My fists clench, and I glance down at his legs, wide eyed. They’re obviously both there, and if the physical activity we just engaged in is any indication, they both work, but how does Valor get to behave like some sort of demon rampaging through a family?
I glower and grumble, “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Royal gives me a toothy grimace while wrapping his arms around me again. “Yeah, kinda?”
I shake my head and look back at the screen. “Is she safe?”
He speaks low to the top of my head. “She’s an apex predator with a man who will kill someone for looking at her wrong. When they come through this, Valor is going to worship the ground she walks on.”
“Swoon,” I murmur, hoping he doesn’t hear me.
If he does, Royal doesn’t say anything. But he closes out of the window.
“I hate to address the elephant in the room, but your dad texted you wanting an update.” He changes subjects.
“That’s the elephant in the room?” I turn and look up at him, eyebrows raised and mouth agape.
His cheeks are red, and it’s growing down his neck.
“It’s the most time sensitive one?” He shrugs and interlaces his fingers in mine before leading me over to the bed.
He’s made the bed in a more turned-down style, like at a fancy hotel. The covers are folded back, neat and inviting, all evidence of what we’d done cleared away. My phone is sitting atop the covers.
“What about the other elephant?” I sit down, not concerned with my phone.
“The one where we just had mind-blowing sex, and I fully plan on doing it again later?” His eyes are brown when he starts the sentence, but they turn gold — Iwatchthem change color — as he finishes.
“Your eyes just changed color.” I get distracted from the conversation, looking at them and how they’re inhuman but soulful.
“Sorry.” He blinks a few times, breaking my trance. “Did I mention that my wolf really likes you?”
“That’s what that is?” The distance between us feels too far, so I pull on his hand, and Royal sits next to me on the bed.
“Yeah, he’s just really close to the surface, like we’re ready to shift and switch places.” Royal explains with a squeeze to my hand.
I settle in, pulling up a leg and hugging it to my chest.
Royal bites his bottom lip and hungrily rakes his eyes across my body. “But about the whole sex elephant.” He shakes his head, and it looks like it takes tremendous effort for him to pull himself away from wherever his thoughts strayed to be more neutral. “I want to circle back. Are you hurting? Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? Would you maybe like to do that again sometime?”
“I’m a little sore.” Pulling my leg up has stretched muscles I didn’t know existed but are now making themselves known with a slight ache. “But it’s nothing compared to what my cramps are normally like, so I’ll take it. And that wasamazing, so yeah, I would totally do that again, but maybe after I rest a little.”
“Oh, absolutely, rest, food, water, snuggles, and probably a movie before we even consider round two.” Royal reaches over and runs his fingers through my hair, pushing it out of my face.
It’s a move straight out of a movie, and I let out a contented sigh. But the real task at hand nags at the back of my mind as guilt eats away at me.I only agreed to help Dad to spend time with Royal, but now this is the consequence of my own actions.“Okay, the awful elephant, what do I even tell Dad? Because what we just did is absolutely out of the question.” I stare at my phone, not even wanting to look at the message myself.
Royal picks it up and hands it to me. “You’re going to tell him enough of the truth that it’s not suspicious. No embellishments that you’ll have to worry about keeping straight.”
“That I made it safely here, I met Betty and Ian. I noticed you keep a lot of weapons in the home?” I try for something that might appease my father.
“All of that is true and should be expected. It shows you have good observation skills. Why don’t you add on there that it’s an intelligent house and has a ton of security?” Royal offers while I unlock the phone.
A lonely notification sits in my inbox.
Dad:
Status update.
Leticia:
