"Ooohhh~ This feels like heaven."
Amara moaned softly, her sound muffled against what might've been the softest pillow in human history.
Her hand slid across the sheets and she stretched like a cat. "Who the hell makes beds this soft?"
Probably a little bit hyperbolic but compared to what she had, this was definitely a different class.
She turned on her back, sighed, and muttered again, "What a stupid dream."
She yawned, still floating in between those fog between sleep and reality. Bits of it came back in flashes. Her kissing her boss, oh God. Then him turning into something she couldn't quite name. Those horns? Scales? Wings? Whatever it was, it was so real that she'd woken up sweating.
And embarrassed, too.
Because who dreams of kissing their boss? Especiall when their boss was none other than Darien Dravik, the kind of man who even could make a priest consider sinning.
Well, at least she kissed her even though it was only in a dream.
But then….
….wait.
Her brow furrowed as she realised she didn't own a bed like this. Her bed back at her apartment was lumpy, second-hand, and the spring in the middle always tried to stab her spine no matter how hard she was trying to cover it up with any kind of fabric she had.
This mattress hugged her like a momma bear hugging her cub.
Her room also didn't smell so good like this, not whatever expensive lavender mix with woodland this was. And certainly it was way too quiet when usually there was dripping faucet and noisy neigbors accompany her like a lullaby she never wanted.
Something wasn't right.
"Glad to hear you're enjoying the bed," a deep voice said.
Her eyes opened wide.
For a few seconds, her braind froze. Then she sat up so fast the blanket tangled around her legs. "What… Where…"
She looked around and this wasn't her shoebox apartment. The interior was far too modern and stylish. The room was too wide and spacey.
The furniture… the couch… oh, no.
There he was, sitting casually, shirtless showing her his body like some kind of sin carved into human form which should've been illegal.
Her boss and also the man from her "dream".
Only this time there were no horns, scales, or wings. Which was great, but he looked far way too calm for someone who just featured in her possible-real, possible-horrifying dream… oh hell, it was not a dream!
"Wait.. what.. Why.. where… " Words failed her, tripping over each other in panic. "M-mr. Dravik?" she called."Why are you.. What is this… Where am I…?"
Darien tilted his head slightly, amusement showing on his face. "You fainted," he answered. "In my office."
"Me?" Amara blinked with her mind racing. "Fainted?"
"Yes. I couldn't just leave you on the floor, could I?"
"Oh. Right. That makes total sense," she said, nodding like someone pretending everything was fine when it clearly wasn't.
Then her gaze landed at his bare chest that looked so damn refined but immediately looked away. Nope. She absolutely didn't just check out her boss's chest. And that make a sudden realisastion hit her.
She looked down at her body and was relieved when she was still wearing her worn out cleaning staff uniform. Nothing from that cliches novel like one night stand happened, thank God.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"What do you think, Mr. Dravik?" she asked back, eyes darting anywhere but him and his chest.
Darien sighed. "It would be strange if you felt fine after seeing me half-shift into that form."
Wait, that form?
So it was real like real real?
"You mean… you actually…?" She swallowed, her words jumbling.
Darien didn't answer, but his silence said enough.
"Oh my God, you're serious. Okay, um.. Okay…" She sat up straighter and raised both her hands in surrender. "Listen, Sir. I swear I dind't mean to find out your secret and surely I won't tell anyone. I mean, who'd even believe me? 'Hey, my boss is actually not a human!' Yeah, they'd throw me into a mental hospital. So, you're good. We're good. We'll just forget this ever happened. Please please please, just please don't kill me."
Amara cupped her hands and looked at Darien with a pity gaze which she hoped would work. She wasn't the type to beg but it concerned her life so being all proud probably wouldn't help.
"Kill you? Why would I?"
"You're not going to kill me?"
"Relax, lady. No one's dying." His lips twitched before his expression turned more serious. "Besides, you needed to know about it. It concerns you too."
"I'm sorry… what?"
Darien stood up and walked toward the bed. He was so slow like those predators eyeing their prey until he sat on the edge near her.
Amara moved back because he was too close and it made her heart stammer like crazy inside there.
"Uumm… Sir? I think it's better if you stay there and I stay here. Personal space is sacred after all, don't you think? Haha."
But he didn't listen. He instead learned forward, their faces were so near she could feel his breath against her cheek.
"Sir, this is highly inappropriate workplace behaviour," she said, half-panicked. "And before you even say anything, HR would absolutely side with me on this one."
He didn't answer. His eyes looked down to her lips, and she swore her pulse jumped straight to overdrive then panicked.
"OH MY GOD," she yelled, pointing toward the window. "IS THAT YOUR BEST FRIEND?!"
Darien looked at her like she was a weirdo but she didn't care. "My what…?"
Darien turned around to see what she was pointing at and that was her moment! She shoved herself from the bed and jumped for the door, and ran.
She didn't stop. Not when she hit the door or when she realised that the room was the bedroom in Darien Dravik's office she only ever saw once or twice before from outside because the first rule when running away was to not stop and definitely never looked back.
She grabbed her stuff at the locker and sprinted out of the building while praying that her boss didn't chase her and dragged her back there.
Her legs begged to stop, but fear was a powerful motivator.
By the time she reached her apartment, she could barely remember the journey but that wasn't important.
She slammed the door behind her, leaned against it, and finally let out a shaky breath. "I'm safe! Still in one piece!"
Tossed her bag onto the couch and walked straight to the bathroom, she knew she could really use some cold water on her face right now.
She splashed it on her face again and again until her cheeks tingled. When she finally looked up at the mirror, her reflection stared back.
She looked like a mess.
But when she thought all the craziness for that day already ended, she was wrong.
There was something near her collarbone. Frowning, she tugged her shirt down slightly. "Please say it's not a kissmark."
No, it wasn't. Not a scar either. But it was indeed a mark. It looked almost like a tatto, a crescent shape, wrapped in something that resembled vines. Or animals?
"What the hell is this?" she whispered, touching it, trying to rub it but no, it wouldn't come off.
"Did he… oh God, did he tattoo me while I was unconscious?!" she yelled at the mirror, horror and disbelief filled her face. "That's a violation number… I don't even know what number that is!"
Her voice cracked before she took a very deep breath and laughed it off. "Okay. Calm down, Amara. Maybe it's just a rash. A very artistic and symbolically shaped rash."
What Amara didn't see when she looked down to calm herself was the mark glowed.
Like moonlight bleeding through her skin.