Blood Trial Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #1) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,32

okay, Miss Tetley?” he asked, deep voice rumbling.

Was he laughing at me?

Ignoring the question, I hurried across the room and sat in the desk chair. My discomfort dissipated, and after a shaking inhale, I pointed at the login box still on my screen. What did I say about hindsight before?

I shouldn’t have taken the chair.

Kyros rested a large hand on the back of my office chair, right above my head. He leaned forward to grip the computer mouse—or crush it.

But my mind was on other things. Like his torso brushing my shoulder and the unyielding line of his jaw. I closed my eyes, battling with my ovaries, and trying to recall the fear of thirty seconds ago.

He smelled fucking incredible.

I’d never encountered the cologne before, which surprised me. I inhaled, and the earthy, citrus scent filled my head. I usually noted people’s choice of fragrance. But never before had someone’s natural musk mixed so effortlessly with the product meant to enhance and entice the sense of smell.

It had to be custom made.

I opened my eyes as he straightened, studiously ignoring the way my thighs were squeezing together. It had been a long time. I’d gone off rich boys—the ones I knew anyway. While on the estate working here-and-there for grandmother, I’d only spoken with male employees, all of whom were my seniors. There hadn’t been many nights out with Tommy in recent months either—working six days a week would do that to a person.

Our gazes locked.

Not a fleck of brown disturbed the intense green of his irises. His face was carved from stone, lips wide and full, and currently pressed together. He disapproved? Interesting considering he’d instigated our nearness.

I frowned, realising how hard we were both breathing.

How close he was.

How my body wanted him, though my mind most certainly did not.

With colossal effort, I dragged my eyes to the screen again. Monocle sat open. I wheeled my seat forward, dislodging his grip on the back.

“Thank you,” I said. Fuck. I sounded like a porn star.

Ah, well. Some things couldn’t be helped, but they could be ignored. For instance, I wasn’t blind to the rise and fall of my chest, and I highly doubted a man with eyes as keen as his would be either. But I could refuse to act on it.

And would.

He lingered, and I refused to look at Kyros, scanning the computer screen instead. None of it registered. Not one bit.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he said. The gravel in his voice was the alarm clock every heterosexual woman wanted to wake up to. A bolt of heat shot straight through me, and I jolted at the ferocity.

Whoa, that’s a new one.

I grunted through it. “Yep. Bye.”

“Good evening, Miss Tetley.”

Only when I heard the elevator ding did I drop my head into my hands.

Holy shit.

My body just boycotted me, both in terms of fear and desire.

What was that?

I stared vacantly at Monocle, frazzled mind scrambling over the encounter from the moment Kyros had exited the lift.

Just my luck to run into him at the end of the day. From what I could gather from Katerina, Kyros hardly ever showed on Level 44.

He must have come looking for something.

Except… I saw him arrive, and he went straight to the elevator after our conversation.

Which made it seem a whole lot like he came down here to see me.

Katerina zipped into the towing zone out the front of Kyros Sky and shoved the car into park.

I’d returned for the third and final day, unsure if I was dumb or brave.

Her eyes fixed on the entrance. A couple lingered there. Only one had bright eyes, so the other had to be a monkey like me.

My mentor scowled at the pair.

“You disapprove?” I asked. I thought they looked pretty darn cute.

She hissed. Like, a legit cat hiss.

In one and a half days, I was over any surprise at her vocal abilities. Katerina made a whole heap of unusual sounds: rumbles, growls, hisses, and a weird gurgling hum when she was happy.

Don’t think about it. You’re halfway through the day already.

I couldn’t fuck it up.

“They shouldn’t mix,” she snarled.

Say what? Because I couldn’t help myself, I blurted, “Why?”

Katerina’s face worked and she shot me a veiled look. “Because they’re bad for each other.”

I stared.

Nope—not getting involved. I pushed open the door and climbed out of her car. “See you at six.”

Per her request, I’d complete my two hours of research after lunch today instead of at the end. We had a target in