Page 27 of Zodiac Beasts

Curious.

And irrelevant. Because I shouldn’t be thinking about her as if she was in our booth for anything other than a platonic, club activity. The matchmaker was starting to get to me, perhaps. My head was in a place that it shouldn’t be lately, and the full moon that so ominously hid below the horizon was making it worse.

She’s my bubbly coworker and an enticing mystery and that’s all she is to me, I thought, like I needed to remind myself of such. Even if we were never more than friends, I was only doing this because I enjoyed her company.

“This will be quick, so if you need to get back to your own booth soon, don’t worry.” I placed a hand on her cheek, and I lifted her chin so our gazes were in line. Her hair shifted with her lifted face, revealing the now more prominent mark of the Leo on her neck. It was deeper and slightly red, glowing softly with magic that wasn’t purely her own anymore.

He didn’t…

I forced myself not to visibly react—a feat in and of itself, truly. Perhaps I wanted to provoke him, after all.

“Now will you hold still for me?” I suggested through a well masked calm.

“Of course.” She whispered, while her cheek warmed in my hand. “Just tell me what to do.” Those words crawled down my spine with a taunting beauty that the Gemini inside me found entirely too enticing. She was too pliable. It was dangerous to be so quick to agree to do as she was told. I couldn’t boss her around with Alpha commands, which meant every time she acted on my words, she was doing so purely to please me.

My puppet.

Stop.

I realized I’d been holding my breath, as I reached for the measuring tape in my work apron. I released that breath slowly through my nose, restrained, near shaking the air from my lungs. Then I nodded, and I dropped to a low squat, in the interest of measuring her legs. I started with her outer seam. Next, I rounded her hips, measuring her full, round rear.

“Spread your legs.” I said, and she obediently parted her thighs. I anchored one end of the measuring tape to the bottom of her foot, and I directed the ribbon up her inner thigh. I climbed slowly, hesitantly until I was nearing that apex. I kept my touch light, but knowing how close I was to a place I should never be was rattling my professionalism.

What was wrong with me? I was a professional. I’d measured a million people in my life. I’d measured dozens in the last hour. I’d never had an issue or felt any sort of tension while doing so. My heart never stumbled like this, and I didn’t have to keep reminding myself to breathe. Why was I so taken with her? She always exhibited some degree of seductive pull, but while we were at work or in the library or class, it was still resistible.

This was not.

I jotted down the number, barely able to concentrate, then I stood to take the measurements of her waist.

“Lift your arms.” I whispered, and again she acted without argument, always compliant and controllable. I didn’t even need to use my paralysis sight to pose her like a doll.

What else can I make my little puppet do?

STOP.

I commanded my own psyche, achieving far less successful results, then I swallowed the thought, damn near shaking as I searched for discipline.

Was it her magical presence, or this annoyingly familiar scent of sage that was under my skin so deeply? It was impossible to say with someone like Lila, so I told myself it had to be the moon. My body, heart, and soul all knew that ancient, cruel manipulator was inching closer and closer to the visible sky, and I couldn’t be anywhere near it when it rose. We still had hours until nightfall, but that didn’t mean I was oblivious to the thick magic in the air even now, half past noon, after weeks of being exposed to waxing magic.

It also didn’t help that the month of the Gemini was only a month away. Everything got stronger as my birth month drew closer.

I sucked in another slow breath, demanding control, then I extended the measuring tape along her arm, measuring to the shoulder. After that, I circled her ample bust. The yellow ribbon hugged her breasts, supported by those perfect, round, soft and supple—Fuck.

I choked, and I dropped the measuring tape.

“Sorry,” I shook my head, baffled by the fact that I couldn’t seem to keep my mind where it should be. I couldn’t think of anything other than how much I wanted to…

I cleared my throat, forcefully interrupting that train of thought. I was not attracted to anyone. I didn’t like men, and I liked those with viable wombs even less. I’d entertained mating only out of curiosity, and it wasn’t for me, and never would be.

“It’s fine.” She responded, her arms still raised to allow me easy access.

I took the measurement of her bust, while forcing myself to think about anything but the way the point of her nipples was visible through her shirt, and I measured her underbust, while absolutely not acknowledging how soft the weight of her perfect breasts had felt when I accidentally brushed them with my knuckles.

This was absurd. She had a normal, human body just like any other. I’d measured women before. There was nothing sexual about the human form in and of itself, and there was absolutely nothing sexual about measuring a woman to better fit her clothing. This was a service. I was helping a customer. A client. A Femina Humana.

But Lila was completely sexual. Her energy had the draw of a succubus, while she held the mind of a Virgo. In all of our cute and innocent interactions, every single time she sat across from me in the library or chatted with me at the shop, being in her presence was like a flirtatious form of gas lighting. It was dangerous and terrifying.

I wanted to laugh at the thought that someone like her scared me. Though I was almost certainly more powerful than her in so many ways, she wasn’t just the weak, pathetic, low level, Beta half-shifter that she thought she was.