pulling out a handful of pens, a notepad, and an e-tablet. Setting them to one side, she nudged them around until they formed a semi-circle enclosing my computer, then set her hands on top of the desk.
She looked so small there, the large chair frame swallowing her up in its cocoon of cracked leather and battered wood. Brown eyes blinked at me out of a face nature had designed to take my breath away.
My heart thudded, as though trying to force it’s way out of my chest.
A soft click. She slid a pair of wire rimmed glasses onto her nose, pushing them up with one finger as her lips pursed into a frown. “Password?”
“What?” I couldn’t help myself, I knew I was staring.
“Your computer. I need access to your files, Bastian.” At my continued silence, her frown deepened. “I know you think I’m out to get you, but I’m not. Honest. If I can find a way to fix your clan, I will. That is, as long as you haven’t been…”
I filled in her unsaid words. As long as I hadn’t been continuing to gamble the clan’s money away. She didn’t look away, and neither did I. Both of us sending silent messages I had no hope of deciphering. Did she want me to fail? Would she cover for me? Did I want her to?
“Astrid.” I pointed at the computer.
Her fingers tapped the keys and the screen lit up with the swirling screensaver I preferred. Impersonal. Generic. Safe.
“Paper files?” When I tilted my head to the cabinet in the corner, she nodded, pushing her glasses firmly back up her nose from where they had slid. “I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Dismissed. I snorted, shooting her my best scowl, the one that had villagers ducking for cover and Astrid rolling her eyes.
Faye ignored me.
I circled around, peering over her shoulder as she scrolled through screens filled with numbers. My numbers.
“Do you mind?” she murmured, not bothering to turn around.
I leaned closer, partly so she could feel my breath on her neck—the breath of a pissed off dragon, lest she forget—and partly so I could drink in her scent one more time. Yeah, I was an addict, and she was quickly turning into my latest addiction. “This is my house,” I murmured in a low voice, watching as she flicked through screen after screen of accounts, never seeming to hover over any number for too long.
“If you want to keep it that way, you’ll let me do my work,” she snapped back, shooting me a withering glare, but the tips of her ears had pinked, bare from where she had tucked her hair behind her ears to make room for her glasses. Then she made a shooing gesture, flicking my hand where it had come to rest next to hers on the desk.
She’d shooed me. Flicked me! Torn between grunting and chuckling at her audacity, I circled out from behind the desk to pace in front of her. She’d never said she had to be left alone to carry out her work, and with a little encouragement, she might be out of here by nightfall.
This time the roar of outrage from my dragon was expected, as was the lancing pain through my chest at the thought of being parted from her, even for a moment.
It was getting worse. Every second she was here, I grew weaker. Craving. Lusting.
Her exaggerated sigh had me pausing mid-stride.
“Isn’t there something you’d rather be doing? Anything? Other than watching me?”
Visions of removing her glasses and bending her over the desk speared into my mind, clouding my judgment.
She swallowed, her throat working hard and eyes rounding behind the wire frames. Plucking my thoughts from my face, one by one.
“You know there’s something I’d rather be doing, but I’m partial to watching you, sweetheart.”
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, her hand smoothing back a stray curl and adjusting her glasses.
Fuck removing her glasses, she could leave them on for when I slide my cock deep inside her. I’d thread my fingers through her hair, holding her in place for my kiss. Balance her on the edge of the desk and hike up her skirt until she’s naked and bare for me, wet and needy for my thick shaft between her gorgeous, plump thighs.
My mouth dry, I dug my feet into the floor to stop myself from striding over there and making good on my silent promise. It wasn’t like I had a hope in hell of hiding the erection tenting my pants. No way, and I didn’t want to either. I wanted her eyes on me. I wanted her to see what she did to me. How hard she made me without even touching me.