They’d worked all night with no sleep. Ava never complained once. By 10:00 a.m. the next day, she was starting to blink.
“Ava, you better go home and get some rest.”
“I think you’re right.”
She swayed a little, but grabbed onto the back of a chair. He stepped closer, not wanting her to fall. He’d forgotten that she was human and needed more sleep.
The doctors he worked with frequently pushed themselves, working for twenty-four or thirty-six hours straight, but then after that, they crashed.
Even he was feeling exhausted after this long project in the lab. “Let me drive you home,” he said.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I can take a taxi. I don’t drive while I’m this tired.”
“No, I’m fine. I just drank a bunch of coffee.” The caffeine would have no effect on him, but she didn’t need to know that.
He wanted to lift her into his arms and carry her to the car. He’d never had an impulse like that before. When he’d dated other females, he’d just assumed they could take care of themselves.
Ava could take care of herself, too. She’d already planned ahead, not wanting to get behind the wheel. But that didn’t matter to him. He wanted to take care of her.
He had to hold himself back from opening her car door. That was appropriate for a date, but not for a coworker. Once she was settled into the passenger’s seat, he made sure she buckled her seat belt. Instantly, her sweet smell filled the small space inside his car. If the weather had been warmer, he’d have rolled the window down. Instead, he would have to drive while turned on.
She sighed, stretching her legs out and leaning her head back. “Mmm,” she said. “It feels good to sit down.”
At the sound of her quiet murmur, he tensed. Arousal flared. To his shock, his cock got hard. Thank God he was sitting down so she wouldn’t notice.
Once again, he started fantasizing about what it would be like to date her. She wouldn’t work for him forever. She’d become a professor, or she’d move on from the assistant position once she finished her PhD. Then, he could ask her out.
In her low voice, she gave him her address. He turned east toward the river, and she lifted her hand and tugged, pulling her hair down from its ponytail. As her pretty red hair escaped, more of her lovely scent filled the car. Eli exhaled, closing his eyes for just a second. He had to loosen his grip on the steering wheel to make sure he didn’t rip it right out of the dashboard.
She ran her hand through her hair, and he nearly swerved right off the road.
Damn.
His dragon was restless. He needed to shift and fly tonight. He kept driving, keeping his eyes on the road and off of Ava. Although the temptation to keep glancing at her was tough to resist.
Finally, he arrived at her apartment. It was a nice place with a view of the river, and he was relieved to see that it had adequate lighting and a security guard. It wasn’t his business, but he didn’t live too far from her place, and he knew how much property in the area cost. She must have access to money beyond what she was paid as his assistant.
But that was the kind of thing a friend could joke about, not a boss. He was puzzled by his own thoughts. He never cared this much about the personal details of someone’s life. And he didn’t care how much money she had; he never thought about details like that. But it was a part of her life, and he wanted to know more about her.
Outside her building, he parked the car. She had fallen asleep, and he took a moment to look at her tan skin and the place where her eyelashes touched her pink cheeks.
This time, he did get up and open her door. “Ava?” He touched her shoulder. “Hey, Ava. We’re at your apartment.”
She murmured in her sleep, and it struck him just how much he wanted her. He was going to have to quit being this familiar with her. He should have paid for her to take a taxi home and then called to check on her.
He couldn’t let himself fall for her. And he couldn’t let his work suffer because of his own weakness. He was going to have to pull away. He was going to have to quit going to lunch, and quit chatting with her, and quit doing all the little things that made his day brighter.
It was unfortunate. He didn’t want to do it. But if he didn’t make some changes, he was going to overstep his professional boundaries.
She blinked up at him. She still looked so sleepy. He couldn’t suppress his smile. She sat up and pushed herself up out of the car. He helped her up, resisting the urge to put his arm around her. He walked with her until she reached the secure front door of her apartment.
“Text me when you get inside.”
“I will. But I’ll be fine,” she said.
“I’m the one who kept you up all night, so I feel responsible.”
She smiled. She was always beautiful, but she was softer right now while she was still half-asleep. “I’ll text.” She patted his arm. “Thanks, Eli.”
He walked back to his car and waited, and a few minutes later, she texted.
I’m inside. Thanks again. Get some sleep.
Just those simple words sent a rush of warmth through his chest.
He shook his head. He was like a lovesick teenager.
He needed to clear his head, and there was only one good way to do that—go back to his home in Cape Meares on the coast. He turned on the radio and started driving.
An hour and a half later, he was parked outside his house. Like the rest of his clan, he still lived with his parents. Really, it was more accurate to say they all lived together. With hundreds
