Page 27

I take a step closer, until her back is pressed against my front, and she can feel all of me as I crowd against her. My breath causes the blonde hair around her neck to flutter as I lean in close to her ear, and a shudder ripples down her spine from my proximity.

I wonder if her heart is racing the way mine is?

With my lips almost touching her ear, in a low, gravelly voice, I say, “I don’t know. I think I’d be pretty good at sharing.”

I take a step back before she’s able to respond. I want to leave that thought in her brain, so she has no choice but to think it over.

Looking at my watch, I realise it’s later than we thought and the zoo will close soon. We head towards the exit, and Indie takes in everything one more time as we pass, the same look of wonder still on her face as it was when we arrived several hours ago.

We’re both quiet on the way home, but it’s a pleasant silence brought on by exhaustion. We pick up some fast-food through a nearby drive-thru and eat it on the way home. Occasionally, Indie will talk about the animals she saw, and which were her favourite, but mostly we just revel in the great day we shared.

As I pull into Caged’s car park, my stomach sinks when it hits me that the day is over. We’ve had such a good time, I almost don’t want it to end.

Once I’ve turned off the engine, Indie takes off her seatbelt and turns her body so she’s facing me. She reaches over and grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together, like we have done all day. Her eyes are full of emotion, and the smile she gives me makes my heart stutter.

“Thank you for a lovely day,” I tell her, knowing that doesn’t even come close to summing up how good today was.

Indie shakes her head. “I’m the one who should thank you. I had the most amazing time today…with you.”

Indie leans closer to me, and it’s almost like time is moving slower as I watch her approaching me, my heart humming in anticipation. When she’s so close I can feel her breath against my face, she turns her head slightly and presses her lips against my cheek.

It’s not quite the kiss I wanted, but still my body heats up and my cock twitches. Knowing how reserved Indie is, this is progress, and I’ll take it.

As she pulls back, I let her see how much even a kiss on the cheek means to me. “Can I take you out again on another date?”

She nods her head, biting her lip like she’s suddenly become shy. “I’d like that.”

Indie is out of the car, slamming the door closed before I even have a chance to register how much my nerves are prickling. I can’t believe, after I told her all about my past with Miles, that we still had such an amazing date.

In a weird way, both of us still having feelings for the same man, that neither of us can have, is bringing us closer together. I don’t know if what we’re doing is a good idea, but I like Indie, and I want to see where this goes with her. I just hope doing this doesn’t hurt Miles.

Since watching Jake and Indie drive off together on their date, my day has gone from bad to worse. They hadn’t even left the car park when Marcus went into full boss-mode and demanded to see me in his office. I dragged my feet, my tail hanging between my legs as I walked behind him.

I didn’t need him to bollock me to know I was in the wrong, but that will not stop Marcus. I walk so slowly, by the time I get in, Marcus is already seated behind his desk, with an unreadable expression on his face. I close the door and take a seat opposite him.

His expression quickly turns to disappointment, and my heart sinks. I feel like a child whose parents say they’re disappointed in them rather than telling them off—it’s so much worse than facing his wrath.

The silence between us is deafening, but I keep quiet as I don’t have anything to say that will help the situation. After a couple of really long minutes, Marcus lets out a sigh and gives in first.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he growls, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“I don’t—” Before I can even finish, Marcus cuts me off.

“I’ll tell you… You weren’t thinking. Do I need to remind you of who Jacob Santoro is? Or what the consequences of hitting a rival leader could be?”

“He’s—” His fierce glare silences me, making it clear he doesn’t really want me to answer him.

“If Jake decides to pull rank on this, we could be in some real shit. You work for me, and your actions reflect on the Morellis as a whole. You hitting the leader of our rival family could be seen as a breach of the treaty. It could start a fucking war. Did you even think about that?” he seethes, dragging his hands through his hair and down his face.

His words sit heavily on my chest, because in reality, I didn’t think about any of that. What happened between me and Jacob was entirely personal, and I didn’t stop to think of the professional ramifications.

Unfortunately, although my head acknowledges that I was perhaps a little in the wrong, the anger and pent up frustration that’s sizzling through my body is preventing my brain from communicating with the rest of me. So instead of responding rationally, I snap at my best friend.

“Jacob has no fucking right to make something that was clearly personal into a fucking professional thing. Pulling rank was a dick move on his behalf,” I shout, my knee jiggling up and down as I struggle to stay still.

Marcus’ eyes widen almost comically as he shakes his head in disbelief. “You need to take the rest of the day off. Spend the time surgically removing your head from up your arse, and try to locate your personality while you’re at it. Come back to work tomorrow as your usual self, or we’ll have a fucking problem,” he growls.

I try to respond, but he holds his hand up to silence me, and because I don’t have a death wish, I do as I’m told. He pulls hisphone from his pocket and begins sending a message. After a few seconds, it beeps, and he turns his attention back to me.