I kiss him back, my hands finding his chest, and for a moment I forget everything except the way his mouth feels on mine. Then I pull back.
"Lily will be out soon," I say. "She's just in the shower."
"I understand." He steps back but doesn't leave, his eyes moving around the room again. He walks to my desk and picks up one of Professor Harmon's books. "Heavy reading."
"He assigns a lot."
"He does." He sets it down and looks at the photo on my shelf. "Your aunt?"
"Yeah."
"You look like her."
Something in my throat tightens. "People used to say that."
He turns to face me. "Tell me about her?"
I deflect, keeping this surface level, but he waits and something in his expression is patient enough that I find myselfsitting on the edge of my bed. He sits beside me, close enough that our knees almost touch.
"She was careful," I say. "Methodical. She had a garden she loved, grew vegetables and herbs, and she made me help her weed it every summer." I smile at the memory. "I hated it at the time. Now I'd give anything to be back there pulling up dandelions while she told me which plants were good for what."
"She sounds like she cared about you."
"She did. More than I probably deserved." I look at my hands. "She left me a letter. Instructions. Things I needed to know after she was gone. She must have written it before she knew she was dying, or before she admitted it to herself."
"That takes a lot of love," Nico says quietly. "Planning for things you can't prevent."
I nod and something hot presses behind my eyes. "I miss her. I miss home. I miss knowing where I fit."
"You don't feel like you fit here?"
"How could I?" The words come out sharper than I intended. "Everyone here has a pack, a bloodline, a place. I'm barely a shifter. No shift, no ability to defend myself, nothing except being a target for the Dominion to practice on."
"You're not just a target."
"Then what am I?" I look at him. "You're Dominion. You stood in that chapel with a mask on and interrogated me. From where I'm sitting, that's all anyone here sees. Something to test. Something to break."
His hand finds mine. "I see you."
My breath catches.
His other hand comes up to cup my face and he kisses me again, slower this time, and when he pulls back his eyes are dark.
"You're stronger than you think," he says. "And you're not alone."
His hand slides from my knee to my thigh, fingers pressing against the fabric of my sweatpants, and heat floods through me. My breath catches and his eyes track the movement of my throat.
His hand moves higher, slow and testing. I don't stop him. Can't. His fingers find the hem of my t-shirt and slip underneath, warm against my skin, tracing up my ribs.
I tell him to stop but Lily could come in any second and his touch feels so good, so wanted, and I've been so alone for so long.
His fingers brush the underside of my breast and I bite my lip. He leans in and kisses me again, deeper now, his hand cupping me through my bra, his thumb finding my nipple.
I make a sound against his mouth and he responds, pressing me back against the bed, climbing on top of me without breaking the kiss. His weight feels good, solid and real. His hand is still under my shirt, fingers working over my nipple until I'm arching into his touch.
The bathroom door handle turns.
I push him off and he's on his feet before Lily walks in, both of us breathing hard, and Lily stops in the doorway with her towel wrapped around her hair.
