The young man hunching over the game controller sent off vibes of smallness and isolation. Yet he was fast and witty, all his attention on the screen. He was very sure about himself as he played, this boy who’d thrown a glass at his burly alpha keeper. He played from a place of anger.
I knew that anger like it was my mate. It stemmed from rejection and fear, two things I would never admit out loud.
We battled things out on the screen that words couldn’t do justice to. Fighting aliens and ships. Blowing things to smithereens. He kept up with me like no one else ever had before. We lost hours to the screen before I got up to bring in more water and snacks.
During the gaming, Malinekan stayed quiet. He grew tired and fell asleep in my mind.
We lounged, the game frozen, and ate.
Cassius said, “I have another question.”
“What?”
“What color is your dragon?”
I raised an eyebrow at such oddness that he would want to know that. “All colors.”
He nodded and went back to eating.
8
Cassius
An unfamiliar pressure cushioned my back and a satin pillow dented beneath my cheek. I swam up from consciousness trying to figure out where I was. Slowly, a table came into focus, then a big TV. I turned my head to see a vaulted ceiling with high windows that let in a pale pink light.
Memories of the night’s activities began to return. I lay on a couch in a game room. An alpha’s game room. I’d learned pool last night. I’d played a video game with utmost concentration. And there had been a somewhat uncomfortable but revealing question and answer session with the owner of this place. Malin.
I tried to roll to one side but the back of the couch firmly stopped me. That was the pressure I felt, nothing more than soft cushions. The room was silent. Raising myself up on one elbow, my hair fell in tangles about my face. I pushed it back and looked around.
There he was, EZ chair pushed back, feet up, eyes closed. He looked good all in black, his muscles accentuated against softcotton. His hair was dark and messy over his eyes. His alpha scent was like a forest. I hadn’t paid attention to it before but now, just waking, the air moving around as I pushed back the blanket that had been dropped over me, it was central to my senses.
Quietly, I sat up. When had that blanket gotten here? I couldn’t remember. It was plush with a design of evergreens woven into it.
I immediately wondered what time it was. I had nothing but the clothes on my back. No phone. No watch. I glanced about for a clock. If I was late getting back to Brimstone, I would be blamed whether it was my fault or not. They would decide I wasn’t cooperative or that I had somehow caused the client to delay.
My heart began to race.
I dropped the blanket to the floor and walked to a nearby bathroom. When I came out, Malin still sat in the chair but was now awake.
I clasped my hands in front of my stomach. “I need go back.”
“I know.’
“Do you know what time it is?”
He glanced at his shiny gold watch. “Seven. Do you want breakfast?”
“What?” I couldn’t think of food at that moment. I’d just woken up.
“Coffee?”
I gulped. That sounded good. “How far of a drive is it to the ranch?”
He stood up. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I have to be back by eight. Klonis said….”
“Klonis is an idiot,” he interrupted.
