Raphael mumbled, watching the door close once again.
“Most fae who work for nobles are used to dealing with other supernatural species, but there’s a particular divide between fae and witches. Fae don’t like witches, humans who dabble in powers beyond their comprehension. Witches think fae are fucking full of themselves. It’s a thing. Leith doesn’t like conflict, and it’s not his place, so his best bet is to leave as soon as possible. He knew I was alive and saw me to confirm, so now he’ll be able to tell Cassius.” I looked around the room and wondered if now was a good time to deal with Nakul, or if there was something else that needed to be said.
Raphael reached out and grabbed my wrist. He didn’t pull on me. He stepped up and wrapped his free arm around my shoulders.
“I thought you were going to die,” he said into my hair.
“I didn’t know we had this type of relationship,” I said, swallowing a lump of anxiety that had risen up in place of everything else I had been feeling. Whatever those feelings had been, I couldn’t remember.
“I didn’t either, but then I picked you up off the floor, and you were bleeding everywhere, and it was so fast. I’ve been into you since we met, Kaliya. Seeing you nearly die a few times put some things into perspective for me. We still barely know each other, but there’s something…between us. I know there is. I can feel it. You nearly died, and we never addressed it. I thought we would have time. I’ve been biding my time for months, trying to get to know you better, but then you nearly fucking died.”
I stared at his chest, letting him talk, wondering how I found myself in this position.
“I don’t love you or anything. I’m not crazy enough to think I do after we’ve known each for only a handful of months, but…” His words faded away for a moment. “You aren’t going to admit to it, are you?”
“I’m into you,” I conceded with a nod, not looking at him. “I always fall for you good guys. You are just the most recent one.” I tried to step back from him again, hoping my excuses worked. He didn’t need to know he was the only person I could biologically mate with. That had no business being said here or anywhere…ever. “It won’t be healthy for either of us and—”
“Kaliya, I can be bad too,” he said, holding me where I was, his words hot in my ear, making other areas a blazing inferno. “I just want to explore this, you know? Life’s a fucking mess, and who knows when Mygi might try to take me back to the lab. If you’ll have me, just give me one date or something when this is over. Yeah?”
One date. That was all this fucking good person was going to ask for, one date. Of course.
“One date,” I promised. “But I meant what I said in the elevator. I would totally fuck you, no strings attached.” I needed to take control of the conversation again, throw him off his game because his game was very much biased in his favor. “I don’t need roses or dinner. Just you without your clothes and a bottle of scotch.”
When a delightful red tint hit his cheeks, I felt like I had the power again. His ability to distract me and make me weak at the knees was unfair, and I couldn’t let him realize just how effective it was.
I was able to break the hold and walked toward the door, intending to get back to work. As I pulled it open, his hand came up and stopped it. His other hand grabbed my waist as he came up behind me and held me there. The heat that radiated from him wanted to send me up in flames.
“If that’s what you want,” he murmured in my ear, his body curled over me. “Then we can do that...on two conditions.”
Well, now I know why his girlfriends called him Dom.
26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Laughing to himself, he let me out of the room, causing me to glare back at him.
“I’m not into the kinky stuff,” I informed him as we walked. I knew where they were keeping Nakul, but a witch showed up out of nowhere as I went down the hall toward the auditorium.
“Oh, yeah? I was just going to say one date and no alcohol.”