Page 3 of Heat Me

Nah!

Nathaniel’s gaze stayed locked on me, like he was just waiting for me to admit I might be wrong. But I remained stubbornly silent. Sure, he’d studied fated mates for years and probably knew everything there was to know. But I just had this gut feeling… that refused to go away.

Finally, he sighed and gave up. "Look, I’m not trying to be a dick about it. The only way to figure this out is to talk to him, explore it more. So. Are you going to?"

"I—I haven’t thought about it yet."

Huffing, I stood up, and paced a little to avoid his gaze.

"I have a lot to think about. Besides, there’s a bigger problem: I refused to see Damien during his heat." I practically screeched the words. "Ragu called me about it. But I said no because I can't do it for the money."

Nathaniel’s eyes went wide. "Hold up—he asked for you to be there, and you said no? Fuck the money, Storm! That was your perfect chance to figure things out!"

I slumped back in the chair with a groan. How was I supposed to explain to Nate how special this felt? How could I ruin it by taking money for something that should mean so much more than just a transaction? I wanted to give it to Damien freely, make his first heat something sacred, something meaningful for… both of us.

"I can’t do it for profit, Nate. He deserves someone who wants to be there because they care about him."

Nathaniel frowned. "But… aren’t you that person? The one who cares?"

"I don’t want it to be transactional!" I snapped. "Don’t you get it? His first time alreadywas! Why should he BUY every first time in his life? That’s fucked up!"

We stared at each other for a long moment. Nathaniel looked like he was trying hard to understand me—I could almost see his brain working overtime.

"Okay," he finally said. "Then why don’t you just talk to your boss again, lay it all out there. Ask for permission to contact Damien privately—"

"I can’t. Ragu’s majorly pissed that I turned the heat commission down," I interrupted. "Honestly, I thought he’d fire me on the spot if not for something else that came up."

"What came up?"

I leaned forward, grinning despite myself. "He offered me a chance to work for his husband at Fate’s Choice again."

Nathaniel’s jaw practically hit the floor. "Wait, what? After kicking you out liketrash? They’re offering to take you back now?"

"Yep." I nodded. "They failed to match a few clients; the fines could be in the millions. I guess they finally realized that firing me was amistakeafter studying the annual reports. My stats were way above other matchmakers."

Nathaniel rubbed his chin, eyeing me skeptically. "They must be desperate."

"Yep. I’ve got a meeting this afternoon with Ren, Jun’s husband—to go over everything. I’ll know more soon."

Nathaniel still looked hesitant. "You really think you can pull it off?" he asked. "This won’t be a walk in the park, Storm. You’ll probably have to find matches for all of them to prove you’re worth it. They won’t take you back that easily. Let’s be real, ‘a purple alpha criminal’ pairing their precious wealthy clients is still a big risk, reputation-wise."

I snorted. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, jerk! Look, I know it’s a long shot, but I have to try."

Nathaniel sighed, giving me a cautious look.

"Alright, back to Damien. If he's in heat, that's all the more reason to approach him privately and discreetly—in a way Ragu wouldn’t find out. There’s a good chance Damien won’t rat you out to Ragu for breaking company rules."

"Wouldn’t be so sure. Damien might be pissed at me too. After all, I did reject his heat offer. I can’t exactly show up at his door saying, ‘Hey, I liked you so much, let’s be boyfriends. Oh, and by the way—we’re True Mates.’ That’d be batshit crazy! He probably sees me as just a sex worker and wouldn’t want anything to do with me, let alone as a life partner."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Now you’re being a doomer. You can’t know that for sure. Focus. There’s probably a way to get Damien’s number or email and reach out in a less… invasive way, without just showing up on his doorstep—"

A vague idea started forming in my head.

"Well… I know from Ragu that Damien is majoring in computer science at East Coastline College. I could try to find him there—just watch from a distance, figure out a way to talk to him without showing up at his home unannounced."

Nathaniel stared at me with a skeptical grimace. "It’s not much of an upgrade from invading his home. Stalking him on campus? You’re making this way harder than it needs to be."

"Maybe," I muttered. "But I won’t corner him at home, in his safe space. At least in public, he’ll have more options, more control. But first, I’ve got my meeting with Ren Ragu. Then, I’ll figure out what’s next."

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