Page 50 of Hired for Research
She knew he meant it lightheartedly, but she winced. Sobering, he reached out and took her hand, her focus dropping to his thumb brushing the back of her knuckles. She was so pale compared to him, her skin almost colorless where his glowed like burnished copper.
“If you’re not upset with me, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
She had to work to swallow the lump in her throat, settling for shaking her head until she was able to speak. She kept her head down, talking to their hands because she couldn’t face him.
“No, I’m fine. I’m just worried this will… change things between us.”
His thumb stilled and she felt the shift in him. His relaxed posture became a lie as his muscles tensed.
“What do you mean?”
Clearing her throat, she sucked in a deep breath and gathered her courage. She’d never been one to beat around the bush, preferring the direct approach so no one misunderstood what she meant.
Meeting his gaze once again, she was as blunt as she could be, steeling herself for Jett’s reaction.
“I appreciate you helping me through my heat, and I admit I’ve been attracted to you since I arrived, but we both know this can’t go anywhere. I came here to complete a job, and when it’s done, I’ll be returning home. I don’t want this… interlude, to make you think that’s changed.”
He stared back at her, face blank. She wished she knew what he was thinking, but he kept any hint of it from showing.
“I understand. You don’t have to worry.”
Evelyn’s gut twisted. Even if he didn’t show any sign of being upset about what she said, she had a feeling it affected him more than he let on.
The silence between them grew, her heart fluttering as she tried to think of a way to move past her announcement.
22. Jett
It was a struggle to contain everything he wanted to say. He’d known she wasn’t likely to change her mind about leaving just because he’d helped her through her heat, but he couldn’t stop the feeling of disappointment that filled him. There had been a pull between them since he first saw her, and after the past few days it was stronger, but she wouldn’t even consider the possibility that there could be something more.
He tried to remind himself she had a job to do. One far more important than him, that he wouldn’t want to interfere with. What she was doing would help all alphas, and he wouldn’t ask her to give that up no matter how badly he wanted to keep her.
Not wanting to make things worse, he pushed aside all thoughts of the past few days and tried to pretend like her heat had never happened.
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
She blinked and looked around, likely trying to figure out the day and time. He’d plugged in his phone while she was in the bath, so he already knew how long they’d been… distracted.
“It’s Monday. The clothes will be done about seven, so we could go to dinner if you want.”
A hesitant smile pulled at her lips, but he knew before she spoke that it was going to be a denial.
“I think I just want to go back to my room and relax a bit more tonight. I was hoping to have been heading back to the city by now, so I’m going to have to figure out if it’s worth staying a few more days or not. I’d like to have more samples to compare, but last week’s numbers don’t give me much confidence in getting many more.”
His chest clenched when he realized she was saying she may go ahead and leave. As pathetic as it was, he wanted as much time with her as he could get.
“Let me see what I can do. If we put the word out that these are the last few days to get in, we might be able to make it worth staying till next week.”
She was shaking her head as soon as he finished the sentence and his gut clenched.
“I’d consider giving it till Friday, but I need to get back to my lab. I’ve got to get samples sent off to the company that can do the detailed analysis I need, and I have to start compiling the results I’ve gotten myself. I’m on my own on this project and I need time to go through everything and write up my findings, and time is what I’m running out of.”
He swallowed the growl that threatened to break free of his chest at the thought of only having four more days with her. He couldn’t think about it, or he might do something stupid.
Like tie her to his bed until her next heat so he could claim her and make her his forever.
“Okay, so give it till Friday. Tomorrow morning we can spread the word and try to stir up a few more donors. Since most of the guys have to work during the morning, maybe we can figure out something where we go to the worksites to gather your samples, so they have one less excuse not to volunteer.”
Evelyn’s face lit up and a matching warmth spread beneath his breastbone. He knew he was too attached, had been too attached before her heat, but he couldn’t say he regretted anything that had happened.
