Restless (Element Preservers, #4) (10 page)

"That's not a bad idea. I can sneak inside the building without a problem, but leave the door open." Adrian's face lit up.

"Will do." I sensed someone approaching and I could tell Adrian felt it too, because he strolled down the hall without another word to me. It was concerning how easily Adrian could get to my office without being noticed because that meant someone else could do it too. However, no one could predict I'd go to the office without my guards or leave the door open, so I guessed I was as safe as I could be. As for Adrian, I didn't want to be safe from him.

Chapter 13

I couldn't remember when was the last time I was so eager to go to work. Katherine, my secretary, gaped at me as I walked into the lobby, her eyes widening slightly. She frowned at the clock on the wall, no doubt worried she was late with something.

"Hi, how's it going?" I said, unable to hide the smile on my face.

"Hi, Ria. I didn't expect to see you here so early." Katherine hesitated for a moment, but then she ruffled through the papers on her desk. "I have your schedule right here somewhere..."

"It's ok. I have my copy. I just wanted to tell you that I have some things to do, so please don't let anyone into my office and tell them I can't receive them."

"Sure." She found the paper she was looking for and set it aside.

"Thanks." I quickened my pace, trying to rein in my excitement. I left the door slightly open so Adrian could enter without alerting anyone of his presence. Lily had suggested we should have cameras around the office, but that would be more of a danger to us than anything else. We didn't need any material that could prove who visited me and who didn't.

Dropping my bag on the floor, I settled myself in my chair and turned on the computer. Two minutes later, I was drumming my fingers on the desk, nervously expecting Adrian's arrival. My breath got stuck in my chest when the door moved a little and Adrian's dark head peered in. I'd almost thought someone else came to see me. It was tricky to be in a room from which you couldn't feel elements. Not that my element sensing ability would be of any help with another carrier or someone with an element-blocking bracelet, but I doubted the government would send someone like that after me. Adrian closed the door behind him and I locked it with my element.

As he crossed the room toward me, I couldn't help but hope no one had seen him coming here. His presence in this building was a huge risk for both of us, but my office was one of the rare places where I couldn't feel elements. I got up, and Adrian pulled me into his arms, holding me close to his chest. I clung onto him, content just with being able to touch him.

"God, I wish we could do this all the time," he whispered. "If you didn't have so many things to do, we could camp in here."

"Yeah, it would be awesome to hide you in my office, but I'd never get any work done with you around me." I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing in Adrian's familiar scent of pine and musk. "And it would be a disaster if someone saw you." Alan could never explain Adrian's prolonged absence either.

"I miss the days when we could lie on the bed for hours and hold each other." He buried his head in my hair.

I let my hands roam down his back. "I miss that too."

"I don't want to lose you because of this fucked up situation we are in." He caressed my cheek, running his thumb down my jaw, and pulled me in for a kiss, his soft lips brushing against mine. I deepened the kiss, running my hand through his short, black hair. Our tongues intertwined, sending waves of pleasure through my body.

The phone rang, startling us. I broke away from Adrian, torn between answering the phone and simply ignoring it. Finally, I decided to answer it because Katherine wouldn't have bothered me if it wasn't something important.

Katherine's voice broke through the receiver. "I'm sorry to bother you, but Ethan Marlau is here and says he needs to speak with you."

I raised an eyebrow at Adrian, who rolled his eyes and pressed his lips together into an angry line.

"I told you I don't want visitors. I'm busy. Marlau can schedule a meeting if he wants to talk to me during my working hours," I said, feeling queasiness in the pit of my stomach. What the fuck was Ethan doing here? He was supposed to be in class.

"Ria!" Ethan yelled in the background. "It's urgent. We need to speak in private right now. If you don't let me in, I'm going to bang on your door until you open it."

I bit my lip, unsure what Ethan wanted to tell me that was so urgent that he couldn't wait for me to come back to the university. Maybe this was his ploy to get into my office, but why? Katherine would know he was the last one in my office if something happened to me. It didn't make sense. Too bad my guards weren't here to stop Ethan from coming all the way to my door. Katherine could call the security, but the headlines would be awesome if the press found out I unceremoniously kicked my boyfriend out of the building. Adrian waved his hands to indicate that he wanted me to get rid of Ethan, but I wasn't sure how to do that.

"I'm really busy, Ethan. What is so important that you can't tell me later?" If he wanted to get in so badly, maybe he'd tell me what he wanted in front of my secretary.

"The press is outside," Ethan said. "I'll make a scene if you don't let me in."

Fuck. "Alright." I pressed the button to end the call.

"We need to do something about that son of a bitch! He can't just come here and blackmail you," Adrian said through his teeth, his hand balling into fist.

"You need to hide. Now!" The hidden part of the office my father had used for storing the element collectors was much smaller after we redid the whole room, but it still existed for emergencies and storage. I used my element to flip the secret switch and pushed Adrian toward the small storage room.

"You couldn't put one single window in here?" Adrian sighed. "Maybe I should stay where I am and take a picture of Ethan's face when he sees me with you."

"You need to stay quiet and hidden no matter what. Please."

"Fine." He gave me a quick kiss and went inside. I closed the door and locked it, praying Ethan would say what he wanted and leave. Adrian didn't react well to closed spaces, and I didn't like to keep him locked. A soft knock brought me back from my thoughts and I swung the door open, giving my deadliest glare to Ethan. He came inside like he didn't see my annoyance and disapproval, his eyes roaming over the office.

"Nice," he said, a smile curving his lips.

"Will you tell me what is so important?" If he was lying, I'd kick him where it hurts the most. I didn't have much patience for tricks, especially when they were played on me.

"Did you hear a man was murdered near the university?" He observed my face as if he was waiting for my reaction.

I kept my face blank. "There are dozens of murders each day. I don't see why I should know about the one you're talking about."

"The victim's element was gone," he said, an excited undertone in his voice.

"So what? The police will find the murderer." I put my hand on my hip, pretending that I'm bored.

"We have a carrier at the university! Put two and two together."

"Liandre is not that stupid. There are more carriers out there." I wasn't surprised that Ethan blamed Adrian for the murder, but I was curious how he had found out about it in the first place. Wasn't he busy going through all the articles about our nonexistent relationship?

"I'm sorry that I came uninvited, but I was worried about you." Ethan's dark eyes softened and he made a step toward me. "I knew you left without your guards and I saw Adrian leave the university too."

"So you simply assumed Adrian was going after
me
?" I gave him an incredulous look. "And how did you know when I left? Are you following me?"

"No, of course not. I was worried when Liandre and you got kicked out of the class. It looked like he wanted to get kicked out too so he could go after you when you were alone," he said, his dark eyes pleading me to believe him.

I knew he couldn't have seen Adrian and me texting each other or talking to each other outside. "You're imagining things. I didn't even see him when I left. I didn't see you either."

"I wanted to talk to you, so I got out of the class too, but you were already in the parking lot when I found you."

He was lying. I was sure of it because I hadn't felt his element change its position. He had sent someone else to spy on me and report to him. "Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'm safe here." I turned my back to him, going through some papers that were on my desk. Maybe if I acted like I was busy, he'd get the hint and go away.

"There were rumors, you know, about Liandre and you. Some even say he broke up with your best friend because he cheated on her with you," Ethan said, his voice low and accusatory.

I faced him with all the calmness in the world. "I don't talk about rumors." My father had bribed everyone to never mention my name in relation to that incident when Michael and Adrian got in a fight. Besides, not many could have heard what Adrian told Michael, and since Adrian had cheated on other girls too and often gotten into fights, no one could prove the whole mess was about me. It was common knowledge that Michael and Adrian couldn't stand each other ever since Adrian broke Amaya's heart.

"You're right. It's not worth our time to talk about rumors when we can talk about other things." He sighed. "I only wanted to tell you that we're not very convincing as a couple. You barely spend any time with me and I don't know anything personal about you."

"Good," I said dryly. "We don't need to be convincing anymore since the government passed their law already."

"The government would be livid if people figured out the truth about our relationship."

I shrugged, contemplating telling Ethan here and now to get lost and never ever speak to me again. At least I wouldn't have to worry about finding out what he wanted from me, but there was a danger he'd only become more persistent and intent on discovering why I didn't want to date him.

"You shouldn't risk your job for this. I know it's not fair that we were forced to announce our relationship publicly before we even met properly, but we can still make this work. Or do you find me so repulsive?" His dark eyes were inviting and friendly, and for a moment he looked completely innocent.

"It's not because of you." I chewed on the insides of my mouth, unsure how to make him feel better and tell him I wasn't interested at the same time.

"Do you have someone else?" The coldness in his voice made me cringe. I could swear this guy had a double personality. One was nice and sweet, and the other one was angry and calculated. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to know which one was real and which one was only a charade.

"I won't discuss my private life with you." I crossed my arms. I didn't think he'd believe me if I outright told him I didn't have a boyfriend or anyone I cared about.

"So there
is
someone."

Great. No matter what I said, he would draw his own conclusion from it and twist my every word, so I had to find a believable lie. "I'm still in love with Michael."

"I thought you two were getting married," he said, the tension seeping out of his shoulders. "But I suppose you don't want to talk about that with me."

"Exactly."

"Fine then. I understand that you might still have feelings for your ex, but give me a chance. Please." He came to stand in front of me and I was afraid he'd reach for me. Even though he was in perfect control of his element, I still didn't want him to touch me.

"I'm not in the mood for dates." Adrian would kill me if I went on a date with Ethan, not to mention the press would go wild and hunt us wherever we went. I doubted we could even go to the cinema in the middle of the movie without someone snapping pictures of us in the dark.

"We don't have to go on a date, but I'd love it if you would come to my exposition." His face brightened with joy. "You were the one who convinced me I could do it, so I don't want to go to the gallery without you."

"Alright, I'll come." I couldn't refuse this offer when I knew painting meant a lot to him. Besides, an exposition wasn't a date, and the press would still get what they wanted, but I wouldn't have to pretend to be all touchy-feely with Ethan. Maybe the exposition would tell me something about him, give me a clue about what he was up to. "You should go now. I have a lot of work to do."

"Sure. I won't bother you anymore. The exposition is tomorrow at nine. I'll come to pick you up." He plastered a soft kiss on my cheek and it took all of my strength not to push him away.

"I hope you'll warm up to me," he whispered into my ear. "I'm not your enemy."

I breathed out a sigh of relief when he turned on his heel and headed for the door. I followed him all the way to the hall and left the door open when I was sure he was gone. Picking up my phone, I called the security and told them to sweep the whole room for any eavesdropping devices. Just because Ethan looked harmless from time to time didn't mean I could trust him.

A faint sound came from the storage room and I realized Adrian must have been banging on the door. Who'd have thought the storage room was soundproof? I used my element on the lock and entered the small room, which was lit up with a couple of lamps.