Page 28 of Age of Shade

My pride saysyes.

The rest of me saysno.

The room I’m in is considerably smaller than the suite Liam gave me last time, with just a small living area and massive bed. I’m avoiding looking at it because my cock throbs every time I catch sight of the carefully ironed white bedding, hopeful fantasies of what it will look like in a few hours blooming in my imagination.

As if all this wasn’t excruciatingly embarrassing enough, there’s also a selection of bags from my favorite take-out restaurants in the city arranged on the small, round table in the corner. I’ve been so fidgety since getting here, I took them out of the bags and then put them back in about four times. Was I showing my hand? Trying too hard? Not trying hard enough?

I’m about to begin my fifth cycle of taking the food out of the bags when there’s a quiet knock on the door, and it’s like someone has flipped a switch inside me. My whole body is suddenly on edge, and in five paces I’ve crossed the room—all while convincing myself it’s only someone with the wrong room—and pulled open the door.

Heat surges up my spine, and my head spins. I hadn’t allowed myself to actually believe she’d come. But here she is, gazing up at me through wide, green eyes, her lips curled into a shy smile.

Adina.

The last time I saw her, she was swathed in my oversized clothing, and before that it was a cocktail dress obviously chosento impress. Now—adorable and comfortable in jeans and a sweater, her braided hair sticking out from beneath a white knit cap—now is better. She looks very much like the college girl I can’t bring myself to regret she is.

Jesus Christ,she’s so sweet.

“Hi,” Adina breathes, curling her hand around the strap of an overstuffed backpack slung over one shoulder. Her smile becomes a little sheepish as it hits me what’s inside.

She brought a change of clothes.

“Hi,” I echo, my throat working as I step back, allowing her past me into the room.

Miraculously, she’s even more beautiful than I remember, her eyes scanning the smaller room without a hint of disappointment that it isn’t a massive suite. She stills when she sees the take-out bags on the table, and my heart flips at the smile that spreads over her face.

“You didn’t have to do all this for me.” She turns, her eyes wide with undisguised shock.

As thrilled as I am to have made her happy, it pisses me the fuck off that a woman this incredible doesn’t expect to be treated like a princess. She deserves it—more than deserves it—and my initial shock at her appearance has been washed away by fury with every single person in Adina’s life who managed to miss the mark so spectacularly.

“Yes. I did,” I say shortly, reaching out to take her bag. The back of my hand brushes her neck in the process, and even that tiny contact sends electricity up my arm. We both stiffen, staring at each other.

Slowly, like she’s expecting me to back away, Adina closes the distance between us. I stand stock-still, stomach knotting as she pushes onto her toes and leaves the shortest, sweetest kiss on the corner of my mouth. It’s chaste, barely a kiss at all, but that’s all it takes.

I’m ruined.

I know, right then and there, that I’m going to fight for this woman. Even if it makes me selfish. Even if she’d be better off with someone her own age. I may not have as much to offer as a man like Liam, but what I do have is hers. One day, my kids are going to ask me when I knew their mom was the one, and this is the moment I’ll remember.

I realize I’ve been frozen, staring at her as the force of this realization rushes over me. Adina bites her lip, eyebrows lifting in worry. “I’m sorry, I—”

She doesn’t get to finish the thought. Seconds later, my body is pressing hers into the wall, and her gasp of surprise is silenced by my kiss. Fuck. The taste of her hits me all over again. I groan, the tips of my fingers pushing into her hair as my hands cradle her face. Adina’s hands tighten on my shirt, relax, and tighten again, as though she’s trying to keep herself in check and failing miserably.

It’s not messy or rough, unhurried by the fierce urgency of the last time we were together, because this will not be the last time I kiss this woman. Still, every ragged breath, every brush of her tongue against mine, throws fuel on the need burning inside me. I want her. I want her so fucking much it feels like I might break apart if I don’t get inside her.

I need to come clean about my job and where I live. I need to confess that Liam was trying to make me sound far more impressive than I really am, and I’m not sure when the right time to do that is. Things are so fragile now—sonew. She’s still nervous around me and, like it or not, I don’t know what her true motives are for being here. She may want me—at least in part—for the stability she thinks I can provide. This whole situation has become a tangled minefield, and I have no idea how to navigate it without shattering her trust in me forever or sending her running for the hills.

Pulling back, I press my forehead against hers. “Adina.” I love calling her angel, but saying her name is so much better. I love that she’s the only woman I’ve ever known who has it. Already it feels so familiar, like I’ve been saying it all my life instead of a few days, as easy and as comfortable as telling someone the name of my hometown. Panting, she gazes back at me, and again I’m struck by that feeling of rightness.

“Sorry.” She laughs breathlessly. “I just…”

She doesn’t need to say the words for me to know what they were. My girl missed me, and she thinks telling me that will scare me off, and I fuckinghateit. That’s not the kind of relationship I want with her. I won’t have her holding back or pretending. I want to know exactly who she is and fall for every last personality quirk, even the ones that drive me insane.

I can’t blame her. This is my fault. If I hadn’t been such a tangled mess the night we met, things would have been different. Now, she has no idea what I want from her, and it’s my job to make sure she doesn’t leave this hotel without clearing up at least some of the mess I made.

“I missed you this week.” My fingers find a stray lock of hair and tuck it behind her ear, taking care to let my hand brush over the delicate skin of her neck. Adina melts against me, and her answering smile is so big and unrestrained, it makes something in my chest pull taught. “Come here.” Reluctantly, I pull back and take her hand in mine, pulling her over to the table.

She takes the seat across from mine and looks around at the selection I brought, unable to hide her enthusiasm as I begin opening dishes. “Thank youso much, Asher. This all looks incredible. The only thing I’ve eaten all day is stale donuts in the break room at my internship.”

“Of course.” I pause, watching her help herself to Chinese food. “Can I ask where you’re interning?”

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