One day later …

It felt so good to be able to walk around in her pajamas and not feel icky. Most guys would have undressed her with their eyes. Or made stupid comments. Not Titan. Despite the fact that she knew he was attracted to her, the guy didn’t look. In fact, she would go so far as to say that he purposefully looked away whenever their paths collided. As much as she liked it, it annoyed her as well. So much so that she found herself almost driving him into looking, which was really wrong of her. Oh so very wrong.

There was a perfectly good robe folded neatly on her bed, but she didn’t use the thing. Oh no! She wore her sleeping shorts. The pink pair with the mint green polka dots and mint green little bow at the front. It came with a strappy pink top with mint green trim and a tiny green bow at cleavage level.

The shorts covered her ass just fine but left her legs bare. The top had a built-in bra … okay, not really … it had a double panel at the boob area, which did little to keep the twins under control. There was cleavage everywhere and well, she had decent nipples on her ample boobs so those were kind of in your face as well. She really shouldn’t be doing this but she couldn’t help herself. It was like she was compelled to get a reaction out of him. Anything would do.

Natasha wasn’t really sure why though. It wasn’t with the intention of starting something with him. A relationship, even a sexual one was not going to happen. They worked together and Titan was a self-imposed celibate. The guy could have anyone he wanted and without even trying. She’d seen the way women, of all ages, looked at him. Drago had said he could get a vampire woman if he really tried. Natasha was sure that they may have initially been upset with him over the assault incident but that they were more upset nowadays because they couldn’t have him.

So, the celibacy thing was definitely self-imposed. What she was looking for, was a reaction, anything. She needed to pull him out of whatever funk he was in. Titan needed to talk about his past. The walls, the celibacy, all of it was related. He needed to get it out in the open. If prancing around half-naked got a reaction out of him and that sparked an argument which in turn got him talking, even in anger, she would be happy. He needed help. He was a good guy. He deserved … more. It wasn’t because she had feelings for him. Not at all! Was she attracted to him? Hell yeah! Did she want him? No way!

Titan walked into the kitchen already fully dressed. Suit pants, white shirt and a royal blue tie that didn’t look right. He walked into the kitchen, caught sight of her and turned on his heel … Running away. So typical!

Natasha rolled her eyes. “I made you coffee.”

He stopped in his tracks.

“Here. Don’t run away. Let me pour you a cup.” She tried not to smile. He was so cute when he ran.

“No that’s …” Still facing the other way.

“No trouble.” She already had a mug out. Natasha poured before he could stop her. “Just the way you like it.”

Titan turned. His jaw was set, his whole stance tense. His eyes went from her face to the mug which he took from her. Then he looked somewhere over her shoulder. So darned cute when he avoided looking at her. His cheeks were a tad flushed and his jaw was set. So, not as unaffected as he pretended to be.

“Did you sleep well?”

Titan nodded. “Yes.” He took a sip. Oh boy, if he clutched that mug any harder the porcelain would crack.

“I’ll chat to someone at reception today about getting another room.” Not that she wanted to leave. She enjoyed … well … this. If that made her twisted then so be it. Natasha held back a sigh. Her life really was the epitome of boring and dull. Her only consolation was that Titan seemed just as bad, maybe even more so. They were a sorry pair.

His eyes locked back with hers. “Has there been any feedback on how those assholes gained access to your room?”

She shook her head. “No. Although they have cameras up in the lobby, it seems they’re for show and don’t actually record anything.”

“What’s the point?” He took another sip.

She shrugged. “It’s a deterrent.”

“Any feedback on the prints off the door?”

She shook her head. “So far, nothing unusual has come up. The CCTV footage from across the road shows the perps parking and entering through the front doors. They looked like they belonged.” Unlike the earlier spray-painting incident which had shown one person entering around three in the morning. They wore loose-fitting clothing and a hoody that covered their face. The person had a slight stature and could have been male or female.

“Hold off on getting another apartment.”

Natasha frowned. “But …”

“It isn’t safe.” He looked back into her eyes. “Just humor me, okay? I’m sure you want your own space. I know you can take care of yourself but no need to risk it.”

“Someone’s got to have your back,” she laughed.

He smiled. “There’s that too.”

Natasha looked down at the messy knotted material at his throat. “What’s going on with that tie?”

Titan pulled a face. “I still have no idea how to do one of these things. This is what it looks like after watching a couple of Youtube videos and days of trying. I still can’t get it right.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to leave the tie to me?” She walked over to him.

Titan frowned. “I’m a grown-ass male. I need to learn how to do it myself.”

“I’ll teach you.” She undid the mess he had made. “You need to pay special attention. First you cross the wide end under the narrow end …” He looked down at where she was working. His gaze landed on her cleavage for a moment. His whole body tensed up. Then he pushed out a breath and focused on her hands. “Pull the wide end up over the narrow end, like so …”

He swallowed hard as her hand brushed against his chest.

“Take the wide end down through the loop,” she talked him through the rest of the process. “Then you tighten the knot up to the collar.” She took a step back. “That looks great.”

“Thank you.” He clenched his teeth, this time his gaze was on her neck. He licked his lips. His really gorgeous, kissable lips. For a moment they just stood there, looking at one another. Her nipples tightened. His chest looked sculpted beneath the white cotton of his shirt. His beard was neatly trimmed. His eyes were so intense. Titan took a small step towards her. He fisted his hands at his sides for a second before turning away and gripping the counter. “You should get ready,” his voice was really deep. Even more so than normal.

“Um …” her voice was too high in comparison. “I was going to make some breakfast first.”

“I’ll make something. You go and … put some clothes on.” He leaned down and grabbed a pan. “I’ll scramble some eggs. We leave in twenty so you need to hurry.”

“Okay … sure.”

“And, Natasha …” He kept his back to her. “You shouldn’t walk around half-naked like that.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that was pulled from her. “Why not? It’s not like you look.” She sounded emotional about it. Like she really cared. Like she wanted him to look for reasons other than getting him to talk about his past. That was silly though and not true.

“It’s not appropriate. I’m your supervisor.” He turned around and ‒ surprise, surprise ‒ he didn’t look. He barely looked her in the eyes.

“It’s no big deal. I’ve seen you completely naked more than once. Your vampire women walk around wearing less. We’re not friends and you don’t have sex … ever. What’s the problem?”

“I’m a male and you’re a female. We’re sharing a small space for the time being. I might get the wrong idea.”

“But you won’t, and even if you do, you won’t do anything about it.” She sounded like she wanted him to do something about it. Did she? No. Not at all. This had nothing to do with wanting to take their attraction further.

Titan sighed. “No, I would never …” he let the sentence die. “You have less than twenty minutes.” He glanced at his watch.

He was so irritating. Titan frustrated her to no end. She needed him to tell her what had happened. Natasha hated seeing him like this. That sadness, those walls. She only hoped that she could help him. That he would let her.