for a night of pleasure. But morning would come. It always did. And with it would come all of the regrets and problems he was ignoring for this one dance. He wouldn’t do that to her.
So he let go and stepped back, offering a small smile. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. And for the dancing.” And then he was walking away.
Sometimes the only smart move was retreat.
CHAPTER SIX
WHAT THE HELL DID SOLAN want?
That was the question that had been rolling around in Lena’s head since he’d walked away from her at the wedding and hadn’t come back. Not technically the worst end to a date she’d had. There had been no firearms pulled. But it was a bit of a bummer to have the guy walk off after one of the sexiest dances of her life.
He was supposed to kiss her.
No. Absolutely not. Kissing her was the last thing he was supposed to do. She wanted to do the Matching thing with him because of the position it could give her. That was all.
And now she felt like she was using him.
Great.
She was using him. Or she would, if he agreed. But that was the important thing. He’d agree. He knew the score. And that made it okay. Lena hoped that made it okay. She didn’t see another way out of this, not one that would get her what she wanted anytime soon.
She had to get him to agree to the bond. And she couldn’t fall in love with him. Easy.
Easier before dancing. She hadn’t expected him to move like that. To hold her close, their bodies pressed flush, fitting together more perfectly than she thought two bodies could fit. He’d be amazing in bed. It wasn’t a question. A man who could move like that could fuck with the best of them. And it had been quite some time since Lena had anything more than fingers and her imagination.
Six months held prisoner by the Apsyns. And another two years since she’d had a fling with a fellow agent that had fizzled out.
She missed sex. She might have been a woman who wasn’t big on one night stands or weekend flings, who’d had a total of one semi-serious relationship in her life, but she loved sex. Once she settled this whole Matching thing with Solan she was going to get some. Not with him. He didn’t want it, and she didn’t either. Workplace relationships were more complicated than she could handle right now, and if she took the plunge with Solan she might be risking her entire future.
Lena didn’t know how Emily did it. It had seemed like one moment Emily hated Oz and the next they were inseparable, bound together by something that she barely understood. How could she have risked it all? It made Lena’s palms sweat to think of it.
“Any regrets?” she asked her friend who was sitting at her desk, glasses askew, hair half-falling out of her ponytail.
“Regrets?” Emily tossed a paper down and leaned back. “I regret agreeing to look at these papers when I could be back in bed with Oz.” A dreamy smile crossed her lips and her gray eyes softened. Cartoon hearts were practically floating around her head.
“That’s not what—” Lena cut herself off. Clearly Emily didn’t want to change her decision.
“You’re worried I jumped into things with Oz too fast.” Emily took off her translation glasses and played with the frame.
“Worried might be a bit much,” but yes, she was. Emily was so young, and as far as Lena knew this was her first serious relationship. And all of that was happening in the biggest upheaval a person could undergo. “You did only meet him a month ago.”
“Like six weeks now.” Emily’s cheeks flamed. “Okay, yeah, it’s fast. But he’s my freaking soulmate. Did you see the part where I grow wings now?” She shifted her shoulders but didn’t let her wings flare out.
“The wings are pretty cool.” She paused, “You do still say cool, right?” Most times the fact that she and Emily had been plucked out of time thirteen years apart wasn’t a big deal. Then Emily said something about watching television shows on her cell phone or mentioned something called TikTok and Lena was completely lost.
Emily rolled her eyes. “Yes, old lady, we still say cool. Now was I hallucinating or did I see you dancing with Solan after the ceremony?”
And suddenly Lena could look anywhere but at her friend. “I’m sure I danced with a