Arslan made no reply, he merely shifted into his lion form, right there in front of Ryland, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.Ryland held his breath as a fully-grown lion padded across the bedroom carpet and stopped in front of him.
Ryland watched as his own hand reached out and his fingers brushed against the dark mane that surround the lion’s face.Swallowing his nerves, Ryland cautiously touched the lion’s cheek.As Ryland stared down at him, the lion turned his head and licked his fingertips.
Frozen in place, Ryland just continued to stare and run his fingers over the mane until he managed to scrape together some words.“Thank you, sir.”
Under his touch, Arslan became a man once more.It was a silent, seamless process that ended with Ryland’s hand settled into human hair.He couldn’t help but reach out and touch Arslan’s cheek again, comparing the human side of him with the lion side of him.
“Your eyes are always the same,” he blurted out.
Right then, Arslan’s eyes looked quite amused.He turned his head and licked Ryland’s hand, just as the lion version of him had.
Leaning down from his seat on the edge of the bed, Ryland brushed their lips together.
Arslan smiled into the kiss as if just slightly entertained by Ryland’s clumsy attempts to show he wasn’t the least bit freaked out about anything at all.When he pulled back, Arslan nodded at the mattress.Ryland got the hint and shuffled back along the sheet so the professor could join him in the bed.
He very gently, very patiently nudged Ryland into a position that pleased him, with Ryland curled up close against him.Arslan’s skin was wonderfully hot in the slight chill of the room.Ryland found himself automatically snuggling into his side under the blankets.
“I love you, too, sir.”
Arslan pulled back a fraction, to look down at him.
“You said earlier,” Ryland reminded him.
“Yes, I did,” Arslan agreed.
“I just thought… It seemed wrong not to tell you that I do love you, too—and the lion bit as well as the professor bit.I thought you should know, that I should tell you.”
“It’s a good instinct,” Arslan agreed.
Ryland nodded.
Arslan guided him to rest his head back against his shoulder.
“Trust your other instincts, too.What do they tell you to do right now?”
Ryland smiled slightly against Arslan’s shoulder before he curled a little more snugly into his embrace and let his eyes drop closed.
His only instinct right then was simply relax and drift off into sleep, secure in the knowledge that his master was right there, and for the first time he could remember, he was safe, accepted and exactly where he belonged.
Arslan pressed a final kiss onto Ryland’s temple before reaching out switching off the light.It was all the praise Ryland needed in order to believe that Arslan had been right—he really did have good instincts.
