Chapter 9 #2
Anh punched in the code, letting them into the office.
Inside, there was a desk with a computer and printer, in front of which there were two seats.
On the other wall, there was a labeled filing cabinet.
Luke closed the door behind them, and she realized how small the office was compared to the lofty bookshop.
Warmth spread through her, and she set Motu down to take off her coat.
Before she could, she felt gentle hands on her shoulders.
“Allow me,” he said, voice low by her ear.
As he slipped her coat off, his hands brushed against her bare shoulders; she was wearing a lacy slip blouse on top of leather pants.
Though his touch was fleeting, it sent a shiver down her spine, making her skin prickle with goosebumps.
Emmeline turned, watching as Luke hung up her coat, then took off his own. He wore black trousers and a black button-down shirt, the top buttons of which were undone to reveal three chain necklaces lying flat on the bare skin of his chest. She had the insane urge to reach out and touch them.
Shaking her head, Emmeline turned to Anh, who was watching them with an amused glance. Emmeline’s cheeks flushed, and she straightened her back, focusing.
“The log-in information for the computer is written down here,” Anh said, tapping a notepad.
“All the reports and data for the business have been downloaded onto the computer, and they are all most likely also printed out and filed in the cabinet. Should you need anything else, feel free to ask Ola in the front. Minh most definitely will not know anything useful.”
“Perfect, thank you so much,” Emmeline said, giving Anh a bright smile.
Anh nodded, heading for the door, which Luke opened for her. She glanced back at both of them, eyes twinkling. “Have fun.”
With that, the old lady left them alone in the office. Emmeline released a breath and, sensing she was a bit more relaxed now, Motu strayed from his position by her feet, poking around the office.
“Motu, no,” she warned, as he opened his mouth to chew on a wire. The baby dragon closed his mouth, and Emmeline headed for the filing cabinet, opening the first drawer, which was labeled with the current year. Luke stood across from her, looking through the drawer with her.
The office was quiet save for the shuffling of papers, until a voice broke the silence.
“So you’re babysitting,” Luke said.
“Why are you trying to talk to me?” she asked.
“Fine.” His jaw clenched. “Forget it.”
Guilt pricked her. Perhaps she shouldn’t be so petty. “Yes,” she replied. “I’m babysitting for my younger brother for the next six weeks.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Six weeks?” He whistled. “That’s a long time.”
“Don’t get your hopes up that I’ll be distracted,” she said, eyes narrowed. “I’m still going to beat you for Anh’s investment.”
Luke was unbothered by such a comment; instead, his expression was pensive. “Aren’t you Drakkons not allowed to hatch your dragon eggs until you’re old enough to look after the baby dragon yourself and take responsibility?” he asked.
She furrowed her brows, not following. “Yes.”
“So why did your brother hatch his egg if he couldn’t manage it?”
She blinked. “Well, he can,” she replied, voice defensive. “He’s just busy with school right now.”
“And you’re not busy with work?” he asked.
Her skin prickled. He was right, and he was the only person to have batted an eyelash at the fact. Samreen had simply replied that Haris was her brother—of course Emmeline had to help him. They all took it as a given.
“I can handle it,” Emmeline replied, tone clipped.
“I’m sure you can,” Luke replied. “But why burn yourself out? You need to set better boundaries.”
Shock rippled through her. It didn’t matter that what he was saying had some truth to it. Who the hell was he to speak to her in such a manner?
“Yeah, I do,” she said, and he looked satisfied for a moment before registering that the anger on her face was directed at him. “So stop talking about things you know nothing about.”
He blinked, taken aback. “I wasn’t trying . . .” he started, but she turned her attention to the file in her hand, ignoring him. She needed to focus, anyway.
Walking over to one of the chairs, she sat down to look over the financial report in front of her. She’d need to see how much room there was in the budget for the coffee shop before beginning her plans.
They worked in silence while Motu occupied himself with a chew-toy.
Emmeline could sense the baby dragon was slowly losing interest, and an hour later, Motu disregarded the toy entirely, climbing up onto the chair she was sitting on and jumping off.
After he had done that about ten times, she felt her patience snap.
“Motu, behave,” she said, on edge.
Motu looked up at her with an expression of utter betrayal, and she sighed. This was what happened when one was not stern with a baby dragon; the animal grew spoiled. She would give her brother a lecture about this later—another thing added to her to-do list.
Rubbing her temples, she went back to the financial reports, highlighting key elements. Motu scratched at her legs with his paws, and she looked down to find him angrily pouting at her.
She put her index finger to her lips, hushing him, and his expression grew more upset. He let out a whimper, scratching his face with his paws. Luke glanced over.
“Acha, na,” she said quietly, trying to coax him into relaxing, but it was too late. The baby dragon was upset, and he began growling.
Not only was it distracting, but embarrassment flushed through her. What would Luke think? That she couldn’t even handle one baby dragon?
“Tch, Motu, bas,” she scolded, and Motu hissed at her, jumping up onto the table. He kicked her stack of papers and they went fluttering in the air. Emmeline’s jaw dropped open.
“Motu,” she warned, but he was having a full-blown temper tantrum now. He leapt from the table, flying around the small office space, being deliberately destructive. He flew into the coat rack, knocking it over. Their coats toppled to the ground.
“Motu, stop!” Emmeline cried, appalled at the baby dragon’s behavior. She reached for him, but he flew up, away from her. “Motu!”
“Here, let me help,” Luke said, getting up and coming to her side.
She whirled on him. “I don’t need your help!”
He made an irritated sound. “Just let me—”
Motu flew to the other side of the desk, and Luke followed with Emmeline right behind him. There weren’t many places for Motu to go in the office, and he quickly turned, changing course. At the same time, they both reached for Motu from opposite ends.
The devilish baby dragon ducked, causing Emmeline and Luke to crash into one another.
“Woah!”
Luke fell back onto the desk chair and Emmeline fell with him, landing directly on his lap. Her hands fell to his shoulders, while his hands went to her hips, holding her steady.
For a moment, they both froze, staring at each other. Her blood rushed through her veins.
Then, his gaze dropped to her mouth. Desire pulsed through her, making her lips part.
She felt his grip on her tighten, fingers pressing in, and her breathing grew shallow. She was losing all sense, but she used the very last shred of her wits to push his chest.
“Let go of me,” she said, though her voice didn’t sound nearly as commanding as she wanted it to.
He immediately let her go, and she stood, skin burning.
Her knees felt weak, and she glanced over at Motu, who was now sitting calmly on the ground; she could have sworn he was smiling at her, happy to see her punished for having scolded him. She glared at the baby dragon, though he wasn’t truly the cause of why she was feeling so flustered.
Emmeline glanced back at Luke, who was still seated languidly in the chair, knees spread apart. She felt dizzy.
“This isn’t working,” she blurted out.
His brows knit together. “What?”
Luke stood up then, until he was right in front of her, and she involuntarily took a step back.
“This,” she said, gesturing to the both of them. “Us being here at the same time. It isn’t productive.”
As he cocked his head to the side, Emmeline rolled her shoulders. She tried to regain control of the situation and not think about how it felt to be in his lap, the solid feel of his chest, the way he had held her flush against him. It would have been so easy to—
She cut that thought off before it went further, blinking fast to stave off the faint feeling spreading through her. “We need to decide on a schedule of when each of us can be here and the other cannot.”
He thought about it for a second. “That’s petty,” he said. “Not to mention immature.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, bite me.”
“Don’t tempt me.” His gaze scorched through her, and her skin warmed. Leveling her breathing, she reminded herself that he was purposefully lewd just to bother her. He was an incorrigible flirt. There was no need to think anything of his words.
Straightening her shoulders, she focused. “If we divide our hours at the shop, we don’t need to spend time in each other’s company. A prospect I’d gladly welcome.”
As she spoke the words, she understood how petty and immature it sounded, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t think straight when she was around him! Being near him felt like being around a live wire, and any moment she’d be electrocuted. To death.
Luke’s lips twitched as he regarded her, as if he could read her mind. “Okay, I’ll humor you,” he said. She swallowed. “Like anyone else with a job, I work about nine to five, Monday through Friday.” He paused condescendingly. “I assume you do, as well?”
“Yes,” she begrudgingly admitted.
“Hm.” He pretended to think. “So we’re free at the same time. If we divide that up, it limits our already limited time. Not to mention being needlessly tedious.” He took a step toward her, leaning forward. “Feels like a lot of trouble.”
Realizing he was right, Emmeline held back a groan. She clenched her jaw, trying to think and, as she did, he considered her closely, dark eyes unreadable.
“Now, I don’t mind trouble,” Luke said plainly, and then his tone shifted. “Though I don’t understand what for.” He cocked his head to the side. “What is it, Sterling? Can’t handle being around me?”
Though his assumption was arrogant and ridiculous, Emmeline paused before responding, and he took the split-second hesitation to pounce.
Savage pleasure spread across his face, his dark eyes glinting like a blade catching sunlight.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” he said, satisfaction dripping from his words. “You can’t handle me.”
She scoffed. “I can see the years haven’t done anything for your inflated ego,” she gritted out. “I just thought it would be easier not to be in each other’s way. I can handle being around you just fine. I am a professional, after all.”
“Okay, sure.” He shrugged easily, not believing her. She glared, and his voice turned to a dare: “Prove it, then. We don’t need to work different times.”
“We don’t,” she snapped, and he considered something.
“Actually, you know what? We should be here at the exact same time,” he added. “I don’t trust you not to hide files away or to try and sabotage me.”
That was, unfortunately, also a good point. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t trust you, either,” she replied.
“So we’re in agreement, then,” he said. “We’ll come to the bookshop only when the other is here. Deal?”
He held out his hand for her. Her gaze dropped to his outstretched hand, and her pulse quickened.
Why did she have the sense that she had been tricked into something? It felt like she was treading dangerous territory, but there was no way she was backing down from the challenge in his gleaming eyes, the smirk tilting his lips as if he was waiting to call her bluff.
Emmeline lifted her chin. “Deal.”
She took his hand in hers, shaking it. His large hand tightened around hers, and an electric jolt went through her at the contact. As if sensing it, he ran his thumb across her knuckles.
Then, he gave her hand a slight but firm tug. She stumbled forward, and her breathing hitched. She inhaled the smell of his cologne: cypress and spruce. Why, oh why, did he have to smell so good?
Feeling disarmed by how close they were, she gazed up at him with wide eyes. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and her lips parted involuntarily. Her stomach burned.
A slow smile spread across Luke’s lips.
Emmeline had the distinct feeling she had no idea what she had just agreed to.