Page 4 of Tempting the Titan

“Yes,” I reply without hesitation.

“Are you comfortable working alone and in silence?”

“I prefer it.”

Mr. Everlast's tone is becoming friendlier and more relaxed. I have a knack for making friends, even with shy people. Although it warms my heart, what matters most is that he's happy with my answers and considers me for the job.

A lightning flash illuminates the office, revealing a tall man staring at me through the window. An odd feeling of déjà vu comes over me as I recall the blue-haired fortune teller's prediction. Did she mean something more than a place to live?

CHAPTER 2

Atlas

You think monsters don’t exist? They do in Screaming Woods.

Formerly known as Stream in the Woods, it was an idyllic place to raise a family until an accident at a Halloween gathering many years ago shattered the town's serenity.

This mishap occurred due to a mix-up of ingredients used by Dr. Karloff to create Frankenpunch. He mistakenly used immanis semper (always monstrous) instead of felix semper (always happy), and those who drank the brew transformed into monsters.

While the community accepts monsters, I missed many opportunities growing up. I'd hoped to play competitive sports and wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement, but unfortunately, those options were not available to monsters.

My best friend, Knox, was sick the night of the Halloween party, so he was unaffected. His family left town, and he joined the FBI, but he never left me. We work together, solving complex crimes he can’t handle alone. While he navigates the bureaucracy, I play a role in the investigations, but we keep our collaboration a secret.

I make a comfortable living, but as more people move to Screaming Woods, the demand for my services has increased. Which is why I’m actively searching for the ideal candidate to represent my company in a public-facing role.

I’ve been advertising the role for months but haven’t received any responses. While Celeste is the only applicant, I believe she’s the most suitable. We’ve only been talking for a few minutes, but I'm drawn to her and enjoy her softly-spoken confidence. She poses pointed questions and delivers biting quips.

It's been threatening rain all day, but when the deluge begins, it hits hard. I push to my feet and stride to the window to close it. The sash sticks, so I tuck the phone between my ear and shoulder, pulling harder on the stuck sash as I struggle to close the window.

“Sorry, one second,” I say into the phone before it slips from my shoulder. I curse under my breath, bending to pick it up.

Lightning sears the sky, and I see a woman on the street below staring straight at me. “Where are you calling from?”

Her voice is muffled. “I’m outside the office.”

Damn. It’s Celeste. Shivering, she wipes rain from her eyes. She's drenched from head to toe and desperately in need of shelter. “Why don't you come inside, and we'll finish the interview.”

“Thank you so much.”

Celeste races into the lobby. I watch her through the security camera, the click of her heels on the tiles echoing down the phone line as she leaves small puddles on the entryway floor. I take in every detail of her delicate yet purposeful movements as she gracefully removes her soggy coat and tucks it under her arm.

She's so much smaller than me. Her body is full and voluptuous, with generous breasts, wide hips, and solid thighs. Her damp clothes stick to her skin, but she tries to straighten herself and fix her bedraggled appearance. I'll need to protect her if she doesn't know how to shelter from the rain.

I frown at the random thought. Celeste awakens sensations I haven't felt in a long time. Dangerous desires. I drink in every soft, curvaceous inch, unable to tear my gaze away. Fuck. I haven't been sexually intimate with a woman in how long?

The trigger could be anything—sexual, physical, or emotional—but when the transformation begins, it's impossible to resist. To live among humans, I must wear a specially designed brace that exerts pressure on my muscles, keeping them restrained.

The brace is essential to hiding my immense power as a Titan and allows me to blend in with ordinary humans. Despite the constant discomfort, wearing the brace means I'm in control, and those around me are safe from harm.

But I wasn’t expecting to meet with Celeste today, so I’m not wearing the brace.

A storm rages within me, and panic sets in when she climbs the stairs to my office.The fear of revealing my monster self and the anxiety about her reaction urges me to flee the North Star office and seek refuge in the apartment I keep above.I’m a jerk for running out on her, but the fear of rejection looms in the back of my mind.

I switch on the security cameras in my apartment and watch Celeste enter.Stripping off my casual clothes, I put on the harness. I hastily grab my suit pants, shirt, and jacket but accidentally knock over a heavy ceramic vase. It rolls off the sideboard, landing with a loud thunk. Although it's too thick to shatter, it makes a hell of a noise as it rolls along the wood floor.

“Hello?” Her voice is soft and sweet, filled with a hint of excitement. Her eyes, a captivating shade of hazel, cautiously survey the room, darting from corner to corner. Celeste pauses and stares at the empty hook on the coat rack holding a collection of coats, walking canes, and hats.

A large mahogany desk sits in the center of the room, and the soft glow of the desk lamp casts a warm, amber hue across the bookcases lining the walls. She continues to search the room, skipping past the dusty bookshelves full of antiquated books and lingers on the stack of folders and papers strewn across my desk.

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