Page 14 of Age of Shade

What now?

Inviting her back to my hotel room to eat seems forward, but we can’t exactly sit on a bench in this weather. She doesn’t even know my real fucking job. That “move” felt low when Liam did it. I should have corrected him, should have passed it off as a bad joke, but I’d been so befuddled by the angel sitting beside me that the moment slipped away. That, and, as much as I’m ashamed to admit it to myself, I liked the idea of being someone else. Someonebetter.

This version of Asher Roth is confident and funny, a man capable of catching the eye of a gorgeous younger woman. He doesn’t have a mediocre career and a fear of commitment. He hasn’t been celibate for so long that he’s practically forgotten what it feels like to be inside a woman.

None of tonight is what I expected. It’s only been a few hours, but something has shifted deep inside me, a cosmic event set in motion with final ramifications yet to be known. Nothing can come of it, of course. She’s half my age, and most of what she knows about me is a lie.

I might like her, I might want her, but I can’t offer more than that.

Despite all the time that’s passed since we left, we’re still only a block away from the hotel. “There’s a table in my room.” My voice is strained and unsure. Of course, I want to get her back there. Of course, I want to be alone with her, to have her all to myself, but I think I’d rather die than make her uncomfortable.

Adina doesn’tseemuncomfortable, though. On the contrary, her lips part slightly. Pressed against me like she is, I don’t miss the slight tremor running through her body. A tremor that I instinctively know has nothing to do with the cold as slowly, shyly, she nods.

The knowledge I’ve had that effect on her is intoxicating; it emboldens me.

Holy fuck. Okay. Yes.

She keeps close to me, our arms brushing as we walk, until we get back to the familiar brightly lit marquee outside The Witt. The doorman’s eyes fall to the obscene assortment of take-out bags we’re holding, eyebrows rising in interest. Adina, not missing it, plucks one at random off her hand with a musical laugh and offers it to him. “We have so much. Would you mind?”

He doesn’t mind.

My heart thunders against my rib cage as I lead the way to the row of gleaming brass elevator doors along the back of the lobby, shifting the bags to one hand so I can rest the other against the small of her back.

“This place is amazing,” Adina whispers, then blushes, as if it’s embarrassing that she’s never been to a five-star hotel. I have no idea what her background is, and I’m not sure I want to. Learning more about this woman feels dangerous.

Tongue-tied, I guide her into the first elevator that opens, half worried we’ll run into Liam and Ruby and this spell will be broken. Touching her is like a drug; ever since I got that first hit, I can’t seem to help myself from indulging whenever possible. “Rumor has it, it’s haunted. If you believe in that kind of thing.” I hit the button for my floor, and the doors slide shut.

The moment they do, it’s like all the air has been sucked from the tiny room. We’re alone—really alone—for the first time.

This must be dawning on Adina as well, because over the quiet classical music playing above our heads, I hear her exhale shakily. Her eyes are fixed resolutely on the back of the doors, and I follow her gaze, meeting those startlingly green eyes in the mirrored surface. All night we’ve been shying away from looking at each other directly for too long, making do with hurried glances and pretending not to notice when the other is staring.

I’m nearly two decades older than this woman. I have graying hair and lines at the corners of my eyes. In honor of Liam’s hatred of it, I wore a fuckingbow tietonight. What was I thinking? Meanwhile, Adina looks like a goddess, practically glowing with beauty and youth. I’m old enough to be her father. Weshouldlook ridiculous together.

Those insecurities fade away with what I see in the mirrored doors, though. The couple reflected there…fits.

Holy shit.

The tiny room spins around me, but still I can’t look away from those wide, green eyes. Connection is crackling to life between us. Unable to hold myself back anymore, I turn, backing her into the nearest wall.

Adina’s soft gasp of surprise goes right to my cock as I press myself against her, sealing our bodies together.

Bags crinkle, our breathing is ragged, and somewhere in the back of my mind I can still hear the quiet, bland classical music playing above us. None of it matters.

Adina’s sharp little chin lifts, her lips parting in silent offering.

An offering that I’d have to be the world’s biggest fool not to accept.

Groaning quietly, I bow forward, brushing my lips over hers. The ghost of a kiss. It’s chaste and almost shy, a bizarre juxtaposition to the fact that my painfully hard cock is pressed shamelessly against her stomach. Christ, I want her so badly. I can’t remember ever—I stop the thought in its tracks, guilt infringing on the cloud of blind lust I’ve been floating on.

Adina’s free hand creeps up to curl around the back of my neck, and she pulls me back down to meet her lips again.

This kiss is deeper than the last, but just as slow. We’re both clumsy and unsure, but it doesn’t take us long to find our rhythm, melting into each other so naturally it’s like we’ve been doing this for years instead of minutes. This whole night, from the first moment I saw her in the lounge to every moment after… All of it was building toward this. If I was obsessed before, it’s nothing compared to the possessive animal clawing its way to the surface now.

For the first time since Lindsey and I broke up, and probably long before that, I’m allowing myself to be selfish.

Then again,allowingmakes it seem like a choice. Every second we spend entwined against the elevator wall makesit clearer that there’s nothing optional about this. I’ve never needed anyone the way I need her right now, and I refuse to allow my own guilt to ruin any part of this. Adina whimpers, arching her body into mine.

I take the hint.

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