Spellbound, Boundless Series, Book 4

Ch. 18

Why was I surprised that Lana barely looked at me during the Pentagram meeting? During her presentation on front desk productivity, she made eye contact with everyone but me, even when I asked her direct questions. She looked down at her notes and gave clipped answers. After the session, Omar held me back from approaching her, requesting we convene in the next few weeks. I hurried the conversation, watching Lana run out of the room.

As she scurried down the hallway, I jogged to reach her side. "Ms. Coto, a word."

She stopped walking. Her shoulders slumped in surrender. She didn't look at me. "I have to return to my post."

"This will only take a minute."

"You already told me how you feel." She took several steps.

"Lana, please."

She stopped, looking down at her pointy-toed heels.

With my hand gently leading her by the elbow, I walked us to a quiet corner of the hallway. "I made a mistake. I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I'm sorry." I positioned her back to the wall, preventing her from running away.

"Are you also sorry for telling my mentor that I'd asked you to sleep with me?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"She confronted you?"

With a hand on her hip, she said, "What did you think she would do? Of course, she came to me and told me that fraternization with a higher-up is discouraged."

Frustration coiled in my heart. I swallowed the knot in my throat and sighed. "We don't have a policy on that."

She tipped her head back and raised a brow. "No?"

"And I'm not your superior."

She straightened her back and stared at me. "Why is that?" A dark eyebrow rose as she awaited my response. I could almost read her mind.

Ignoring her snarky question, I stated, "We can do whatever we want."

"Well, according to her, we can't. She's probably creating an anti-fraternization policy as we speak."

"She can't do that."

Dark tendrils fell forward as she lowered her head. When she looked up, her lips were pursed. Her eyes were glassy and I was stricken with fear that she'd cry. "I can't believe you couldn't keep this between us." She tried to sidestep to leave. I moved with her, blocking her path.

"Stop," I ordered, and she froze like a child in a playground game. She stared at my chest, refusing to look at me. Even through layers of material, her jagged breath heated my torso. "She will do no so such thing."

"You accused me of plotting with a woman. Did you think it was Perla?"

I rubbed my chin. A trapped sigh escaped my mouth. "Yes."

"Why? What would she have against you?"

I looked to the ceiling, wishing it would suck me up. The feeling of being trapped made me want to run away, but the way Lana's nearness made my body thrum kept me rooted to the spot. "It's a long, complicated story."

"I have time." She licked her lips as she stared at my mouth.

A low growl dared escape from my core. Inhaling her minty breath, thoughts of tasting her flitted through my mind. I leaned in, grinning. "I thought you needed to return to your post." I could almost feel her heartbeat against my body.

She stepped back and bumped the wall. "You're right. Good day, Mr. Clay." She attempted to side-step me.

My arm instinctively rose to keep her still. Separated by mere inches from her body, she froze in place. "Lana. I...I don't know where to start. Can we just start over?"