Chapter 126

Days passed, and while I'd settled into something a little more normal, Neil and I still hadn't really talked. We hadn’t spoken about anything personal since then. Not a single mention of what I’d said, or what I saw, or the aching tension that hovered between us like a third body.

The team had seemed satisfied that we weren't fighting and gossiping about all the different ways to interpret what I'd said. They had agreed that I was dating Neil and seemed happy for it.

Tonight, the office was almost completely dark except for the light of our floor and the dull glow of city traffic through the windows. The low hum of a printer, the occasional ding of someone’s phone from a forgotten desk, and the quiet rustle of papers were the only sounds left.

I’d lost track of how long we’d been at it. Neil and I, side by side, were reviewing every column, every formula, every red-flagged line in the shared dataset. And yet, here he was, shoulders tense, jaw tight, eyes red from staring at too many screens.

He was worn down. I could see it in the slump of his shoulders, the way he rubbed the back of his neck between every file.

“You need to relax,” I said quietly, my voice barely above the whisper of the AC.

His gaze flicked to me. “Do I?”

“You’re going to get a cramp if you keep that posture.”

His mouth quirked in the faintest smile. “Is that your very subtle way of offering me a massage?”

“Maybe… is that something that would help?”

He eyed me briefly. "No… Your hands on me definitely wouldn't help."

My face heated. He stood, walked behind me, and rested his hands on my shoulders.

"This will, though,” he murmured.

I didn’t have time to protest or even figure out what he meant when his hand heated. Magic boiling at his fingertips and sinking into me in a way that turned my muscles to jelly. Then I realized his eyes weren't red because he was just tired. He wasn't tense because he was annoyed. He was tense because he was overflowing with magic.

"I thought for sure that you'd still be tapped out from helping me…"

"I look forward to teaching you all the ways that you don't know how magic works…"

I shuddered at the sensual promise in his words. His fingers dug gently into the curve of my shoulders, firm and careful, magic humming just beneath his skin like a second heartbeat. Heat flushed down my spine, and I inhaled sharply, my eyes fluttering closed.

His magic was soothing as it stirred heat in my gut, threading through me, gently loosening the knots in my back, calming the tension I hadn’t even realized I’d been carrying.

“Goddesss,” I whispered. “That’s unfair.”

“It only gets better,” he said, voice low and heavy. "I know you've been eating better, but you still feel…"

I moaned, my head falling back as a wave of magic poured over me. My head lolled back. The wolf in me growled in satisfaction, pleasure. Wanting.

More.

I shivered at the request.

"Are you certain?"

I opened my eyes and looked up at him, finding his eyes oddly clear. The red-tinge was gone. The tension to. He looked hungry though.

"Are you… wearing an illusion or something?"

His lips twitched. "Nearly always."

I blinked. "Ma-Maybe not just yet?"

He nodded. "Is this okay?"

I nodded and relaxed under his touch, letting the moment swallow me. My body felt light, tingling at every contact point. Magic pulsed slowly into me, matching the rhythm of his breath.

His hands drifted over my shoulder across my collar and up my neck. I gasped when his hand wrapped around my throat, lightly. I opened my eyes and I could almost see the burning, bloody red starting to break through the illusion.

His hands stilled. The moment thickened.

He looked at me like I was the only thing in the world worth watching. My mouth parted slightly. The space between us felt charged, alive with something dangerous and tender all at once.

“Renee…” he said, voice rough, warning or invitation. I didn’t know.

My heart thudded. He leaned down, close enough that I could feel his breath ghosting across my face. He stroked my jaw. Everything in me offer my lips, to close the distance, to let it happen, to fall.

The, the elevator dinged down the hall, startling me. He grazed his lips across my forehead before pulling back and stepping away like the spell between us had been broken. His eyes lingered on me even as they came in with takeout.

The sound of the door bursting open didn’t make me want to tear my gaze away.

Neil lifted his gaze away from mine, calm, collected, but the air between us was still warm, crackling with magic and desire.

“Hey! We brought dumplings!” one of our teammates called cheerfully as the rest of the team trickled back in, carrying takeout bags and chatting loudly.

I gave a weak laugh and immediately turned back to my laptop, fingers flying over the keyboard though my brain had completely short-circuited. My skin still tingled from Neil’s touch. My heartbeat hadn’t slowed since the moment our eyes had met and lingered.

Neil cleared his throat beside me.

“Thanks,” he said, sitting a bit too stiffly as he took a container from someone and passed one to me without meeting my eyes.

Conversation flowed around us again, but it felt like we were on the outside of it, trapped behind glass. Everyone else was laughing and recounting the chaos at the dumpling shop while Neil and I sat quietly, typing, nodding, chewing.

Pretending that I wasn't still feeling his magic coursing thorugh me, easing low-grade aches better than any potion.

We finished our work faster than expected, fueled by mutual awkwardness and the desire to get the hell out of there. I shut my laptop down with a sigh, trying to ignore the way my body still felt slightly weightless.

“Ready?” Neil asked, already standing and packing up.

I nodded, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Yeah. I’m good.”

As we left the building together, silence fell again. The sky had already turned dark, city lights reflected in the puddles from earlier rain. The sidewalk glistened as we walked slowly, side by side. Not touching. Not talking.

My stomach churned.

“Neil,” I said finally, halting our steps. He stopped, too, turning slightly toward me. "I… I want to talk. About everything, too… I promise not to send Dominic after you even if it's not tonight."

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "Thanks for the mercy."

I offered him a small smile. “Also… thanks. For looking after me. Especially lately.”

“Of course, Renee. You know I always will.”

When we reached the waiting car, Neil opened the door for me. Just before I could step inside, he pulled me into a hug.

It was warm. Familiar. Safe.

But it wasn’t the same.

It wasn’t the quiet, electric, heart-in-my-throat closeness from earlier. It was almost… careful. Too careful. And suddenly, that made it worse.

I hesitated, hands still pressed against his chest as he pulled back. He didn’t kiss my cheek or my hand. He just looked at me. His expression unreadable and stepped back to let me slide into the car.

I barely managed a quiet “Goodnight” before the door closed.

The car ride home was a blur of streetlights and silence. I stared out the window, watching the rain start again in thin sheets, pattering against the glass like distant whispers.

By the time I got back to the penthouse, the lights were mostly off. A note on the kitchen counter said:

Out for the night. Don’t wait up. Try not to open the wine. Or do. Love, Ari.

I set it aside and wandered through the living room. The condo was too clean, too quiet. I could hear the hum of the fridge and the low thunder from outside. The only light came from a lamp near the couch.

I wrapped my arms around myself.

Why did it bother me so much?

Neil had always been steady. Protective. Kind. And earlier… I thought we were finally getting somewhere. But the hug… it was platonic. Safe. Like I was something fragile again.

Or worse, like he didn’t want to risk more.

I dropped onto the couch, pulled a blanket around me, and buried my face into one of Arielle’s ridiculous fluffy pillows.

Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe I was just tired and emotional and needed to talk to him like I said. But part of me couldn’t shake the feeling that he was pulling back. Like he was building a wall between us out of fear or guilt or something else I couldn’t name.

I should talk to Arielle. Or Dominic.

But the thought made my stomach turn.

I wasn’t ready to admit that I was scared. That I didn’t know what Neil was thinking. That the way he looked at me today was different than before, and I hated it.