Page 16 of The Breeding Cave
Instead of responding, he stood up and walked to the exit of the hot spring. “It’s late. Joseph is here to bring you back home. There’s a towel beside the soaps. Use it and get dressed. Don’t keep him waiting.”
Then, without another word, he walked out of the cave, and I didn’t see him for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
LUCIANO
“Luca,” Ella purred, stepping into the elevator with me the next day.
She worked with the marketing team three floors down, yet somehow, we always seemed to catch the elevator at the same time and she was always on my floor. I nodded to her and hit the Close Door button because I was late for getting my coffee at Pink Ivory.
I wanted to make sure that Yeosin actually quit today or else I’d pay her boss to fire her.
As the elevator descended, floor after floor, Ella moved closer to me. I side-eyed her and clenched my jaw, impatiently waiting to hit the bottom floor. She snatched the bottom of my tie and curled her fingers around it.
The doors opened, and I yanked myself away from her.
“Don’t touch me,” I hissed through my teeth, stepping out of the elevator.
Ella had a bad habit of thinking that I needed her to continue my bloodline, as she was one of a handful of packmates that I had left. But my beast had never once wanted her in any way other than a pack member.
Besides, she knew I hated being touched.
“But, Luca?—”
Before she could finish her sentence, I headed down the street toward Pink Ivory Coffee Bar. The scent of pumpkin drifted through my nose. I rounded the corner and pulled open the door to Pink Ivory.
“It’s my last day today,” Yeosin said to the customer at the counter.
“Well, we’ll miss you around here, Alana,” the older woman said, adjusting her glasses.
I drew my tongue over my canines. Alana. Why couldn’t people learn her real name?
A pink apron was wrapped around Yeosin’s wide hips, and I gritted my teeth to keep myself in control. If I wasn’t careful, I would lose it in the middle of this coffee bar. I had been playing a dangerous game lately whenever she was around.
After that first taste of her, I wanted her whenever I saw her.
When I lifted my gaze to her eyes, she pulled hers away from mine, which meant that she had caught me staring. It was one of the many reasons I always acted so coldly to her and avoided looking at her altogether while I was here.
Last night, I’d led her to believe that I wanted her for her body, even though it wasn’t true.
I didn’t want her to depend on me. I didn’t want her to love me.
Everyone who had done that in the past had gotten killed. I had gotten them killed. I hadn’t done my duties as I should’ve. I had lived with that anguish for twenty years now, and I couldn’t let Yeosin suffer the same fate.
Once the customer headed to the pickup area, I pulled my wallet out of my suit pocket.
“Last day?” I said.
She raised her brows, as if surprised I would ever offer conversation. “Oh, yeah.”
“Where are you going?” I asked, as if I didn’t know that she’d be working for me soon.
“Midnight Security Headquarters,” she said, tapping on the register screen. “Black coffee?”
“What’s your favorite drink with pumpkin?”
