of woman.” She shrugged one slender shoulder, drawing his eye to the delicate line of her collarbones. The shirt she wore wasn’t cut low, but it did show off more skin than he’d ever seen before—smooth, golden skin that appeared too flawless to be real.
He forced his eyes up to hers before she could catch him leering.
She removed the metal covers from the plates, revealing dinner for two.
“You’re going to join me?” he asked, shocked that she’d want to be this close to him.
“I’m trying to win you over. I can’t exactly do that from my suite. Unless, of course, my absence is worth something to you?” She sounded hopeful, as if she wanted him to dismiss her.
“Not at all.” He watched as she positioned two chairs as far apart as the space would allow. “But I have to warn you that while I appreciate your efforts, I can’t be bribed. I’ll make my decision based on what I think is right, not on what you feed me.” Or what you wear.
“Would you rather I leave? I’m happy to go if you’d rather eat alone.”
“No.” He rushed toward her, everything in him demanding that he keep her here for as long as possible. The pain behind his eyes was easier to bear when she was here. He didn’t understand why that was—some kind of innate Slayer magic, no doubt—but he accepted the gift gladly and refused to let it go until he had no other choice.
She shied away, retreating to the open door before he reached her.
Joseph stopped dead in his tracks and raised his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you away.”
Her spine straightened until she was standing tall and proud. “You couldn’t scare me on your best day, Theronai.”
“Then why do you always back away when I get close? Do you think I’m going to hurt you?”
She snorted. “I’d like to see you try.”
He sighed. “Sheathe the claws, kitten. You don’t have a thing to prove to me. Let’s just sit down and pretend you can stand to be in the same room with me for more than two minutes.”
She looked longingly at the door for so many seconds that he thought she might just bolt and be done with it. Instead, she surprised him by coming to the table, smoothing her skirt, and sitting down as if the disastrously cluttered confines of his office were the finest restaurant in the state.
“You know I only came here so I could convince you to let me keep teaching my class, right?” she asked.
“I assumed as much.”
She picked up her steak knife and gripped it in her fist. He could see her wavering on the edge of indecision, as if she had something she wanted to say.
“Just spit it out, Lyka. Whatever you’ve got to say, say it.”
She stared at him for a second, sucking him into the glowing depths of her eyes. He got so lost looking at her, he was almost surprised when she finally spoke. “I was told to dress like this and put on makeup and perfume so you’d want to fuck me.”
He choked on the bite of steak he’d taken, coughing to clear his throat. “Wow. Okay. Points for honesty, Lyka.”
“I thought it was a stupid idea, too.”
It wasn’t stupid. Not even close. In fact, whoever had given her that advice had probably seen Joseph watching her. He was going to have to be a lot more careful about letting his desire for this woman show in public. “I can’t let you sway my mind, no matter how beautiful you are.”
“And I can’t sit here and suck up to you, leading you on and letting you think you’re going to score.” She hit him with a hard, golden gaze. “You’re not.”
“I honestly never thought it was a possibility.” Though he wished like hell it was. Maybe sex would help him release some of his building power and ease his pain just a little. It worked for some of the men.
And sex with Lyka? It would probably blow him away. He’d wanted her for too long, and despite his best efforts, had built up quite a set of fantasies about her. They were all wildly inappropriate, and more than one of them was doubtlessly illegal, but he couldn’t seem to purge his thoughts of her.
She rose to her feet. “I’ll go and let you eat in peace, then. Sorry for wasting your time.”
“I’d like it if you’d stay.”
She frowned. “Why? I already told you