The memory of her stricken expression as she stared at his fingers made him scowl.
Pressing the lock of hair against his lips, he thought,I didn’t ask for this either, princess, but we’re stuck together now.
Well,hewas stuck, but he’d be damned if he let her go. She wasn’t going anywhere without him, and if his troublesome little empath thought she could get the touch she needed to thrive from someone else, then he would show her howusefulhe could be again and again.
And again.
* * *
Kaz woke up from a doze just after the break of dawn. For the first time in years, he’d slept dreamlessly, and despite the fact that his rest was patchy at best, he felt energized.
His fingers were still tangled in a lock of Atria’s hair. More of it had spilled over the edge in the night, and he’d unconsciously sought it out until he had a great mass of it bunched between his fingers.
Good thing she didn’t try to run,he thought wryly as he untangled himself.
Quietly rising to his feet, he spared his mate’s sleeping form a long look before he got ready to leave. A new shirt and pants were retrieved from his go bag, as well as a fully charged bolt gun fuel cell and his hygiene kit.
It took him less than five minutes to complete his morning routine, partly because he wasn’t precious with that sort of thing, and partly because he really didn’t like the way his skin itched when he was away from her for too long.
When he emerged from the bathroom, he found her in the same position: curled up like a cat on her side, her face buried in her arms, and her hair a fan across the pillow.
His heart gave an unexpected and unwelcome lurch when he took in her flushed cheeks and parted lips. Even in sleep, she looked like a damn fairy tale princess.
Annoyed with himself and what he’d have to do this morning, Kaz deliberately began making more noise as he repacked his bag and then donned his jacket, which had endured a quick cleaning in the sink.
He reached up to gather his thick hair into a messy bun at the crown of his head and slowly spun on his heel to face her, fully expecting to see her glaring at him from under the duvet.
She hadn’t moved an inch. Apparently, his mate was a heavy sleeper.
Reluctantly charmed, he shook his head and stomped over to where she lay, comfy as a bug, in her nest.
Not a nest,he forcefully reminded himself.Just a normal bed.
His mind knew that, but his instincts said another thing. They screeched at him like claws on a chalkboard as he leaned down to gently cup her shoulder.Do not touch the nest,the beast crowed, vicious and loud in the back of his mind.Not invited! Do not touch!
“Bullshit,” he hissed through clenched teeth. His body rebelled against the intrusion into her sacred space, but he forced himself to smooth his palm over her bare arm in a featherlight caress. “Atria, it’s time to wake up.”
Her nose scrunched, but that was the only reaction he got before her breathing leveled out again. Rolling his eyes in earnest this time, he said in a louder voice, “Princess, get your ass up.”
When shestilldidn’t budge, he shoved the screeching, outraged voice in the back of his mind into a tiny box and grabbed a fistful of her blankets. One swift yank saw them bunched at the foot of the bed.
Atria woke with a gasp, her eyes roving and her bare legs immediately drawing up tight against her chest. Her voice was a little scratchy when she huffed, “What—Oh.That was rude.”
Summoning a truly exceptional amount of willpower, he didn’t eyeball her thighs or the peek of her ass he could make out just below the raised hem of her nightie when he replied, “I tried to be nice and it didn’t work. Not my fault.”
Grabbing her suitcase from where it rested by the foot of the bed, hoisted it onto the mattress. “Up and at ‘em, princess. We’ve got a gate to catch.”
Atria sat up slowly. It seemed awfully unfair that she would still look like a vision even when she was groggy, upset, and sitting in a motel bed with her hands cuffed.
One strap of her nightie had fallen down, somehow making the top swell of her breast and sweet curve of her shoulder look more enticing than it already was. Kaz was suddenly aggrieved by the fact that he didn’t take the time to properly introduce himself to her breasts when he had the chance the previous night.
Next time,he promised himself, forcing his eyes to stay above her collarbone.I’ll treat them right the first chance I get.
He loved that her hair was a wild wave behind her. He knew the look came from sleeping with it semi-damp, but that’s not where his mind went. She looked like a woman who’d been up all night with a lover between her thighs, his fingers in her hair, and his mouth—
“Kaz,” she said, throaty with sleep, “can we just talk about this?”
He dropped his eyes to the suitcase. “We did talk about it, remember?”
