Gilded Obsession

Chapter 4

Clarke Griffin.

I finally know my Goddess' name.

And I finally will have to opportunity to find out more than just that.

Her hand is so soft. And warm. And it fits in mine perfectly. And oh, her voice... It's smooth, soft, bright...

I am dazed for a moment, completely caught off guard by these revelations. But I quickly catch myself and rather than letting go of her hand, I lift it to my lips and press a delicate kiss to her knuckles before letting go of her.

A tingling, warm sensation moves all the way from my fingers up into my arm and from my lips to my cheeks.

"It's lovely meeting you, Clarke Griffin," I respond, loving the way her name rolls off my tongue. Even her name tastes delicious.

"It's wonderful meeting you as well," Clarke responds. I can tell she's flustered by my actions and she's at a loss for words, and although I would love to just look at her stunning features for hours, I want to get to know everything there is to know about her even more.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" I ask her, noticing how she's twirling her pen in her fingers and wanting to give her hands something to do. Wanting her to feel comfortable around me.

"Oh no, I can't. I'm working," she responds immediately.

An unexpected response. An unfortunate one too, because I'd love to get her a drink. I'd get her anything.

"Working? At a charity event on a Saturday evening?" I inquire, hoping she'll tell me more about her life. Hoping she'll talk about anything and everything so I can listen to her voice.

"Yes, I am here with my boss. He asked me to attend this event with him," she says vaguely.

Her boss. So, not her boyfriend. Good to know. I might still kill him anyway.

But my Goddess isn't telling me much of anything though, which only makes me more curious. More determined to find out everything.

"What do you do for work, sweetness?" I ask curiously, leaning a little closer to her and resting my chin on my hand while my elbow rests on the table.

The pet name makes her eyes widen for a second time, but then she sighs tiredly.

"Well, I am here as an intern. I am interning at JP Law LLC, so that's what brought me here," she explains, but I can tell there's more to it.

She takes a breath, then adds, "I am in my senior year studying law, which is how I ended up interning. But even though I'd definitely consider it work, it's an unpaid job, so what I do for work is bartending."

She takes a second breath before scrambling to explain, "Don't get me wrong, this is a dream gig. I love that I've been given such a great opportunity, and I am very grateful for it. I just wasn't entirely sure what answer you were looking for, so now you have them all."

That would explain why she looks so tired this evening.

"That sounds like a busy schedule. And like you definitely could use a drink," I tell her, smiling at her so easily it even surprises me. It's not that smiling comes difficult for me. It's just that I usually find it exhausting when right now, I probably couldn't even stop smiling if I wanted to.

"Gods, I really do. But I shouldn't," she says with another tired sigh.

"Shouldn't or don't want to and won't?" I challenge her.

She looks over her shoulder and I follow her gaze, seeing Jason, her boss, deep in conversation with some similarly dressed men.

"I should go ask him if we are done working for the night," she says, taking a quick look at her watch.