I reached between my legs and slid my fingers between my folds. I barely touched my clit before the world’s smallest orgasm flooded my body. I bit my lips together to stay silent as overdue relief flushed my system.
The sound of something metal this time, clattered against the floor, and Xan yelped.
I stifled a giggle and tried to control my libido, but my little climax was only going to be enough to ensure that walking to the bathroom wouldn’t count as masturbating.
Rowan needed to get his contract sorted out. Pronto.
Xan yelped. “Hot. Shit!”
“It’s cast iron, love,” Ezra said. “Back up. What is wrong with you this morning?”
Xan groaned, and I giggled.
Xan felt everything I did, literally. If I pinched my arm, he knew which one and where. When I felt happy, his face lit with my joy, and when I was frustrated and struggling, his shoulders slumped, physically echoing my emotions. But he didn’t knowwhyI felt those emotions.
I missed my friends. He felt it as “homesickness and loss.” He asked what made me feel that way, and I’d turned it into a guessing game, which he’d been exceptionally bad at. He guessed my old life, then mydad, followed by my dorm, and then my clothing. He even asked if I missed my work-study. It had never occurred to him, not once, that it was people I’d met in his family.
His TB constantly buzzed, but as far as I could tell, all of it was work. No one came to say hi or check on him. I didn’t think he had anyone outside Ezra. It reminded me a lot of my dad and me. Scratch that. No. Icky. It did not. I never wanted to bang my dad.
The cold shower cleared my head, and by the time I came out, Ezra had a breakfast spread laid out on the little table. Both of them waited for me to dig in.
There was something undeniably sweet about it.
“You’re doing really well,” Xan said as soon as I sat down. “I hate to admit it, but Cayden did a good job teaching you the basics. Your flow is smooth.”
I grinned. “I won’t tell him you said that. He doesn’t need a bigger ego.”
Xan and Ezra exchanged an undecipherable look.
“It’s time for you to go big,” Xan continued. “We hit the Alun today. I want to see your Majekah and one of your little dragons in person, and then we’re going to work on control. Magic is basically what electricity was in your time. Although it doesn’t have the same properties, it is more versatile. We’ve adapted.”
I wiggled excitedly. “Can I start my training with Rowan again?”
Xan furrowed his eyebrows. “Has Rowan talked to you at all?”
My heart thumped in my chest, and I looked at Ezra. “Um, concerning what?”
Xan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
“I mean,” I added. “I know he’s exiting his contract with Angela, which is very complicated… and he says once he’s free, that he wants to, um…” How the hell was I still this embarrassed talking about myself withtwo people who had pretty much had their hands on every part of my body?
Oh, right, because we weren’t talking about it.
“Yeah.” I ended with lamely.
Xan steepled his fingers together. “Eat. Dress. Let’s test your control in the Alun. You can do physical training with Ezra tonight before we begin our studies on the families.” Pink tinged Xan’s cheeks, which matched mine. Pretty sure studying wasn’t on either of our minds.
The pair retrieved my trainee uniform from my dorm. I chose black lacy underwear—completely out of character, purely to give them something to explore. Not because their attention made me feel sexy as hell. This was about them.Totally. Obviously.
Xan handed me a snow-white cloak, definitely not standard issue, with a floppy hood that insulated me and hid my hair.
Walking between Ezra and Xan, I felt eyes. People stared; some pointed. I tucked deeper into the cloak, forgetting how much my hair drew attention. No… it wasn’t just the hair. I glanced at Xan in his trainee browns. He wasn’t just Xan. He was the Architect. Maybe no one was looking at me at all.
The moment we were out of anyone’s sight, I felt like I could breathe again. “Do people always look at you like that?” I asked. “You didn’t draw much attention at The Rooster.”
Xan guided us down the hall to the Alun, and Ezra opened the hatch on the floor.
“Most don’t realize I’m the Architect when I’m not dressed like it. But walking with Ezra and you makes it obvious.”
