an Everlasting Pursuit

forty four

Did this guy ever smile?

He cleared his throat. "I will go back to my room."

I nodded quietly, running my hand through my bedridden hair. "Okay."

Neither of us moved, stuck in a stalemate of eye contact. And nudity. We were both naked. Awkward?

Eventually, I was the one to break it. Clearing my throat, I made my way across the room. I was highly aware of his eyes following my naked body from my wardrobe to the bathroom until the door clicked shut behind me.

I emerged freshly clean and ready for the day around half an hour later. Asra had long since gone. The faint scent of his cologne settled in the air. I noticed he had made my bed and cracked the window, my curtains drawn and on their tie-backs. I smiled softly at the gestures, appreciative of him taking a minute out of his day to make mine simpler as I walked out of my room and to the elevator.

He definitely was not Darius for that.

I had to stop comparing the two. I really did. One was a wolf, and one was a wolf in sheep's clothing. One thirsted for my blood, the other thirsted for my...whatever it was Asra wanted from me. My ass?

I really needed to talk to that man. I had way too many things to say to him, but everything just got in the way. Remembering it was the full moon, I wondered if that was where Asra had gone before turning up dishevelled at my doorstep.

Was it a doorstep if... there wasn't a step?

I hummed at my internal question, stopping my descent in the hallway to ponder.

If it wasn't a doorstep, since it was just a hallway, was it a door-flat? A door...way? No, a doorway was different. Same thing, but different. A door...entrance-no, no, a doorstep. It simply had to be a doorstep. Maybe instead of a step, like a stair, it meant the verb form, so the movement of stepping inside? Yes, that had to be it.

Shaking my head to clear the daydream, I barely registered the open elevator doors and a familiar alpha male inside.

"Head in the clouds?" Blake grinned.

I couldn't hide the grimace on my face and he rolled his eyes, his hand firmly clasping the elevator doors open.

"Going down?" He asked, fingers dancing along the button display.

Having no choice but to climb into the death trap, I nodded. "Please."

I forced myself into the opposing corner, the doors closing beside me. Instead of retreating, Blake hovered in the middle of the death trap. I caught sight of myself in the mirror behind him, my wild ginger hair tamed into a ponytail today. My face was rather pale, I assumed from the alcohol consumption last night.

"Did you enjoy your night?" He asked politely.

I shrugged. "I went to bed. Nothing exciting."

His eyebrows quirked, and he took a step closer to me. "You should've found me, my dear. I could've made it a little more fun."

My nose crinkled, and I pushed myself further into the corner of the elevator. "No, that's quite the opposite of what I would want to do."

He laughed, the sound ricocheting around the death trap. "I have never met a human so gutsy."

"Gutsy?" I repeated.

"Yes. Humans where I am from are not so... bold. It is wonderfully refreshing and is quite an attractive quality." He grinned.

I felt nerves clutch my stomach as he grew closer, a nervous laugh bubbling in my throat. "Is that so?"

Looking anywhere but directly into his obsidian eyes, I mentally cursed the elevator for taking so long. When he stepped another foot closer, his weight shifted, and I caught sight of the panels behind him. I cursed when I realise he had not even pressed the button, and was successful in cornering me away from them. The elevator was frozen. The only button he had tricked my sight into pressing was the hold button.