His hand eased upward, and when his palm met my nipple, I’d never been so glad that I hadn’t taken the time to put on a bra. Then he dipped his head and licked me, and I buried my fingers in his soft hair and clutched his head as delight raced along my nerves.
He pushed up my shirt and paid the same attention to my other breast, and my legs, already wobbly, decided that now might be an excellent time for us to get horizontal. But before I could sink to the floor, Torran caught me, brushing featherlight kisses over my jaw. His late-night stubble added a delicious friction that I wanted to feel everywhere.
Instead, using the tiny sliver of self-control I still possessed, I pressed my fingers against his chest. He pulled back, his gaze hot and hooded. My resolve wavered. I was caught in a tornado of conflicting emotions. My body demanded satisfaction, but my head warned of danger and my heart wanted more.
Torran must’ve sensed my hesitation, because he lifted my fingers to his mouth and pressed a gentle kiss against them, then he let me go.
The workshop had never felt colder, and not just because my chest was exposed to the air.
I fixed my shirt, then stared at his gorgeous face and distinctly Valovian eyes and made a decision—I wanted him. He was a Valoff, and a client, and that complicated everything, but I wouldn’t be here long enough for it to get awkward if things didn’t work out. I would guard my heart and have a little harmless fun.
I lifted my face and brushed a kiss against his lips. “Come back to my room with me,” I murmured.
He groaned and something like pain flashed across his face. “I can’t.”
I frowned at him. “Are you saying that because you want me to persuade you or are you saying it because it’s true?”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “It’s true.”
“Then why—” I bit off the question. It was his right to refuse for any reason, even if he’d just had my nipple in his mouth. The rejection stung, but I cleared my throat and pretended that it didn’t. “Okay. Please let me know if any new information comes in.”
Torran’s expression had gone unreadable once again, but even that couldn’t completely snuff out the little flickers of heat between us. “I will share what I can,” he said at last.
All of my frustration came roaring back, but I kept the bitter words locked behind my teeth. Apparently, I was good enough for furtive kisses and groping in the dark, but not good enough to trust or to fuck.
That thought hurt far more than it should’ve.
Torran left me outside my bedroom with a lingering look and no kiss. I firmly told myself that I wasn’t disappointed.
It was a lie.
Luna opened one eye and chirped a sleepy greeting before closing the eye again and settling her nose more firmly under her tail. She had the right idea. Torran and I had been gone for so long that the sun was already peeking over the horizon, but if I didn’t get a few hours of sleep, I’d be worthless.
I sent Kee a message letting her know that I was back safe and planning to crash for a few hours, then I messaged everyone on my team, asking them to keep digging, specifically on the parking garage building and the monitoring station. I let them know that they were on their own for food until I felt human again.
That done, I flopped into bed, clothes and all. Luna moved from the other side of the bed to curl up on my chest. It was her favorite spot, and I’d learned to breathe with her weight compressing my lungs.
I fell asleep to the low rumble of her purr.
I awoke to sharp claws pricking at the skin under my collarbones. Luna stretched again and the claws dug deeper. As soon as I grumbled at her, she sent me a mental picture of her empty food bowl.
I was contemplating her murder when she blinked her big, violet eyes at me and rubbed her head against my chin. The little devil knew exactly how far she could push me and how to win her way back into my good graces. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so annoying.
I petted her for a few minutes while the fog of sleep slowly lifted. A check of my comm proved that I’d been asleep for a little over three hours. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it would have to do.
A hot shower knocked most of the cobwebs from my brain, and by the time I opened the door, I was ready to face the day.
Which is the only reason I didn’t trip over the tray on the floor.
The tray had two covered dishes with accompanying labels. Someone had written my name in a neat block script on the larger container’s label, and the smaller one had Luna’s name on it.
I squinted at the text. Was this Torran’s handwriting or had one of his staff taken care of it?
I carried the tray to the kitchen. If I was up anyway, I might as well be sociable. Both the kitchen and dining area were empty when I arrived. Unsurprising, since it was well into midmorning.
The bowl labeled with Luna’s name contained a mix of meat, vegetables, and a grain that looked like rice, all cooked. It wasn’t too different from what I cooked for her when we ran out of her normal food. A sniff didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary, so I dumped it into her food bowl, and she dug in with a happy little sound.
I took my plate to the long dining table. It could seat twelve easily, but I hadn’t found a smaller breakfast table, so I sat at the end and pretended I wasn’t uncomfortable. The padded chairs were white, which was just asking for trouble, but they went with the pale wood of the table.
I couldn’t believe Torran had a young nephew stay with him often and the cushions were still pristine. Maybe Valoffs had figured out some miraculous anti-staining technology.
My plate was a mix of unfamiliar fruits, nuts, and what I assumed was cheese. Another note had been tucked half under the plate. When I drew it out, I realized that it was a guide to everything included, written in Common in the same neat hand. There were even tasting notes that included things like sweet, bitter, and spicy, along with a recommended eating order.
Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to ensure I was comfortable with Valovian food.
I finished everything on my plate. It wasn’t all exactly to my taste, but none of it was terrible and I appreciated the work someone had done on my behalf.
I left Luna to continue enjoying her food and carried our plates to the sink in the butler’s pantry. Anja and Eli had been unable to find a sanitizer after dinner last night, so they’d washed the dishes by hand. I did the same this morning, then carefully balanced the plate and bowl next to the sink to dry. Once I found Torran, I’d ask him to give me a proper tour.
More food had been left out on the kitchen island, with the same Common labels that explained what it was. Torran needed to give his staff a raise.
“Where is everyone?” I asked over the comm.
Eli was the first to respond. “Good morning, lazybones. Some of us are earning our keep while you get your beauty rest.”
The comm caught Lexi’s snort. “I saw you ‘earning your keep’ in the gym earlier. It looked a lot like flirting.”
“You sure you want to go there, Lex?” Eli taunted. “Because I saw—”