Love at Stake (Entangled Covet)(42)

His low growl filled the room.

If he continued things as they were, she’d grow more attached. Perhaps love him. Want his love in return.

And that wasn’t something he had in him to give.

The thought of hurting her that way stabbed through him. He could not be the one responsible for breaking her generous heart. Which meant he needed to take himself out of the equation before he did more damage than good.

Lucian drew his hands down his face. Could he really let her go? Even now his body hungered for nothing but her.

He pictured her smiling face, her happy green eyes. His beautiful, breakable mortal.

He had to leave her before it was too late.

The only problem was, when he closed his eyes all he could think of was the night of the benefit when he’d found her with Melissa. All he’d had to do was open his arms and she’d walked into them without hesitation. And when his arms had closed around her, he’d known no one had ever felt so perfect.

How was he supposed to let that go?

But how could he live with himself if he didn’t?

…

Maybe they had a chance after all. Abbey smiled to herself as she typed information into a new account. Melissa seemed to think they did, and she knew her sire far better than Abbey.

Not to mention the way he’d fallen on her last night as soon as they’d gotten back to his apartment. Her body heated just thinking of how he’d stripped her body bare and run his lips across her skin. He’d taken her with such abandon that her cheeks still burned to think about it. But mostly she thought of the way he’d held her through the night, their bodies entwined. Surely he felt more for her than he would for a temporary fling.

She hummed to herself as her fingers flew over the keys. Only a few hours until she saw him again. Would he even go through the pretext of going on the date they’d lined up? Perhaps they could skip it and head right to bed.

A knock sounded on her door and Chloe poked her head in. “I’ve got something for you.”

“What?”

A man stepped into her office, a crooked smile on his full lips. “Forgive the intrusion. I came in to straighten a few details out with my account.”

“And I told him you were free right now,” Chloe said with a wink. “Have fun.”

The witch disappeared, closing the door behind her.

Abbey stood. “You’re—”

“Christian Kae.” He stepped forward and held out his hand. “We’ve exchanged a few e-mails.”

She shook his hand automatically. The werewolf was far more handsome in person than on his profile photo. Rich auburn hair curled around his ears, giving him an almost boyish charm. His golden eyes were warm and inviting, as was the wide smile on his face. He was tall and more muscled than she usually preferred, but she supposed that came with the territory. Werewolves, of all the weres, tended to be a more active species. No doubt he’d participated in his fair share of dominance battles and pack hunts.

His clothes were impeccable but more casual than Lucian’s usual attire. The first few buttons of his collared white shirt were undone to show off the golden skin underneath. Fit jeans and a brown sport coat finished his ensemble, giving him an air of a man put together but laid back. She could imagine grabbing a beer with him and telling raunchy jokes. Definitely a change from her straitlaced vampire.

“Yes, I meant to reply to your last e-mail. Sorry.”

“No worries,” he said, waving away her apology. “As I said, I was coming in anyway so I thought I’d try my luck. May I sit?”

“Uh, please.” Abbey took her own seat as she tried to figure out how to handle this. Christian was striking, that was for sure. But she had Lucian. Didn’t she?

“So you work for Fated Match,” he said, giving her another easy smile. “Must be an interesting gig.”

“Yeah, I like helping people find their right mate.”

“Rewarding.” He nodded as if he understood perfectly. “I’m a chef myself. Catering mostly and some restaurant work.” He tossed her a boyish grin.

“A chef?” She blinked. “I assumed you’d have a job with the pack.”

“Tried it. Wasn’t my cup of tea.”

Which meant he was strong enough to break away from the rules. Lower members of a pack were rarely allowed to seek employment in the human world. They worked for their alphas, helping the leader run the day-to-day operations of the pack. To break free of what she understood was an extremely tight community, Christian had to have some serious pull.

“Do you like working with supernaturals?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t.”

His charming grin widened. “Does that mean you’ve dated a wolf before?”