She cleared her throat. “I think there is another box of honey in the back,” she walked by me, her cheeks turning pink. “I’ll go check.”
No matter the species, women always reacted to Kaleem like this. Although clearly attracted to him, they either ran or were too nervous to speak.
Valari was a young satyr as well, so her reaction was adorable.
Sighing, I rubbed at my temple. I knew it wouldn’t have taken long for Kaleem to find me, but I hadn’t expected him to turn up so soon. My hands suddenly felt sweaty, and I took slow breaths to control my pulse.
No way was I going to let it be known I was excited to see him, but my mind was out to get me because right away, I thought of the night we spent together, and just like that, my heartbeat went crazy. Every night since then, I’d had trouble sleeping.
I craved his touch now more than ever.
Still, Colin’s warning had been clear. He was ready and willing to hurt my Dad if I stepped out of line. I wasn’t going to risk that, but Kaleem had found me here. I hadn’t gone looking for him.
“Kaleem, I’m working,” I said while he approached me. “I can’t talk right now.”
“It’s important,” he replied. “And I know you’re the manager here. You can spare two minutes. Can’t you?”
Clenching my teeth, I stared up at him before walking away. He followed me to the back and into my office, and I closed and locked the door.
“You can’t just show up here,” I growled, and he buried his hands in his pockets while looking around the office.
“I don’t have your number,” he mumbled. “I would have called if I did. Congratulations on the new job, Diana. This office suits you.”
Removing his hand from his pocket, he held out the note I’d left beside him so many mornings ago. I swallowed hard when he took two steps to close the gap between us, and with the door at my back, I had nowhere to go.
“Did you really think this would be enough to keep me from you?” He asked, and I averted my gaze. “Did you think it had worked since I haven’t come to find you since that morning? I didn’t appreciate waking up without you.”
“We agreed we don’t have a future,” I whispered. “And don’t speak so loudly. This office isn’t soundproof.”
He looked over my head at the door but didn’t seem to care. Goddess, his eyes were so beautiful.
“We do have a future, Diana. You have to be open to allowing it.”
I exhaled through my mouth with frustration. “Kaleem, this isn’t the time or place to have this conversation. Okay? I’ll—give you my number, and we can talk some other time.”
“You can stop pretending you’re not happy to see me,” he rebutted. “I can see that you do. I missed you too.”
“Please don’t,” I whispered again, and he exhaled heavily.
“Has he hurt you?” Kaleem asked with a dim glow in his eyes, and I pulled a face. “Has Colin ever hurt you, Diana?”
Why was he asking me this, I wondered, and now? What was he told? I expected him to mention the altercation between his pack members and Jackson but not this.
I stepped around him to walk to the other side of the desk.
“Kaleem, we can’t do this right now. My number is…” but I didn’t get to tell him my number.
His fingers wrapped around my elbow to spin me around. His face turned red with the veins on his neck pushing against his skin, and he reached out to pinch my chin.
“He has, hasn’t he?” he growled. “Tell me the truth, Diana. Did he put his hands on you?”
His voice wasn’t getting lower but higher and contorted with that of his wolf. His eyes widened with a warning when I still refused to answer, and I held onto his wrist.
“Kaleem, I can take care of myself.”
I supposed that that was enough of a yes because he released me and stepped back. The muscles in his jaw clenched, and his nose wrinkled.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growled, and I quickly grabbed his hands.