“You should try it. Adira might give you orders, but you’re the one who decides how to carry them out.”
I thought of Adira’s not so subtle order to go to the Roost nightly.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“You have a lot you’re thinking about. I can’t wait to talk about all of it in Self-Discovery.”
“Like you haven’t been talking about it enough?” Eugene said with a bland glance at Fenris while he stood by Yanet.
The dwarf rolled her eyes at us. “Some of us are actually trying to learn here.”
A flush crept into my cheeks, and I murmured a quick apology before picking up my tablet.
Fenris relaxed into his chair and seemed to lose himself in his thoughts. As much as I tried not to do the same, I kept going back to what he’d said. Everyone was always trying to get me to do what they wanted. The more I fought it, the more they pushed. Adira wanted me to start hanging out at the Roost. How could I do that my way? I loved the music and hanging out with Ash—
A heaviness settled in my chest. Why was I thinking of appeasing Adira instead of getting out there and finding Ashlyn? Because, for a selfish moment, I’d forgotten. I hoped that wherever Ashlyn was, she was safe and unharmed. The thought of her shivering and hungry as she wandered the expanse of Uttira ate at me.
“You okay?” Fenris asked softly.
“Yeah. Fine.”
The bell rang, saving me from further explanation. We walked in silence to Self-Discovery and found LuAnn waiting at the door. She stopped us from filing in with the other students.
“Good morning, Eliana. Adira has modified room 11B for you. Fenris, Adira would like you to accompany Eliana on her self-discovery for as long as you’re able.” The bell rang again, and the last student hurried in around us. “I’ll check on you both in a bit.”
My stomach sank as LuAnn closed the door, leaving Fenris and me in the hall. I could only imagine how Adira modified the room for me.
“Come on,” he said. “I still want to hear about that smell.”
I cringed and continued down the hall toward our assigned room.
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“An answer like that is only going to make me more curious.”
“You’ll survive your curiosity.”
He gave me a speculative look then opened the door for me.
“I thought my curiosity was going to kill me.”
Distracted by the current topic, I managed several steps into the room before the décor registered. The space looked nothing like a classroom and everything like a dominatrix’s bedroom.
The scent of Fenris’s ever-present lust wrapped around me so tightly that I jumped when the door closed with a gentle click. I could taste his sweetness through the skunk flavor lingering in my mouth and fought to breathe through my growing panic. My hands shook, and my hunger roared to life, clawing at my insides.
Oblivious to my struggle, Fenris walked around me and went to the bed.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that our pocket pool playing pixie paid you another visit,” he said as he began pulling the red, silk top sheet off the round bed.
The chains anchored to the base of the bed rattled. The sound crawled under my skin, and my vision sharpened. Before I could make an excuse to leave, Fenris took the sheet and tossed it over the rack of sex toys set to one side.
“Am I right?” he asked, finally looking at me. His grin slowly faded. “Hold on.”
Within seconds, he had the built-in chains tucked under the bare mattress, the fitted sheet covering a nude painting of an orgy, and two pillows on the floor. He sat cross-legged on one and patted the other.
“Sit and breathe, Eliana. This is just a room. You’re in control. Not Adira.”
“I’m in control of nothing,” I whispered.
