Page 35 of Aine

“Okay.” Jenna claps her hands together, clearly excited with this. “You need his blood if you want to get rid of this burn. Tell him your body hurts from being in the sun all day. If he ignores your pain, I’ll drop the subject and never bring it up again. But if he makes efforts to soothe you, which he will, you have to admit that maybe he cares more than he’s letting on.”

My eyes roll back at her suggestion, yet despite the childishness of her idea, I find myself agreeing. I’d love to get this burn healed, and I’m not above sacrificing my pride to get it done. I don’t love the thought of being alone with him, as I’m still worried he’ll pry into my past, but given that he hasn’t brought it up since, I’m hoping he’s chosen to let it go.

It’s not as if I’m a physical threat to his people, and I believe I’ve more than proven I’m not going to spring some sort of random attack on any of the humans here.

Jenna shoos me out of her office with a wide grin, and I begin my slow journey back home. I can’t believe I agreed to this stupid plan, and by the time I make it to his office, I already regret it. Damien isn’t going to care about my issues. If anything, he’ll probably get a kick out of seeing my burn.

If that’s what it’ll take to get Jenna off my back, though, I’ll do it.

Olivia isn’t at her desk when I slip inside, and with a shaky inhale, I approach the double doors that lead to Damien’s office. It’s too early for him to be at the field with the other beasts, so he’s either in there or out running errands.

I can’t help but worry I’m making an awful mistake as I push open the doors and welcome myself into his space. Damien sits behind his desk, and Olivia is behind him looking over his shoulder at some papers.

Both of them snap their heads in my direction. Olivia seems shocked by my entrance, but Damien just looks annoyed. He probably spotted me walking here through the windows.

Olivia inches away from him as I step into the room, her cheeks reddening.

I hope I didn’t interrupt an intimate moment between the two.

Damien leans back in his chair and brings his hands behind his head as his eyes narrow. While he doesn’t look happy, his lack of anger at my intrusion is comforting.

I lower myself into one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” he asks.

I shrug, shoving my trembling hands underneath my thighs. If this doesn’t go well, I’ll be running away into the woods, never to be seen again.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.” I lift my chin with false confidence.

Damien ignores my words, choosing instead to continue harping on me entering his office without knocking.

“You don’t want to walk in on something you don’t want to see.” He arches an eyebrow.

I hold back a sigh as I open my mouth to reiterate that I have important matters to discuss with him. As I start to say the words, though, I pause and change course.

“Oh, between you and Olivia?” I retort, watching her eyes widen. “Please, don’t let me stop you.”

I want to call him on his bluff. I want him to be the one to grow uncomfortable and change the subject instead of me. A smirk threatens to spread across my face as Damien drops his hands from his head, his palms landing on his desk with a loud thud.

“What?” he barks.

I grin, feigning indifference as I gesture to Olivia. “Don’t let me ruin the fun.”

Damien rises slowly, and I tense as I wait to see his response. Instead of kicking her out or yelling at me as I expect, he grabs her waist and lifts her onto his desk. She gasps, her surprise at his actions evident.

His gaze remains on me, not once wavering even as he sweeps all his objects to the far side of the desk.

“You don’t want to play this game with me, Aine,” Damien threatens. “You won’t like the way it ends.”

His pupils dilate as he speaks, his voice deepening as he reaches out and pushes against Olivia’s chest. She falls back with a thump, and I watch as he trails his hand down her belly, pressing softly into the exposed skin from where her shirt’s ridden up. Olivia pants as he touches her, her eyes darting rapidly between Damien and me.

My jaw clenches as I watch them, and I lean back into the chair to get comfortable. “As I said, don’t let me stop you.”

If looks could kill, I’m sure I’d be long dead with the way Damien’s glaring. I’m sure he’s hoping for me to give in and drop the whole thing, but I hold my ground. I refuse to give him the upper hand.

He doesn’t move for a long minute, and the silence is only broken by Olivia’s loud breathing. It’s clear she’s excited by this, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she arches into Damien’s hand.Ignoring her, I scan his face. He purses his lips as I meet his gaze, his body stiff as he waits to see what I’m going to do.

It doesn’t take an expert to realize he doesn’t want to touch her.

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