Lily looked down and made a face. She couldn’t explain why her Little side had chosen that moment to surge forward, but she didn’t want to eat the rest of what was on her plate. Shewanted candy. Preferably chocolate. And she didnotwant to wait until she finished her lunch or took a nap or whatever other conditions Sailor put on her getting a treat.
Most of all, she needed to get away from him and away from this cabin. She needed to get to Bratburg so she could start the mission, do her job, and get back to the capital where things made sense.
“Eat, little flower,” Sailor urged as he picked up his plate and moved to the sink.
As soon as he began running the water into the sink, Lily stood and ran. She was two steps out the door when a thick arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her into a hard body.
“Where do you think you’re going, little flower?” Sailor growled into her ear as he lifted her up and carried her back into the cabin.
“I have to get to Bratburg.”
She wiggled and tried to free herself from his hold. When he wrapped his other arm around her as well, it was clear that she wasn’t going anywhere until he decided to let her go.
“Why?” His voice was soft in her ear, but she could feel the iron in his tone.
She sucked in a breath but shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”
Sailor knew she was lying, though he could also tell that she believed her words as the truth. After years in the military and then living on the streets, he’d learned to read people in seconds. Though they’d been together for only two hours, he knew in his bones that Lily Knight was the woman, the Little girl, meant just for him.
She was his life-mate.
Carrying her back to the chair she’d just bolted out of, Sailor set her down before pushing it up to the table again. “Finish eating your lunch or there will be serious consequences.”
When she peeked over her shoulder at him with wide eyes, he kept his expression stern. “Consequences? What kind of consequences?”
“The kind that will have you wishing that you’d finished your sandwich and taken a nap without trying to run away.”
Sailor planted his feet slightly apart and crossed his arms over his chest, prepared for anything. What he didn’t expect was for her to huff a sigh before turning around, picking up her sandwich, and viciously biting into it.
When she cleaned her plate a few minutes later, he took it to the sink and washed it while she remained at the table. When the dishes were done, he returned to her side and held out a hand. She looked up at him for a moment before laying her hand in his and standing.
Without a word, he led her into the bedroom. “Take off your shoes, socks and pants and get under the covers,” he instructed.
While she did that, he went to get her gorilla stuffie. As he moved around the main room, he listened to her movements in the bedroom.
He heard the twin thuds of sneakers hitting the floor, the rustle of clothes as she shed them, and finally the squeak of one spring that proved she was crawling into bed. He counted to ten, allowing her to get comfortable under the covers before he stepped into the room.
“Good girl,” he said as he walked over to the bed and handed her the stuffed gorilla.
“Percy,” she said on a contented sigh. She pulled her friend under the covers and smiled up at Sailor. “Thanks. This is a really comfortable bed.”
“I think so. Now I want you to take a good long nap. We’ll talk more when you wake up.”
“And then you’ll take me to Bratburg?” she asked and then yawned widely.
“We’ll see,” he answered, trying to stay noncommittal while knowing there was no way he would take her to the Institute until he’d fully claimed her as his mate.
He hated lying to her, but until she told him why she was so determined to get to the main campus of the Institute, he needed to keep her here. It wasn’t just because she was his mate.
He also had a duty to protect the Institute. He may have only been at Bratburg a few months, but he felt a connection to the shifters who lived, worked, and found their mates at Bratburg. And now he was one of them.
Bending over the bed, he brushed a kiss on her forehead.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispered, not surprised to see her eyes were drifting closed already.
“Night-night,” she murmured as she snuggled deeper into the covers.
With a smile, Sailor left her to her dreams and headed to the main room of the cabin, pulling the door half closed so he could hear her when she woke up again. Seeing her backpack on the floor by the front door, he decided to poke through it to see if he could find answers before calling the big guns in.
