“But you said that nothing can stop the emotions if it’s your own dragon that rises,” I pointed out. “What if M’alex rises while I’m in the room with you?”
“Then you’ll lock yourself in the bathroom again,” he replied. “Look, Auri…” He leaned even closer—close enough to kiss, whispered a little voice in my head—and looked at me, his golden eyes blazing. “I can’t explain this, but I need to have you near me. I need to know you’re safe. Remember I told you my dragon blood makes me protective of people I care about?”
What he’d actually said was that it made him possessive of people he loved, but I supposed it was sort of the same thing.
“I…I remember,” I said, my heart pounding as I looked up at him.
“You’ve become very important to me,” Ryse said in a low voice. “I don’t exactly know why, but I know I need you close. I need to keep you safe. Do you understand?”
I bit my bottom lip, trying to think what to say. He was so close I could smell his warm, masculine scent and feel the heat from his big, muscular body radiating against mine.
My pulse was racing, and I wanted him to kiss me again—wanted it so badly I had to clench my hands into fists to keep myself from pressing my mouth to his.
“I understand,” I whispered.
“Good. I’m glad.” His gaze kept traveling from my eyes to my lips and back again. “Then you’ll stay with me?” he asked.
Oh God and Goddess, I knew I shouldn’t. It was dangerous to be so close to him, and not just because he might find out my secret. But when I opened my mouth, I found myself agreeing.
“Yes, I…I’ll stay with you,” I whispered.
“Thank you.” He straightened up at last, leaving me aching in ways I couldn’t define. “Then I’ll see you later.”
“See you later,” I echoed.
But as he left, I wondered what I had just gotten myself into…and how much harder it was going to be to keep my secret.
44
AURORA
As it turned out, the answer to my question was much harder—it was much harder to keep my secret once I moved into the North Wing Leader’s room.
It wasn’t like Ryse suddenly turned predatory—he didn’t. If anything, he gave me more space and privacy than he really had to.
He didn’t say a word when I ducked into the bathroom to take off my clothes and put on my towels before we left for the Cook-pot together. He didn’t change in front of me, either, so it wasn’t like I suddenly had to see him naked. Well, unless I wasn’t careful where I looked once we got to the indoor lake. But once we got there, I went off by myself, as usual, and though Ryse followed me with his eyes, he didn’t say anything or come after me.
I got back to his room—our room now, I supposed—before he did and had time to change into my nightshirt—which I buttoned up to my chin.
When Ryse came back, he was wearing his towel low on his hips and his hair was slicked back, making the dragon scales around his golden eyes even more prominent. Water beaded on his broad chest and bare shoulders, and I had to force myself to look away.
He considerately kept his back to me as he toweled off and then changed into his flight leathers. Once he was dressed, he turned around and looked at me for a long moment, his golden eyes studying my face so intently that I started to blush.
“What are you looking at?” I asked finally. “Did you move me into your room just to stare at me?”
“No, sorry.” He shook his head and looked away. “I’m going flying. I need to clear my head.”
I was a little hurt that he hadn’t asked me if I wanted to come. But we flew together every day during Battlefield Signaling, and I supposed he probably wanted some time alone with M’alex—especially after the Mating Flight the night before.
“All right, have fun,” I said lamely. “Er…can I borrow one of your books?” I nodded at his well-stocked bookshelf, which was in the corner beside his desk.
“Of course—help yourself.”
He seemed to be about to say something else, but then he just nodded and left.
I wandered around his room aimlessly for a while. I looked in his closet and saw my own small uniforms hanging neatly beside his much larger ones. He had even arranged our boots side-by-side—his were twice as big as mine. He had cleared out one of the drawers in his dresser and my underthings were folded and stacked neatly inside.
I didn’t see any sign of the bandages I’d used to bind my breasts though—I wondered where they were. Maybe he’d assumed they were trash and thrown them away. I’d had them wadded up and hidden under a stack of shirts back in the dorm. I couldn’t really ask about them now—it might make him suspicious. I just hoped I never needed them again.
