your pants. You’re moving out, right? Let’s agree that if we see each other in passing, we will politely ignore the other’s existence.”
Talk about whiplash. “Fair enough. Good luck, Betty,” I said as she gripped the curtain and closed it.
“Whatever,” she replied.
Diego
I spent all night thinking about my kiss with Drew and the telepathic thoughts that accompanied it. What the fuck happened? I didn’t know if it was a thought or a feeling. Hers or mine. Our connection was so strong when we were intertwined that it felt like we were one. I’ve never felt anything so powerful in all my time on this earth.
Apparently, Drew hadn’t either. I’m guessing by her reaction of literally running away from me, she wasn’t happy about it. Not one bit. My heart wanted nothing more than to run down to her so that we could talk and figure this out, but my brain prevailed, and I decided to give her space. I went back to my penthouse and paced the floors until I passed out, deciding to reach out to her after she’d had a chance to process this. Hell, I still needed to process this. I didn’t think I was in love with her. It hadn’t been enough time for that, even if we were fated, but I was protective of her. I wanted her to be safe and happy. I was two seconds from risking it all and murdering Graham at the DVM. I felt her fear and uncertainty, and I was prepared to do whatever necessary to keep her safe.
I sighed while rocking in my office chair. There was no way in hell I’d be getting any work done today.
Maybe I should talk to Claire. Sitting at my desk and staring at the piles of work that wouldn’t get done today, I pulled out my phone and called her.
“Hi, Diego,” Claire answered on the second ring. “How can I help you?”
“What are you doing for lunch? Can I take you to that new sushi place that recently opened? I would love your input on something.”
“Of course, I’ve been dying to try that place. Give me about an hour?”
“Great, I’ll meet you in the lobby,” I said, disconnecting the call.
Now I just had to distract myself until then. Asher had been bugging me to get some time on my calendar. That man could talk for a week straight without stopping; he would be perfect to keep me occupied. Not to mention I needed to tell him about Graham’s latest antic. I still couldn’t believe he’d abuse his power so blatantly to torture Drew. It was fucked up.
I left my office and made my way toward Asher, forcing myself not to check on Drew like a fucking stalker. I was worried for her safety and didn’t feel comfortable with her being out of my sight. Under normal circumstances, it wasn’t necessary to be so damn overprotective, but with Graham being a complete dumbass, I couldn’t really trust that she was safe. A thorough background check and character references were part of the vetting process to be turned; we didn’t tolerate thieves or criminals. I wished the same could be said for our natural born council members.
I took the stairs down to the floor where all the council offices were and made my way to Asher’s door. I stood outside his door for a moment, bracing myself for a long-winded conversation, then rapped lightly on his door to get his attention.
I didn’t like Asher. He was a pretentious vampire that fed on his ego about as much as he fed on blood, but he was a good friend to have on the council. He implicitly supported me and my vision for our coven, and he didn’t like Graham, which made him ten times more likable.
The moment I opened the door, I regretted it. There was a naked man sprawled on Asher’s desk, and the politician had his fangs in his upper thigh, greedily sucking on his blood like it was a drug. He stopped when he saw me.
“I was just finishing up with lunch. Come in. Have a seat.”
I sat down and played with my cufflinks while his meal cleaned up and scattered out of the office. I wasn’t bothered by the nudity or even the blood. But Asher was a messy eater.
“What did you want to talk about, Diego? Is it about the new plot of land I bought in Wyoming? I was thinking, with some proper investments, the coven could build