“I’m so sorry!” I wail. “I didn’t know!”
I’m not even sure if my words are at all coherent. I’m sobbing so hard, every word has at least three extra syllables.
Suddenly, Tristan is beside me. He moves and the next thing I know, he is sitting on the chair and I’m curled in his lap. I grab a hold of his robes, bury my face in between his pecs and wail my heart out.
If this doesn’t make him tired of me, nothing will.
Chapter twenty-six
“Do you have to go?”
Holy smokes, do I sound like a whiny bitch.
Tristan’s eyes meet mine in the bedroom mirror, and he pauses fiddling with his hair to grin at me.
“I’m afraid so, Little Nisny,” he says as he goes back to fussing with his hair.
Damn does he look good today. All manly and handsome and shit. I think my mind is getting used to the fey features, such as the scarlet eyes and the antlers. All my brain registers now is how gorgeous he is.
And of course, my subconscious has probably connected Tristan with mind-blowing orgasms. That’s bound to endear a person to you. My soul knows that Tristan makes me feel good, and that’s why my instincts want me to cuddle up to him and follow him around like a lost puppy.
As rational as it may be, it is still so infuriating. I want to lounge on the bed or continue stuffing myself silly at the breakfast table of bland food. It would be wonderful to ignore him and give the impression that I don’t care that he is leaving for the day.
But no. Instead, I’m suffering with this hollow and achy feeling at the thought of him walking out of the door. It istoo strong to override. So I’m reduced to this. This utter humiliation of staring at him forlornly while my heart beats too fast and my stomach twists.
“Can I come?” I plead.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Shoot me now. This is so very pathetic. I am better than this. I cried all over him yesterday. Acting like this today will not assure him it was a one off and that I’m usually mentally stable.
“No,” says Tristan without looking at me.
Just one simple word. No explanation. No apology. Nothing but cold, uncaring dismissal. A completely unreasonable one. I’ve been behaving. I’m dressed. He wove a fancy plait into my hair when we first woke up. There is no need to leave me behind.
“Why?” I whine petulantly. Clearly there is no hope for me. My toughness and independence have vanished.
Tristan turns around to face me, and my heart skips several beats. The tiniest bit of attention and I’d be wagging my tail if I had one. I hate being like this.
“Because I am meeting with the dragon riders, and bringing a human pet would not be diplomatic.”
My lips are lifting up in a pout and there is not a thing I can do about it. I don’t know what a dragon rider is. They can’t be people who ride actual dragons. But whatever, I don’t care who or what they are. They are assholes. Why would they care about a human pet? Why does Tristan give a shit what they think? It is all stupid.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a warm wave of dizziness washes over me. It tingles down my spine.
“I feel sick,” I complain. Maybe that explains my clinginess. It would make it a little less pathetic.
Tristan grins. “You are becoming ripe.”
“I’m filling with magic again?” I ask in surprise. For some reason I didn’t think it would happen again so soon.
“Yes,” he beams, as if I’m a dog who has performed a particularly clever trick.
I should be insulted, but now his gaze is roaming all over me. Mentally undressing me and clearly imagining fucking the magic out of me. My body shudders in response. Arousal flares. He is going to take me.
“Does that mean you are going to stay?” I ask hopefully.
At least I managed to keep the horny eagerness out of my voice. Thank heavens for small mercies. At this point, even tiny fragments of pride are worth clinging onto.
“Sadly not,” Tristan rumbles. “You will be fine. You won’t be fully ripe until this evening.”
