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CHAPTER THREE: OPENING BID - PART THREE
She shouldn’t. It was a bad idea. She was going to end things with him.
Any minute now.
So she really shouldn’t touch him.
But her hand was already reaching up to the large wing curling around her. She let her fingers barely brush against the bony edge of his wings, feeling the fragile strength of their frame. Her breath caught as his wings flexed beneath her touch, the fluid movement letting her fingers flow over the delicately thin yet resiliently taut skin. Her eyes traced every vein and vessel, made so clear as sunlight shone through the veil of flesh in a beautiful, living tapestry. Her mind marveled. She was touching something wondrous. Something, not that long ago, people would have sworn couldn’t be real. Yet, here it was.
Here he was.
Harri looked up into Azel’s heated gaze as he shifted to face her, his wings folding over them, like a shield against the rest of the world. She inhaled sharply as he leaned in close, their breath — made sweet and sultry from the hazelnut coffee — swirling between them and fogging her whole world.
Lord, she was in trouble, wasn’t she?
She snatched back her hand. “We should head out.” The words weren’t much more than a whisper, unsure and unsteady.
“Is that really what you want?” She could hear her own desires reflected back at her, heavy and hot, in his heady voice.
Biting her lip, she nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“As you wish.” He stepped away, his wings pulling back to simply shield them from the wind again. “Why don’t we discuss the details of our contract while we walk?”
She nodded again, her shoulders relaxing a bit more. She let out her breath as her vision cleared. Details. Yes, figuring out the exact parameters of their agreement sounded good. Sounded smart.
As they walked, they batted back and forth terms and conditions. No, they did not have to meet up every day. But, yes, they should meet up at least four times a week. When it came to touch, they would both ask for consent first, every time. Yes, both of them. Whatever Azel said, it made Harri feel better knowing that he could say no to her. It made his yes feel more real. Made hers feel so too. She didn’t want to ever wonder if he was just doing things for her because she wanted it, even if he didn’t. She knew all too well what that felt like and didn’t wish that on anyone.
By the time they walked back up to her apartment, she felt much more at ease, much more in control again. Felt like this contract — this deal — could actually work. He’d be helping her with Nate; she’d be helping Azel until he got a new job. This was a good thing for both of them. For Nate too, in the end. They would be helping Nate move on. What was a month of playing pretend in the face of that?
Harri opened her door, even as they both lingered in the hallway. “So I think this was a pretty successful first date, wouldn’t you say?”
The smile he flashed her warmed her belly. “I’d say we definitely made good progress today. If you’d like, we could go inside, maybe order some lunch and officially draw up the contract.”
She felt herself stiffen as her hand tightened on the doorknob behind her.
His head tilted cautiously. “Or… I can take it home tonight and bring it tomorrow. We can sign it over dinner, if that works better for you. You can pick the restaurant.”
She looked up at him gratefully. She knew she was being a little irrational. It wasn’t as if she was afraid of having Azel in her apartment. He’d been in it this morning and it’d been perfectly fine. It wasn’t him she worried about, not really.
It was just… after having let Nate in — after finding it so hard to keep Nate out — having another person in her space, her home, felt wrong. This place was hers; she wouldn’t let anyone in again until and unless she wanted to.
“Okay,” he said, nodding knowingly. He studied her, his gaze feeling like a stroke as it traced the curve of her face, the trail of her neck, the sweep of her shoulders, and along the length of her arm. “You know, I never did get to hold your hand today.” He smiled up at her again. “Guess I’ll have something to look forward to tomorrow.”
After bidding each other goodbye, she watched him walk down the hallway and out of sight, her thoughts lingering on the promise of tomorrow. Feeling foolish, she shut the door behind her and leaned against the hardwood, her mind and heart ridiculously racing. She shook her head, willing herself to calm down. She had no reason to be reacting like this. He might sound like he was flirting, but he wasn’t serious. He was playing a part. Doing a job. Fulfilling his end of their deal. She needed to remember that. None of this was real.
And she didn’t want it to be real. Real meant repercussions. Real meant dealing with all those messy relationship things — emotions and expectations — that she didn’t want to.
No, this was better. Cleaner.
She jumped at a loud knock on her door. She frowned. Had Azel come back? Had he forgotten something?
Holding her breath, she opened the door a crack. Only to see Nate fuming in the hallway. “Who the hell was that?”
Instantly irritated, she rolled her eyes. “It’s none of your business, Nate.” She moved to shut her door again, only to have him shove the door open more.
“What do you think you’re doing, Harri?” Nate shook his head, disbelieving, disapproving. “A demon. You went on a date with a demon!” He took a step closer.
Refusing to move an inch, to let him into her apartment again, she stiffened her spine and glared into his face. “Go home, Nate.”
For a moment, he looked like he was going to shout, his whole body seeming to surge and seeth as if readying for a full-blown fight with her in the middle of her doorway.
But, just as quickly, all that anger vanished, suddenly shoved and stuffed behind that nice guy exterior she no longer trusted. He gave her doorframe a weak yet meaningful kick with his foot. “Look, I know you’re mad at me.” He shrugged helplessly. “I honestly have no idea why or what I did. But, if you’d just tell me,” he looked up at her, frowning, as he said, “I’ll do whatever you need me to to fix it.” He reached out to touch a strand of her hair as he smiled at her ruefully. “You don’t need to date a demon to get my attention. You already have it.”
But she didn’t want it. She leaned back, out of his reach. “Go home, Nate,” she told him, her voice hard and unyielding, before shutting the door behind her.
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