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But she washis.Not just because she was his assigned partner, but because of that moment they’d shared.He wanted to know the woman who’d been ready to laugh in amusement at the overseers’ fancy board of letters.Wanted to scold her for that amusement just because it would be a fun pretense for a punishment, then tell her he agreed with her.That he too had found the moment more funny than dramatic.
Tareq winced when he realized his brain had taken several shortcuts and classified her as “mine” and “sex partner” when they hadn’t even met.
How he’d been a member of the club this long and not noticed her was a question for another time.Now that he was aware of Nomiki, now that the game meant he’d mentally labeled her as “his,” Tareq wasn’t going to stand by and watch as she walked away.
Fuck everyone and everything.
Those words were her new mantra, the tune she marched to as she stomped through the gravel parking lot to her car.
And she was working hard to keep the fires stoked, to keep the anger burning hot.That was how she was going to hold back the tears until she got home.
With so much of her attention turned inward, Nomi didn’t register the sound of footsteps, the crunch of gravel.
“Nomiki.”
She shrieked, jumping at the sound of her name.Her tote fell to the ground and she jerked her head up.A broad dark-haired man stood in her path, close enough that if he hadn’t said her name, she would have barreled into him.
Anger combined with fresh fear as her brain screamed “dangerous looking man confronting you in a parking lot” and reacted accordingly.
Nomi hauled back her fist, and punched him in the nose.
At least she tried to.
The man’s eyes went wide and he leaned to the side to avoid her fist, then caught her wrist.
Nomi blinked, staring at her own outstretched arm, at his big hand wrapped around her wrist like a cuff.
She shifted her attention from where he held her to his face, and finally recognized him.The man from the Conclave.The one who’d caught her almost-laughing.
“Oh.”
His lips twitched.“Hi.”
She tugged on her arm.“Can I have this back?”
“Are you going to hit me?”
“No.That was a reflex.Being approached by strange men at night isn’t something that ends well for women, historically.”
Instead of replying, he used his hold on her wrist to both lower and turn her arm, twisting it so her hand was palm up, her elbow now tucked in at her side.
He stared at her hand, and when his thumb stroked her wrist, her fingers curled in pleasure.
The man raised his attention from her limb to her face, and Nomi swallowed hard.He had intense eyes, so dark it was hard to see where the pupil stopped and the iris began, though that might have been a trick of the lighting.
“I’m sorry.”He finally released her wrist.“I tried to stand far enough back that I wouldn’t be threatening, but you didn’t see me until you were close.”
As if to show exactly how close, he raised the other hand, skimming it down her arm, but without actually touching her, a thin barrier of air between them.
And yet she shivered.
To cover the involuntary motion, Nomi bent and grabbed her tote, slinging it over her shoulder once more, then crossing her arms.
His gaze dropped to her chest, and Nomi looked down to see that crossing her arms had tugged the shirt down, so an impressive amount of cleavage was visible.
She took a really deep breath, and smiled when his eyes widened.
His gaze slid up to hers.“You did that on purpose.”
