Page 22 of Shifted Desire

“What do you mean? I’m getting out of here! I can’t…holy fuck, I’m not prepared to deal with this shit so early in the morning.” Her fingers wrap around the doorknob, and my stomach lurches.

I can’t let her leave. We need to figure out how to move past this.

I’m by her side with a speed that startles both of us, wedging my back between her and the door to keep her from opening it.

It’s a mistake, because this close, I can scent her again. It’s tinged with bitterness, but the underlying heat and indescribable allure are still there. My jaw aches with the urge to clamp down on her elegant throat and hold her in place until she submits.

She attempts to tug the door open, but it doesn’t budge. Her eyes lock on mine in anger. “Move.”

“We need to talk about this.” I plaster my back against the door, trying to create more space between us, afraid of what will happen if I touch her at all.

Samantha takes a step back, and I suck in a shaky breath.

Placing a hand on her hip, she gives me a withering glare. “What is there to talk about? It was an accident. Or at least it was on my part.”

I don’t like the accusation in her tone. “It was an accident on my part too! You think I wanted to fuck my best friend’s daughter? I never would’ve done it if I’d known who you were. It was a mistake.”

Her scowl flickers. “Alright, I get it.”

“Why? Would you have wanted to still do it if you knew it was me?” I scoff, not liking the frustration in her voice.

She laughs darkly. “You’re shitting me, right?”

“See? Neither of us would’ve wanted it.”

I expect her affronted posture to ease, but she only laughs again and crosses her arms over her chest. “You are the most oblivious man I’ve ever met.”

My brow furrows. Surely she doesn’t mean…

She rolls her eyes at my confusion. “Oh, come on! I threw myself at you every Samhain for almost a decade, and you’re telling me you’re too virtuous to have noticed even a hint of interest from me?”

“I…What?”

“Unbelievable,” she mutters under her breath. “Quit looking at me like that.”

She reaches out and pushes my gaping mouth closed with two fingers. The touch burns my skin, and before I can think better of it, I snag her wrist and pull her hand away from my face.

Her pupils dilate.

Her scent blooms in the air between us, and my pulse quickens.

Fuck. This isn’t good.

“You’re upset with me because I wasn’t creeping on my best friend’s daughter?” My voice is too gravelly, too hungry.

“No. Ugh. No. It’s a good thing you didn’t notice. It’s a stupid crush. God, this is so typical of my life. Except this time I didn’t even fuck things up intentionally.”

I don’t miss how she mentions the crush like it’s still ongoing, or how she’s taking the blame for something that isn’t her fault.

I release my grip on her wrist and step away from the door. “We can figure it out. Nothing has to be fucked up if you just stay and talk to me about it.”

Part of me expects her to bolt the second she can, but Samantha lets out a deep sigh and moves back to the chair, collapsing into it inelegantly. It’s a stark contrast to the prim, professional facade she had on before.

I return to my chair as well, needing the barrier of the desk between us.

She narrows her eyes at me. “Okay. Talk.”

“Let’s look at the facts. We had sex, consensually, while not knowing the identity of our partner.”