Mine.
She arched her body against me, her hands sliding beneath my shirt.
A loud crack split the air outside, followed by a secondary thump that rattled the window.
We both froze.
“Was that—” Laina started.
Another crack. Then Drogar’s voice, distant but much too delighted. “Again. Do it again!”
I closed my eyes. “The fizzlings.”
“What are they doing?”
“Discharging into posts we installed for this purpose.” I stepped back, and she slid off the desk. “It sometimes creates an arc effect. Drogar finds it entertaining.”
A third crack echoed, louder this time, and the lights in the office flickered.
“We need to make sure they’re alright,” she said.
“We do.”
She smoothed her shirt, tucked her hair behind her ears, and looked up at me with an expression caught between frustration and laughter. “Your timing is terrible.”
“It’s Drogar’s timing, technically.”
“I’m blaming you anyway.”
Another crack rattled the building, and I offered her my hand. “We should separate them before they overload something critical.”
“Like the grid?”
“Or Drogar’s enthusiasm.”
She took my hand, her fingers weaving through mine as we headed for the door. Before we reached it, she stopped and roseon her toes, curling her finger to lower my head so she could kiss me once more. Quick but thorough.
“Tomorrow?” she asked.
“Tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that.”
Her smile brightened. “Sounds like a claiming to me.”
“Is it?”
“Maybe.” Her thumb brushed across my knuckles. “If you’re asking.”
“I am.”
“Then yes.”
She left ahead of me, and I stood in her doorway watching her go, feeling the echo of her yes settle in my bones.
Once we’d made sure the fizzlings were alright, plus Drogar, Laina left for the day with Sofia.
I walked to my office and pulled out my notebook, laying it on my desk and opening it to a clean page, grabbing my pen.
She looked at me tonight like she wasn’t afraid of what comes next,I wrote.I hope I can be worthy of that.
