this time gently, brandishing his lips so lightly against mine, each touch accompanied by a tiny spark. Having been electrocuted before I never thought electricity could feel good, but this current between us is amazing. Intriguing. Stimulating. He slides back enough that I see the blue of his eyes again.
“Roya, I really do understand why you’re leaving. I do.” Fingers brush the hair back from my face. “I’m being selfish for wanting you to stay, but I almost lost you once and I can’t imagine it happening again. I’m not going to complicate things by asking you to stay, but I also want you to know where I stand. Whatever you do I support you one hundred percent.”
“Will you dream travel to meet me?” My question is loaded with hope. “At least every now and then,” I add.
Disappointment falls on his face before he recovers. “Of course.”
“Good.”
My free hand knots in his shirt, yanking him back to me—urgent to feel his lips again. Heat rushes down my body as he trails hungry kisses along my chin and neck. My heavy breaths catch in his ear. Hands I forgot I possessed tug against his waistband, pulling him closer into me, zipping up all space between us. A satisfied grunt reverberates against my neck. I’ve never wanted anything more than what comes next in this moment. I’m starving for it.
He breaks away, a crazed look in his heated eyes. “Although budget meetings feel like they last an eternity, they really don’t,” he says, panting. “You should go very soon.”
I pout and press into him.
Aiden growls in my ear. Nibbles my lobe. I respond by ever so gently trailing my fingertips up his lean back. He shivers. I’m about to press my lips to his again when he grabs my free hand and locks it above my head with the other one, a wolfish grin plastered on his face.
“Ms. Stark, are you trying to seduce me?”
“Is it working?”
“You don’t even need to try, but the point that you are is making it increasingly difficult to resist you.”
I peer up at my restrained hands above my head. “Is this you resisting me? Because it looks like you’re trying to make me resist you.”
Aiden leans in closer and howls quietly, his breath stroking my cheek. One single kiss graces my lips before he rocks back, taking a seat on the far side of the couch. “I still have to work here even after you’ve gone skipping off to Texas. So against my every desire I have to insist you leave.”
“You don’t have to work here,” I suggest. “There are other, non-corrupt, places you could find employment.”
He gives me a tempting smile. “We both know I’m not suited for the real world.”
Chapter Fourteen
T o my astonishment, the Institute is actually paying me for my news reports. I thought it was charity work or my exchange for room and board. A bank account has already been set up for me and the Institute is depositing $400 into it for each of my reports. Being paid to news report actually puts a new pressure on the job. It was easier to deliver stories when I thought I was giving away information. Now it’s weird knowing whatever I report equates to cash. Still, that anxiety doesn’t deter me. I love news reporting and will miss it like crazy when I leave. I’ve never had a job. Hell, as a kid I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. Now I’m a member of an elite department and making more in a week than my fake father makes in a month.
The Panther room always smells of sweet grass, with a soft undertone of gardenia. It’s the only place in the Institute with such a complex aroma. Not even the main hall at dinner time is that intoxicating. A constant buzzing sound emanates from the computer stations and the bluish light overhead gives off a gentle hum.
The fondness I’ve grown for this space in such a short time leaves me in a new state of vulnerability. The idea that I’ve become attached to the job is disconcerting and completely out of character. Maybe
“Roya, I really do understand why you’re leaving. I do.” Fingers brush the hair back from my face. “I’m being selfish for wanting you to stay, but I almost lost you once and I can’t imagine it happening again. I’m not going to complicate things by asking you to stay, but I also want you to know where I stand. Whatever you do I support you one hundred percent.”
“Will you dream travel to meet me?” My question is loaded with hope. “At least every now and then,” I add.
Disappointment falls on his face before he recovers. “Of course.”
“Good.”
My free hand knots in his shirt, yanking him back to me—urgent to feel his lips again. Heat rushes down my body as he trails hungry kisses along my chin and neck. My heavy breaths catch in his ear. Hands I forgot I possessed tug against his waistband, pulling him closer into me, zipping up all space between us. A satisfied grunt reverberates against my neck. I’ve never wanted anything more than what comes next in this moment. I’m starving for it.
He breaks away, a crazed look in his heated eyes. “Although budget meetings feel like they last an eternity, they really don’t,” he says, panting. “You should go very soon.”
I pout and press into him.
Aiden growls in my ear. Nibbles my lobe. I respond by ever so gently trailing my fingertips up his lean back. He shivers. I’m about to press my lips to his again when he grabs my free hand and locks it above my head with the other one, a wolfish grin plastered on his face.
“Ms. Stark, are you trying to seduce me?”
“Is it working?”
“You don’t even need to try, but the point that you are is making it increasingly difficult to resist you.”
I peer up at my restrained hands above my head. “Is this you resisting me? Because it looks like you’re trying to make me resist you.”
Aiden leans in closer and howls quietly, his breath stroking my cheek. One single kiss graces my lips before he rocks back, taking a seat on the far side of the couch. “I still have to work here even after you’ve gone skipping off to Texas. So against my every desire I have to insist you leave.”
“You don’t have to work here,” I suggest. “There are other, non-corrupt, places you could find employment.”
He gives me a tempting smile. “We both know I’m not suited for the real world.”
Chapter Fourteen
T o my astonishment, the Institute is actually paying me for my news reports. I thought it was charity work or my exchange for room and board. A bank account has already been set up for me and the Institute is depositing $400 into it for each of my reports. Being paid to news report actually puts a new pressure on the job. It was easier to deliver stories when I thought I was giving away information. Now it’s weird knowing whatever I report equates to cash. Still, that anxiety doesn’t deter me. I love news reporting and will miss it like crazy when I leave. I’ve never had a job. Hell, as a kid I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. Now I’m a member of an elite department and making more in a week than my fake father makes in a month.
The Panther room always smells of sweet grass, with a soft undertone of gardenia. It’s the only place in the Institute with such a complex aroma. Not even the main hall at dinner time is that intoxicating. A constant buzzing sound emanates from the computer stations and the bluish light overhead gives off a gentle hum.
The fondness I’ve grown for this space in such a short time leaves me in a new state of vulnerability. The idea that I’ve become attached to the job is disconcerting and completely out of character. Maybe
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