Page 14 of Mated By Midnight

Celine’s brow furrowed. Wasn't he a playboy? That's what she'd heard. Maybe she'd heard wrong. Or maybe his community didn't know him very well.

The rumors had painted him as a flirt who had no interest in settling down. But the way he was acting now... it didn’t match the image she had built in her mind. He wasn’t chasing after any of the women who walked by, wasn’t playing into their advances. In fact, he seemed entirely uninterested in them.

But if that was the case, why had he walked away from her? Why hadn’t he come after her when Rylan had rejected her? Why wasn't he laying a claim to his fated mate?

The door creaked open. Celine glanced up, expecting to see Liza or Maize. Her hand stilled on the sketch she’d been working on, her pencil poised mid-air. It wasn’t either of the women who walked in.

It was Elijah.

He stood in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the space, his dark eyes locking on to hers. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, the pull of the bond between them humming beneath the surface, like a live wire they both refused to touch. She could smell him before he even spoke—sandalwood mixed with that fresh, masculine scent that was uniquely his. It unsettled her, sent her heart racing when she didn’t want it to.

“I’ve got a question for you."

Whatever it was, the answer was yes.

"I need to know how much space you’re giving me to work with.”

She didn't want any more space between them.

"For the communications setup for the new design. I'll need to integrate the security feeds into your layout."

Celine forced herself to focus on Elijah's words, on the practical matter at hand, even though the undercurrent of attraction between them pulsed like a quiet, unspoken truth. She nodded, flipping through the pages of Maize's design plans to the section she knew he’d need.

"Here," she said, sliding the document across the desk toward him, her fingers brushing the edge of the paper. "This should give you the specs you need."

He reached for the paper, his hand briefly touching hers. Even though the contact was fleeting, it sent a jolt through her, sharp and undeniable. There was no denying the awkward pause that hung between them.

Elijah studied the plans, his brow furrowed in concentration. Celine couldn’t stop herself from stealing glances at him—the way his jaw clenched in thought, the way his fingers traced the lines of the paper with precision.

“I haven’t seen Liza or Maize around,” Elijah said, breaking the silence. “I’m guessing they’re laid up with their mates right now.”

His voice was casual, but the weight of what he said pressed down on her. The image of Liza and Rylan together, their bond complete, flashed through Celine's mind. It wasn’t just a statement—it was a reminder of what she didn’t have.

Celine’s fingers tightened around her pencil. There was another pause, awkward and loaded with everything they weren’t saying.

“I’ll be outside if you need me,” Elijah said after a moment, his tone suddenly careful, as if he were walking on eggshells. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I know we’re... it’s complicated, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to be alone in here with me.”

Celine’s heart gave a painful twist. The thought of him sitting outside, choosing to keep his distance when everything inside her wanted to pull him closer, was almost too much to bear. She lifted her chin, forcing herself to stay composed.

“No,” she said, her voice firmer than she expected. “I can be professional about it. You don’t have to leave.”

“All right,” he said quickly. He stepped farther into the room, closing the door behind him with a quiet click. He moved toward her, sitting at the table across from where she worked, pulling out his laptop.

“I have a question about the tech setup,” she said, turning her attention back to the design plans. “If you’re integrating the security feeds, will that interfere with the existing wiring? I’ve got the lighting and audiovisuals routed through the same system.”

Elijah glanced up from his screen, his dark eyes meeting hers again. “No, it shouldn’t interfere. I can work around it, but I might need to make a few adjustments to the wiring grid. We’llhave to sync it all up with the power sources to make sure it’s seamless.”

His voice was calm, steady, as if this was just another normal day at work. And in some ways, it was. The two of them fit together well when it came to their work. Their skills complemented each other, their ideas aligning effortlessly. It was everything else that didn’t seem to fit.

Celine nodded, scribbling a few notes on the edge of her paper. She wished their relationship could be as smooth as their work partnership. But it wasn’t. And every time she thought about how perfectly Liza and Rylan had fit together, how easily they’d fallen into their bond, the ache in her chest deepened.

The door opened again, and this time, it was Liza and Rylan. They walked in hand in hand, laughing softly. Liza’s head leaned against Rylan’s shoulder as they entered the room. They didn’t seem to notice Celine’s tension—or Elijah’s—as they kissed, a soft, tender exchange that spoke volumes of the bond between them.

Celine looked away, her chest tightening with a longing she couldn’t shake. She wished she had that with Elijah. Wished that their bond could be effortless, connected, complete. Instead, here they were, working in strained silence, pretending the bond wasn’t pulling at them both.

“Everything okay in here?” Rylan raised an eyebrow at Elijah and Celine, his sharp eyes assessing the tension in the room.

“Yeah. Fine.” Celine nodded quickly, her voice tight.

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