“You were waiting for me for dinner?”
“As I do every night I’m not in the main hall.” Kaelis gives a little smile. “It’s only polite.”
“Polite? Said by the man who fucked me senseless on a desk but couldn’t bring me to climax.” I fold my arms.
He takes another step, encroaching upon my space. “It’s not that Icouldn’t…But if I had, you wouldn’t be here now, would you?”
“Kaelis.” The way I say his name has him freezing. “That was long enough ago that it wasn’t even in my mind coming here tonight. And, I would’ve come to you eventually, regardless.”
“I know,” he says.
Does he?I look up into the voids of his eyes. “Kaelis, the sex isgoodwith you. Immaculate. Brag-worthy, if I was going to tell anyone else about it—which I’m not.”
“You can go on telling me all about how amazing I am.” He tilts his head back slightly, his eyes alight with amusement. But there’s more than that. Insecurity still lingers.
I laugh softly and take his hand. “If all I wanted was good sex, I could find it whenever I wanted it. You can’t keep me coming back with glorious cock alone.”
He swallows hard and nods.
I can sense his discomfort and offer him relief, rather than hammering the matter. “Where is she?” I scan the sofas; nothing. His office, then.
The moment I open the door, a little black ball of fuzz lifts her head, golden eyes shining in the lamplight. Priss rises, arching her back and stretching, claws sinking into the chaise that had been my own all last year.
I cross, immediately burying my fingers in her fur.
“Ah, now I know the real reason why you came. And here I thought it was for me.” Kaelis leans against the doorframe.
“It has been an age since I last gave Priss her chin scratches.”
“There is interest on scratches owed, she tells me.”
“Then I must begin repayment now. Or else how will I manage?” I look over my shoulder with a grin.
The low, warm light casts him in a hazy glow. The edges of his face seem less harsh, his expression softened as he wears a fond smile. It’s a Kaelis I doubt many have ever seen.
It’s like we’re pretending things are normal. And I don’t want to stop. Maybe this was why I avoided coming here for so long. I knew how dangerously easy it is to forget about my worries around him. To feel safe in these lavish apartments and allow the stress of the world beyond to ease a little from the knots of my shoulders.
“I have an idea,” he begins. “Why don’t you take up your usual spot? She’d love it. And I have some work to do. I can have food brought in.”
Apparently Kaelis would like to pretend, too.
“Unless you came here with other ideas?” He arches a brow. “Because I will gladlyfinallyfinish what I started weeks ago.”
“A quiet evening sounds nice,” I say softly. Then I add with a bit of a coy note, “We’ll see how the rest of the night goes.”
I assume my normal seat, and the evening takes on a dreamy quality. Kaelis opens his office to my browsing as he goes off to collect some refreshments for us. I search for anything that might present a lead on the inking material. As Priss curls up next to me, Kaelis takes his usual position at his desk, studious, so consumed in his work that he misses how shamelessly I’m admiring the hair that falls into his eyes.
The pages of the book blur, and I rub my eyes before glancing over the notes and sketches I’ve scribbled. It’s a mix of half-remembered curves Mother showed me and notes that make no sense, and I try to read between the lines to find something that might not be there. I shift, careful not to disturb Priss, and glance toward Kaelis.
He catches my gaze this time.
“What is it?” he asks, brow furrowing slightly when he senses my unease.
I hesitate, then close my current book. “There’s nothing more here in the academy on the World or the vessel card?” I’m still hoping for something that will be a breakthrough.
“If there is, I haven’t found it.” He shakes his head.
“Can the World eradicate knowledge?”
