“I’m fine. Really. It’s just been a crap day. I was depending on that grant. Maybe I just need to face the fact I’m still nowhere, like the rest of the world.”
Focusing on her failure cooled down her libido a bit. She wasn’t able to help Deo, and now she was letting down the rest of the world.
“It’s okay, Aisha. Millions of people are trying to cure cancer. You’ve had a few breakthroughs using magic, but the world just isn’t ready for a magical fix.”
She hadn’t noticed that Tan had come closer. He reached out a hesitant hand and patted her head.
Right now, she really didn’t want a platonic relationship. She’d never felt like this before. She’d always been accepting of her life. Mostly. Aisha had always looked at women who craved sex like they were crazy. Not that she was super experienced, but the few experiences she’d had made her battery powered friend more and more appealing.
The only orgasms she’d ever had were the ones she gave herself. Right now, though, her body wanted something, and he came in the form of a six-foot six man with arms the size of her thighs, and that was saying something. She was curvy, and the only gap her thighs had ever seen was when she was two. Not that her thighs weren’t super helpful when you needed to choke a man out in self-defense class or holding a jar as you tried to pry the lid off of the pickles you desperately needed to stress eat at three am.
Stress and sex. Maybe that’s why Deo looked so good. Sex was supposed to help with stress relief and crap was she stressed. Yeah, her panties were wet for a man she’d only seen a few times, and there was no chance he’d ever look at her twice.
But that was the thing. He did. He looked at her like he saw her, like he wanted her.
She needed a mental slap. Who cared? She was smart. Funny sometimes. And she was going to cure cancer, someday. She needed to move on. Restart tomorrow.
“Well, I am glad I came by. I thought I’d see if you wanted dinner?” Tan asked.
Aisha blinked. Right, Tan was here. The man that sparked a warmth of comfort, but nothing else. God. She needed to tell him. In the months since her father passed, it wasn’t like they’d ever even kissed. Well, except the one night after the funeral. She’d been a little drunk, very depressed, and well he’d been there. But that was it. A kiss and it was like kissing her brother.
“Dinner? Uh. Sure. But then I’m going to need to come back to the lab.”
He nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
Good guy. That's what Tan was. A good guy. He would let her spend days in her lab.
A knock at the door had them both looking as in walked her fantasy.
Aisha might have licked her lips as she watched him stride in in slow motion. His shirt was like a second skin. Every single muscle visible.
Oh, hell.
“Aisha? How are you?”
It took a minute to find her voice. Was she breathing heavily? Fantastic.
Blowing out a breath, she finally found the energy to fake a calm she sure as hell didn’t feel.
“Hi, Deo. I’m good. You?”
He didn’t look away, and she had to squeeze her thighs tight. Every time he was here his eyes swirled a strange gold and blue mix. There was something different, something not human.
Then again, wasn’t that the case with most of those in Roswell? It’s what drew her to this legendary city. Well, maybe legendary was the wrong word. That’s okay.
“I’m fine. Thank you for asking. And your research?” he asked, his gaze flicking over the test tubes and slides.
She smiled. “It’s slow. That poison you brought in isn’t like anything I’ve seen. I’ve tried everything, and it’s resistant to just about everything.”
He nodded. “We think it has demonic properties. Not sure that helps at all.”
Aisha’s face fell. She was an idiot.
“Of course. I’m so stupid. Maybe if I’d tried harder in demonology courses.”
She raced over to her cabinet that held random chemicals, some magical and some standard, opening up a cupboard just to let it slam as she moved onto another.
Someone cleared their throat. She rolled her eyes as she kept looking. Right, Tan and his social etiquette.
“Deo, meet Tan. Tan, Deo,” she said over her shoulder.
Well, crap. She couldn’t find what she wanted. A few years ago, she’d met a witch that taught her about demon makeup. Something like DNA, she supposed. Anyway, she had a small vial of a potion that could isolate the magic and nullify it. Where had she put it?
Turning back to Deo, she stopped dead as both men were locked in a staring competition.
Tan wasn’t bad looking, but seriously, seeing them together he looked average. This was one of those moments where she really needed to think about her future. A loveless, although agreeable marriage without any passion assuming that kiss was any sign. Or did she hold out for something like she imagined, or rather, something she imagined with Deo.
Oh, right. Staring match.
“Have you two met or something?” she asked.
Neither turned to her.
“No. I can’t say we have,” Deo said.
“Yes. No. I’d remember someone like him. How do you know my Aisha?” Tan asked.
If it was possible, Deo might have just grown an extra inch and the veins in his neck popped.
“She is not yours, tiny human.”
Aisha had the same thought, although she’d have worded it better.
“Tiny? Who are you calling tiny?”
Aisha’s legs remembered how to work and she finally made her way over to the two men.
“You, human. I am calling you tiny. You would not satisfy her. You wouldn’t satisfy one of those small creatures you call dogs.”
Where the hell was this coming from? Deo said all
