Page 31 of Brightness

“Ivy, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” He yanks my hand out of his pants, shifting me off him as he sits on the edge of the bed with his back to me, the sound of his zipper sliding back up a sharp contrast to the silent room.

A cold shudder runs through my body as I sit behind him, wrapping my arms around myself more for comfort than anything. “I… I thought… I mean, I saw your erection, and I thought—”

“You thought wrong, Ivy. You can’t just shove your hand down a guy’s pants.”

“Jesus, you make me sound like some sort of predator.”

Running his fingers roughly through his hair, he jumps from the bed and begins pacing. Without even looking at me, he says, “I have to go,” and heads toward the exit. I stand, letting out a loud, angry-as-hell huff.

“So that’s it? After everything we shared since I got back, you’re shutting down on me again?” Fear sweeps over me, tears threatening to fall.

Void hesitates in the doorway for a moment, his chest heaving. But then he lets out a low grunt and heads for the stairs.

A tear slides down my cheek, pooling on my chin. “You’re a fucking coward, Void,” I yell at him, then wipe my face. I will not let him affect me, but I don’t understand his aversion to us fooling around.

Maybe he just doesn’t want me that way?

Maybe it boils down to exactly that—Void does not want me sexually.

Clearing my throat, I shake my head. No. I’m much stronger than this. I’m not letting Void ruin my day, especially when I woke up feeling so good only moments ago.

It’s just after lunch, and I’m not going to spend the rest of the day wallowing.

I’m going to do my job and do it fucking well.

Screw Void!

Grabbing my clipboard from the sofa, I walk across to the lab.

After pressing the combination to the keypad lock, the brick wall opens, revealing our crop. I amble over to the small technical area and grab my white coat. After doing some of the simpler checks, I get to work. Feeding, maintaining, monitoring the growth rates—all the usual shit.

I’m lost in my work when a set of footsteps gain my attention. I peek over the plants to see Dash striding over, looking like he’s about to bite my fricking head off.

“You should be resting,” he scolds as he grabs his lab coat, then starts working next to me.

I scoff. “Stop! I had a power nap, but then I had to get moving. I need to distract myself.”

Dash grabs the clipboard from me, reading over my notes. “Mm-hmm… you can distract yourself by closing your eyes and falling asleep. Got me?”

“You worried about me, Dash?”

He glances at me, suddenly concerned. “I had to hold you up before you fell over. So, yeah, I’m concerned you’re heading back to work too soon. Go! I’ll take care of this shit. Put your feet up. If you want, you can yell at me from next door.”

“I’m fine. But thanks for caring. You’re too good to me.”

He bumps his shoulder into mine. “I’ll always care about you.” He reaches out and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him. I lean my head on his shoulder with a sigh.

Why is it always so easy with Dash?

With Void, everything seems magical, then bam, the magic evaporates, and I’m left in a black hole figuring out if I’m even still in reality or not.

It’s frustrating.

Void is frustrating.

“C’mon, it looks like it’s time to harvest,” Dash says, placing the clipboard down and waggling his brows at me.

“Yeah, it is. I’ll turn on the fans.”

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