Page 106 of Legacy of Chaos

He used his ale to gesture at the pile of boxes. “Are you in the middle of moving?”

“Shanea was.”

Of course. Shanea had been her roommate. Now, he had no idea what to say, and he wasn’t usually left speechless.

Finally, he managed a soft, “I’m sorry.”

He expected a snarky reply or, at the very least, a hateful glare. Instead, she just stared at all the moving materials and looked sad. “I miss her.”

Unsure how to respond, he checked out the books on her shelves—mostly scientific and engineering texts, as well as a lot of spell books and tomes about magic. Completely expected. There were pictures of people he assumed were her parents, as well as a couple of college photos and lots of pictures of her with Shanea and her fiancé, Draven.

And, on the floor, were some torn-up pictures of Stryke. Magazine articles. She’d also done a confetti job on an aerial photo of the StryTech facility.

She came over and looked down at the mess. “I was really pissed at you.”

“I see that.”

“I told you; I admired you, Stryke.” She looked over at him, her cheeks flushing an adorable pink. “I mean, okay, maybe I was a little obsessed with you for a while. You were my rock star crush, you know?”

He hated that he’d let her down the way he had everyone else. And he hadn’t even known her when it happened. It was quite the feat. Stryke really was good at everything, wasn’t he?

“And then I disappointed you.” Fuck. Stryke stood there, feeling dazed. He’d spent most of his life knowing he was different. Above average in a lot of ways. Enviable for his looks, intelligence, power, and wealth.

And yet, an utter failure in so many other aspects of his life.

He was socially inept in situations where he wasn’t in charge. He didn’t care what people thought of him. He was okay with being an asshole. So, yeah, he failed basic personhood.

Why would anyone consider him their rock star crush?

He wasn’t sure what to think or say, and uncertainty made his chest tighten, and his head throb.

“I’m, ah…” He jacked his thumb toward the front door. “I’m gonna go. It’s getting late.”

“You don’t have to—”

“No, no…I do.” He set his bottle on the kitchen island. “My brain feels like it’s about to malfunction.”

“Have you tried turning it off and back on?”

Her attempt at tech humor made him laugh, releasing some of the turmoil. He liked how she could do that to him so easily.

“I had a good time today,” he said, meaning it to the depths of his soul. “It’s been a long time since I did anything fun.”

“That’s because you’re so busy taking care of the world that you don’t take care of yourself.”

“I take care of myself,” he protested.

“Really?” She rocked her head toward the door. “So, just right now, were you planning to leave, take an injection, and then work in your lab for a few hours instead of stripping me naked and actually enjoying yourself?”

Guilty as charged. He’d injected himself once during the time they’d been at NASA, and he’d need either sex or an injection within the next hour.

For the first time ever, he envied Blade. Blade would know what to say right now. He’d know what to do. But this was all new territory for Stryke. His idiot brother might not know the difference between a neutron and a kangaroo, but he knew his way around the females.

So, yeah.Look who’s the idiot now.

“Look,” he started before pausing, hesitant to reveal how little he knew about relationships. “I’m comfortable in my lab. I’m comfortable being alone. I’mnotcomfortable in unfamiliar situations. Like now.” He shoved a frustrated hand through hishair. “I don’t know what’s going on between us. I’ve never done this before. I don’t even know whatthisis.”

“That makes two of us,” she said, making him feel a little better. “What do you want it to be?”

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