There was an ugly feeling creeping up my chest. It clawed up like a starved animal ready to devour anything in its way. It made my skin heat up in annoyance and something else that I couldn't- wouldn't put a name on. I turned to the woman and she flashed me an innocent smile that further grated on my nerves. If she were rude and disrespectful, it would have made it easier to dislike her but she acted like she vomited rainbow sparkles and I knew that hating her was a result of my own bias. "He's in there," Serena directed her, and she muttered a quick thanks. After the girl left, Serena turned to me. "Green is not a very good look on you, Leindra."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Is that why you're glaring daggers at her?"
I didn't realize I was staring at the girl going towards Darius' office until Serena had spoken and I forced myself to look away from her and put on the most unbothered expression I could muster. I went back to my work but I couldn't bring myself to concentrate. I couldn't help but think about who she was, what she wanted and what she was doing in Darius' office.
I debated going to eavesdrop but the room was soundproof and there was no way I could overhear them. The helplessness had me feeling frustrated and annoyed and I hated it. I was not supposed to have these kinds of feelings about Darius Lunar of all people. I blamed it on the stupid mate bond between us.
"It's okay to be jealous when it comes to your mate," Serena offered casually as she walked past me. "If I were the one with a pretty girl going into my mate's office, I would be ripping heads off people."
"I'm not jealous because I don't care," the lie tasted like ash on my tongue. "Besides, I'm not a wolf so your mating bond doesn't affect me."
The more I lied, the deeper the hole I was digging because we both knew I wasn't telling the truth. I had researched the mating bond and I found that it affected humans although not to the same magnitude that it affected wolves and right now, I was very bothered. I wanted nothing more than to storm into that office and demand that she leave but I couldn't do that without admitting that I was jealous.
"If you want, I could tell you who she is," Serena sing-songed. "It might help to put your mind at ease."
I was ready to take her up on her offer until I realized that agreeing would let her know that I was jealous. It was a battle between my pride and my curiosity and for the first time, my pride won out because I turned away from her and concentrated on pouring a glass of beer for a customer.
"I don't care who she is," I drawled. "You should get back to work."
The woman was in Darius' office the entire shift. It was ten minutes until the shift was supposed to end that she made her way out. I was angry and irritable and I wanted to be out of the bar as soon as possible. I grabbed my bags and made my way towards the door when Darius called out for me. The last thing I wanted to do was stand next to him and his girlfriend with a smile but he was still my employer so I forced a smile on my face and made my way over.
She was talking animatedly to one of Darius' friends a few feet behind us and I couldn't help but grit my teeth when I saw her. Everyone seemed to be drawn to her like moths to a flame and they all had soft smiles as they stared at her. I pictured her with Darius and I hated to admit how they looked good together. They were both beautiful people with strong genes and they would have made a perfect power couple. It stung to admit and I had to push the image away when it got too much.
"I want you to meet someone," he began and he reached out for me, but I pulled my hand out of his reach.
"I need to go home, Darius, it is too late for me to be out."
He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. His eyes perused my body and awareness seemed to settle in them. He reared his head back and laughed so loud that everyone turned to him in shock. There were varying levels of confusion as people stared at him and I assumed it was not a common occurrence to see him laughing in the middle of the bar. Ian was staring at him like he had seen a ghost and he turned to me with raised brows to which I shrugged. I didn't know why Darius was acting like a crazy person.
"Are you jealous?" he asked and I realized what it was about. "I have to admit that you being jealous is weirdly sexy."
"I'm not jealous, Darius. There is nothing to be jealous of. I would need to be in a relationship with you or have any feelings towards you that extend past wanting to have sex with you."
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He raised a brow and I recognized the look in his eye. He had taken it as a challenge and he was determined to prove me wrong. I always welcomed a challenge from Darius because it was sure to end with plenty of orgasms on my end.
"Amy, can you come over please," Darius called over his shoulder and the girl bid a quick goodbye to the guy she was talking to and rushed over to us. "This is Leindra; she was so excited to meet you."
Amy's lips broke out into a grin. "Hi, I'm Amaris and I'm this idiot's sister. I have heard so much about you from him."
If I could face-palm myself, I would have in that moment. I looked between them and I recognized the similarities. They had the same nose and high cheekbones, I didn't know how I didn't figure it out sooner.
I realized Amy had her hand out for me and I didn't hesitate before taking it. Her hand was warm and soft but also firm and I knew that she was not someone to be underestimated.
"I would love it if we could talk," Amy continued. "I know you don't know me and it might be weird but I traveled all this way just to see you and I can already tell that we are going to be great friends."
I quickly realized that Amy was not someone you said no to. She managed to rope Serena into going with us and even though Darius was against it, she snuck us out of the bar. I found out that she went to the same college with Serena which meant they knew each other. Serena was trying and failing to hide her smile the entire time. She knew I was jealous for no reason and I felt stupid for it.
We went to a café downtown and Amy chatted with the servers like she had known them for years. She was a breath of fresh air and she was like a warm spring breeze. I could see myself being friends with her for a very long time. After we had finished ordering, I tried to pay but she slapped my hand away and swiped her card.
"Consider it my treat for being willing to put up with my brother and his crap," she said and in that moment, I decided I loved Amaris. "How has he been so far? I hope he's treating you well or I'm going to beat his ass."
"Not to be rude or anything but you don't look like you can beat him," I told her as we took a seat and she smirked.
"I'm his sister, I don't need to beat him physically. I have all the embarrassing childhood photos he suffered so hard to erase. I'll beat his reputation to shreds."
"Remind me not to get on your bad side." She winked at my choice of words.
"How long do you think it will take before he comes to get us?" she asked and I shrugged. She glanced at the time on her phone and took a sip of her drink. "We have been gone for fifteen minutes so I give them two minutes, tops."
Just as she finished speaking, the door to the café opened and Darius walked in. His eyes scoured the small shop until he saw us and he practically stormed over to us.
"It was a glorious ride girls," she mused as she stood to her feet. "We should definitely do it again tomorrow."
Darius grabbed my upper arm as well as hers and pulled us out towards the door. Amy was laughing the entire way but her laugh quickly dwindled when we walked out the door. I followed her line of sight to Ian and she cleared her throat.
"I think I should be going." And without another glance at anyone, she walked over to her car and drove off.