*Keera*
The rest of the ride was silent after that, save for a few one word responses to questions here and there. I couldn’t seem to stop my mind from racing at the implication of what Grayson had done. He’d kissed me. And propositioned me. Then he kissed me again. Even now as I subtly ran a finger across my bottom lip, I wondered if he hadn’t lost his mind. Getting involved with a human was extremely fatal, moreso when caught. Yes, we were attracted to each other but that wasn’t enough to throw everything he’d been taught about his pack down the drain.
Was it?
And how about me? I wasn’t sure whether or not I should even consider taking him up on his offer. For one thing, the team and I were treating this whole thing like the case it was and that meant Grayson was our client. It would be extremely shocking if I went against my character and got involved with a client, not to mention very unprofessional, irrespective of how hot said client looked. I pushed all that to the back of my mind, the minute we got into the city. There was plenty of time to think about it later.
The last thing I wanted was Trevor being aware of whatever the hell this is.
Something occurred to me then.
I turned to Grayson.
“You know you have to drop me off at home, right?” I asked, pushing my hair behind my ears. He turned to look at me, his eyes cool and collected, not giving a clue as to what was going on in his mind. His chest expanded as he drew in a slow breath, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. He obviously hadn’t known that. “I’m going to be staying at my place while we’re here,” I informed him, shifting my gaze somewhere else.
I could still feel his eyes burning the side of my face.
“And me?” He asked calmly. Two words. And it was enough to have an effect on my pulse. It seemed like the more the days went by, the more intense my reaction to him. He moved his attention to the road, taking a turn and then tapping the side of the steering wheel with his fingers. “I don’t suppose you’ve already figured out where I’m to stay while you’re in your place?” I raised my shoulder in a shrug.
“You could just stay at the hotel.”
The hotel.
The one I’d let him book just a room in because I’d been too busy trying to come down from the cloud nine his kiss had gotten me in. “The hotel.” Grayson repeated slowly with a shake of his head. The muscles of his arms moved in sync with his movement of the steering wheel. “We came here to get the cameras together, Keera.” He reminded me flatly. “That means we stick together. If you’re staying at your place then so am I.” He slanted a look in my direction. “And if I’m staying at the hotel then so are you.”
His tone left no room for arguments.
Any other day I might have argued but not today. I just wanted to get away from him to sort out my thoughts. Having him stay at my place was a big no. Something about Grayson knowing exactly where I lived rattled my nerves. I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of him showing up when he wanted to. Then again, for all I knew, he already knew where I stayed. I released a tiny breath. “Fine.” I agreed. “We can stay at the hotel,” The corners of his lips moved upwards. “But I’m going to get a different room.”
His jaws clenched then but he said nothing.
Five minutes later, he was swerving the car into the parking lot of a hotel I knew all too well. I’ve had meetings with clients here over the years. Toxique – still thought the name was pretty weird – was a five star hotel situated a quarter mile or so away from my place. The receptionist received us warmly when we stepped in. It didn’t escape my notice the way she kept looking at Grayson like she was about to jump over the counter and unto his dick.
I brushed away my irritation, taking the time to roam my eyes round the interior of the hotel while they both did their parts to get us checked in. Trust Grayson to settle for nothing but the best. I turned my attention back to them when I noticed her handing Grayson one keycard. A worker rolled a stroller over and placed our bags in it, taking our things up to our – the room. I waited for Grayson to move up a few steps before I got close to the receptionist.
Contrary to what I thought, she was still polite. Guess she didn’t see me as competition. “Is there an available room?” I asked quietly, subtly crossing my fingers and hoping I would get a positive reply. Her fingers danced against her keyboard for a few seconds before she shook her head. I tried not to let my disappointment show, simply thanking her and asking her to let me know if there was any change.
Grayson didn’t comment on my lateness arriving in the room. He just tipped the guy who’d brought our stuff up and shut the door. I stood just a few meters away from the door, my feet unmoving even when he walked past me to stand by the bed. Dear Lord, was I really going to share a bed with Grayson? He arched an eyebrow when he noticed me just standing like a statue. I knew there was no way it was possible but a part of me felt like he’d arranged for this to happen somehow.
I took my phone out of my pocket, waving it in front of him.
“I have to talk to Trevor,” I stated simply, finally walking further into the room and getting onto the balcony. I couldn’t help but admit that the view was amazing, as was the cool air that connected with my face and sent my hair flying around me. Trevor answered the call on the second ring. “Hey, Trevor. We just got into town.” I said to him, There was shuffling on the other side of the phone before he responded.
“Glad you had a safe trip, Keera.” He replied but there was a distracted note in his voice. I creased my brows, ready to ask what it was all about before he told me himself. “Yeah, something came up. I had to meet the police concerning some case I’m overseeing. It was spontaneous or I would have called to inform you beforehand.” I asked if everything was okay and he assured me it was nothing to be worried about. “It looks like I’d be here for a while so how about we reschedule and meet by nine tomorrow?”
I nodded before remembering he couldn’t see me. “Sure. Nine, it is.” I said.
I imagined him nodding back. “In the meantime, try to get some rest.” I replied that I would and then a loud beep sounded to signal he had ended the call. I blew air out of my mouth sending a tuft of hair flying behind me. I pushed the glass doors open and stepped back into the room. Grayson met my eyes, silently asking if there was any news. I relayed my call back to him, taking the time to look around the room.
Thankfully the room was spacious enough that I didn’t have to be close to him if I wanted to move around. I pointed a finger at one side of the bed. “I’m taking that side,” I informed him calmly. When he didn’t argue, I realized it was because him sleeping on the other side meant he would be sleeping closer to the door. I chose not to think too much about what it meant. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked my schedule for the rest of the day.
It turned out I needed to get to my place after all.
Pushing my phone back into my pocket, I informed him I’ll be right back. I was already out the door before he got a word out of his mouth.
***
I stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around my body, my skin glistening from tiny droplets of water. After running the errands Lexi and the rest of the team had asked me to, I’d decided to have a shower at my place before heading back to the hotel. I picked up my phone from the nightstand when it vibrated with a beep from a text. My breath hitched when I realized it was a message from Grayson, asking if we could head out and grab lunch. I pressed my lips together, debating his offer.
Fuck it.
I asked him to text me the time and venue. Pushing my wardrobe doors open, I chose a casual outfit. The diner he chose was just a stone’s throw away from my apartment. He was already seated by the time I walked in. “You definitely went to your place,” He said, noting my change of clothes. I ignored his comment, slipping into the seat opposite him. I raised my eyebrows when he kept staring, hating that I was feeling a little self conscious. I’d only applied a bit of lipstick and combed out my hair, using a hairclip to hold it neatly at the back of my head.
“What?”
He shook his head like he’d been expecting me to snap at me. “You’re beautiful.” His eyes widened like he hadn’t expected the words to come out of his mouth. I felt my cheeks heat and I looked away. How was I supposed to respond to that? I moved my lips enough to say thank you. This was all new for me. We had a case on our hands and here we were acting like we were on a date. A waitress walked to our table to get our orders. I had to watch someone eye fuck Grayson for the second time.
I met his eyes after she’d left.
“What are we doing, Grayson?” I asked quietly.
A shadow crossed his face but it was gone before I could make sense of what it was. Things were already complicated enough as it was without us trying to complicate things further. “We’re having lunch,” He finally answered, choosing to take the easy way out. I gritted my teeth at his noncommittal response but the waitress was back before I could say something.
She slipped a piece of paper into his hand, one I’m guessing contained her number. I tried to mask my surprise when he folded it neatly and placed it in the front pocket of his jeans. I wasn’t sure why I’d expected him to rip the paper apart or just dispose of it after she’d left. Would he call her?
What did it even matter?
“You know what I meant,” I argued lightly. “You basically asked for us to have an affair,” I whispered quietly. He gave me a look that seemed to say ‘So?’ I bit down on my lip, feeling a surge of anger. Why was he acting like this wasn’t a big deal? Surely I wasn’t overthinking this, right? I picked up my fork and moved my food around. “The last time I checked werewolves were forbidden from getting involved with humans.”
My words seemed to finally register with him. He lost the carefree facade he’d been putting on, his fingers tightening around his fork. “I didn’t ask to be attracted to you, Keera.” He informed harshly. “You know what? Forget it. You’re right, I’m not sure what I was thinking.” He scoffed. “It didn’t happen. The kiss, the stuff I said, all of it. Let’s just go back to the way things were.” I waited to feel some kind of relief after hearing his words but instead all I felt was a dark taste on my tongue. Something that felt a lot like. . .
Regret.
What in the world was wrong with me?