This time the silence between us was all kinds of awkward as I tried desperately not to imagine being handcuffed to a bed with Vitra looming over me.
“What are you thinking, Anamaya?”
He didnotneed to know. “I’m wondering why you have to say my name like that.”
“Like what?”
Was he serious? The intense look on his face certainly was. “What areyouthinking?”
“I’m thinking that I’ll have Pip lock the doors to the Unwoven quarters when you’re all asleep and unlock them for breakfast.” But his gaze, locked on my mouth, spoke of other thoughts. Maybehewas imagining tying me to his bed. My cheeks warmed, and his eyes darkened, lifting to meet mine. The pulse in my throat throbbed thickly, making it suddenly a little harder to breathe. He slow-blinked, releasing me from whatever this strange spell was. “Let the other Unwoven know what’s happened.”
I sipped my tea to mask my fluster. “So you’ve decided to be nice to me now?”
He canted his head. “When was Inotnice, Miss Onyx?”
Miss Onyx again now, was it? Good. This was safer. “Earlier, when you threatened to fail me.”
“If I recall correctly, I also saved you from a water dragon.” He tapped his fingers on his thigh as if considering something before continuing. “Why are you here, Miss Onyx? Here at Nightsbridge.”
My pulse skipped, and his eyes narrowed as if he’d sensed it, and who knows, maybe he had. He was a naga, and they had abilities, abilities I hadn’t read up on yet. Dammit, I had to do some reading and soon.
“Are you here to pick unnecessary fights or to become a part of something bigger?” he asked.
Neither, but he didn’t need to know that. “To learn, of course.”
“Then make better choices. Save your aggression for the hunt, where we can all benefit from it. If you get hurt out there, at least it will be for a worthy cause.”
Annoyance flashed through me, and I sat up straighter. “Are you saying Ruspinisn’tworthy?”
He exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated with me. I didn’t like how that made my stomach hollow. Didn’t like how much it bothered me that I’d disappointed him in some way.
It was time to make an exit.
I set down my mug, and he stilled, sniffing the air.
“You’re bleeding,” he said.
“I’m fine. It’s not too bad.” I peered down my top to check if it had gotten worse. “I’ll sort it out when I get to my room.” When I looked up, he was gone.
When had he moved?
He returned a moment later carrying a roll of bandages and tape.
How had he moved so fast? “Are you sure you’re not a vampire?”
“Take off the sweater and shirt.”
The command in his tone had me reaching for the hem of my sweater before I could check myself. “I’m not wearing a bra.”
For a moment, I thought he’d insist I strip anyway—and Trinity help me, I might have done so—but instead he held out the bandages. “Go back into the bedroom and fix yourself up before you leave.”
I stepped closer, fingers brushing his as I grasped the roll. The contact was slight but inexplicably intimate. He didn’t release the bundle. Instead, he moved nearer, mere inches away now. His sandalwood scent spiked, saturating the air, leaving me no choice but to breathe it in. To breathe him in. A soft haze filled my mind, and the tension drained out of my limbs. I swayed toward him, suddenly lightheaded—like I’d had too much of the good stuff.
He grabbed my arms to steady me, and my skin came alive with awareness from his touch. The sensation was new and intense, and Trinity, I wanted more. I tipped my head back, failing to suppress a moan, because this man was a fucking aphrodisiac.
His gaze darkened, settling on my mouth with such focused intensity it made my chest ache with longing. I needed his lips on mine. Wanted him to kiss me. But all I got was his measured breath and his fingers digging into my arms, as if he, too, wanted more but was fighting it. I could break his resolve. Bridge the space between us and offer him my mouth. I could take what I wanted.
“You won’t believe the weather out there,” Selethis said as she entered the room.
