His sparkling eyes were such a pretty blue as he smiled at her. “Like an hour or so? You could spare that, right? Your makeup and hair are already done.”
Alone time with Adar. That would be…nice? Nix wondered why her thoughts kept trickling in slowly and indecisively.
Elle frowned at his invitation. Then, Elle flashed a fake smile to Nix, the kind Nix recognized as when Elle didn’t like the person who sat near her at the lunch table.
Elle grabbed at Adar’s arm, pulling him away from Nix. Still, Nix heard Elle whisper to Adar, “That’s not part of the plan.”
“Iam the one she loves. I think I get more of a say on how tonight goes.”
Elle shook her head. “Adar—”
“An hour alone with her won’t change anything. I deserve some payment for all I’ve done so far.”
“But—”
“I am the eldest and the heir,” Adar snapped in a hushed tone at Elle, shooting her a cold expression that froze the bubbly girl.
Adar turned back to Nix and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward him. “Ready to go?” he asked Nix in a benevolent tone. “I don’t think you’ve ever seen my dorm room.”
Elle glanced nervously between her brother and Nix. As Adar began leading Nix to the side of the building, Elle called after him, “You really think this is wise? Don’t mess up her hair!”
“What was all that about?” Nix wondered aloud as they walked away from Elle.
“Elle is just jealous that I am stealing your time and attention from her,” Adar teased, wrapping an arm around Nix’s shoulder and guiding her every step of the way.
His presence was so domineering and dominating as he led her up the three flights of stairs to his large, extravagant dorm room. It had a freaking chandelier.
The room was much better than what cygnus shifters typically received. Dorms were supposed to be based on power, but maybe power could be equated to money. After all, Adar was the heir to the Oadess fortune. And it was a fortune.
Nix had never known where the money came from, but Kellan Oadess had managed to make a big enough name for himself to be an elected member of the shifter’s council as a prey shifter and not an alpha.
“So, listen…” Adar stroked his thumb over her hand as he pulled her inside and kicked the door closed behind them.
He tugged her fingers until they stood beside the edge of his large bed. He sank down on it, sitting, and tapped the spot beside him for Nix to join.
“I know you’ve liked me for a long time now,” he said.
He did? Nix’s cheeks heated.
“It’s always been very flattering,” Adar said softly and picked up a piece of hair, twirling it around his finger and tickling her cheekbone. “So, I was wondering, what happened? What changed this semester?”
Nix tilted her head. Had something changed? She liked Adara lotright about now. Hadn’t she always… “Hmm?”
“You let those other guys steal your attention from me,” Adar commented in a jovial, teasing tone as he leaned in closer to press his forehead to hers. “That wasn’t very nice.”
Other guys…
The knife-happy, passionate, and damaged incubus.
The guarded and gruff dragon.
The prim, proper, and intelligent gargoyle.
The sunshine, golden retriever pegasus.
A memory came shooting back through Nix’s head, but it speared right through, not sticking to the brain. Her mind whispered, “You don’t care about them anymore.”
“Tell me you only care about me now. That you don’t want them.”
