#bu02

“Wait a minute…” Braelynn blinked dumbly as she repeated Adrian’s words over again inside her head. “Key… Code… Moving?” Adrian quirked an expectant eyebrow at her as he waited for her to connect the dots.

She pulled in a slow breath, the silence stretching uncomfortably between them as she realized what he was saying. He wasn’t even offering… Wasn’t asking… He simply expected her to move according to his plan like she was a piece on a chessboard. 

It was so arrogant and presumptuous that she couldn’t believe it.

She had expected him to beg off with excuses as to why he had kissed her. She pulled together her armor for that; she hadn’t expected this.

The look on his face when he stepped away from her... 

He moved like he was in a daze, like abruptly waking from an unexpected dream. A bad one, maybe.

Something in her expression must have given away her weakening resolve. Adrian said, “Right. So I’ll be back in two weeks and we can discuss what your next steps should be.”

She’d just bet he would love that. She wouldn’t put it past him to come back with an entire presentation, complete with pie charts, detailing her prospective future plans.

“Braelynn, I...” Adrian lifted a hand to the back of his head, his body language obvious. His shame and embarrassment so abundantly apparent. And...

She wouldn’t. 

Adrian ground his teeth as he caught Braelynn’s wrists, keeping her from barreling past him and out into the city streets with no shoes on and his old clothes clinging to her nothing-sized little body.