Page 51 of Now Their Starlet

Double fuck.

It’s not quite a kiss. She’s honestly just resting her face against me, but I can feel her soft breath against my skin in a way that sends awareness shooting down my spine.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say, my throat thick.

“But I want to.”

Triple fuck.

And then she actually kisses my neck. A soft sigh leaves her lips after the tender brush of her lips.

“I wish you weren’t wearing de-scenter’s right now,” she says, her lower lip sticking out in a pout.

“You—you like my scent that much, huh?” The words leave my lips as a half-hearted attempt at a joke.

Any semblance or hint of humor leaves me when I see the seriousness in her gaze.

“Yes,” she says.

“Oh.”

My entire job is knowing exactly what to say to appeal to my intended audience enough to get my message across. All that to say, my job is to be good with words.

I feel less capable than an elementary school kid being introduced to complex, multisyllabic words when I’ve only been taught how to sight-read.

“Well then,” I say, my hands flexing against her hips as the space between us fills with awkward silence. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“There’ll be a next time?” she asks, something shifting in her expression.

She doesn’t perk up exactly, I don’t think she has the energy for it, but there’s a spark that flashes in the light of the ridiculously fancy light fixtures.

“We’re not leaving you here, Andi,” I murmur softly. “I might not be able to see you again before we get you out if everything goes to plan, but that just means you get to scent me all you want without having to sneak away into bathrooms.”

“Okay,” she says, her eyes darting between mine.

“Then we can... figure this out,” I say, gesturing between us. “Give it a real shot. Not ‘cause I’m the only safe alpha you’ve been around in a month. Sound good?”

“Okay,” she repeats, nodding slowly.

“Good. Good girl,” I murmur, pulling her into my arms and resting my chin on top of her head. “Do you want to sit down? Those shoes must be killing you.”

“I can’t really sit down comfortably in this dress,” she mutters, letting out a tired sigh. “It’s one of those dresses that you’ve gotta sit all weird in because it barely bends.”

“Ah,” I say, taking a step back and eyeing her dress up and down.

She makes a sound of distress at my movement, her hands reaching up to grip my forearms and I watch a maelstrom of emotions pass through her expression Despair at me leaving. Embarrassment for making that noise. Longing for me to hold her again.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere yet,” I murmur soothingly, giving her waist what I hope is a grounding squeeze. “I was just trying to take stock of the... situation. It’s the corset that’s making it hard for you to sit properly, right? ‘Cause of the drop waist?”

She tilts her head to the side, her lips quirking up into the faint hint of a grin. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to her smiling. The sight makes something crack open in my chest.

“You know fashion?” she huffs.

“I may or may not have had an internship at a fashion magazine or two when I was still in school,” I shrug, the tips of my ears feeling hot. “Learned a thing or two.”

Her lips quirk up even further.

“You’re embarrassed! Well, don’t be. It’s cool. And you’re right.”