Chapter 26
Harlow
What just happened?
Why did I even bring up Amelia? I should have left it alone. Should have kept my mouth shut and not mentioned anything she told me. But no, I had to go there. Had to poke at the bear like an idiot.
It’s clear that one of them is lying.
And from the way Drake reacted? I’d say it was Amelia. In fact, everything points to Amelia being the liar. The fury in his eyes, the way he couldn’t get away from me fast enough, the sheer offense in his voice when he said he would never fuck around with a Tribute.
And I felt relieved in that moment. Drake and Amelia didn’t have a sexual relationship. I’m glad. I’m also an idiot.
I want to feel sorry for her. I really do.
But I can’t muster up much of anything for her right now.
How pathetic is it that she can’t have Drake, so she’s trying to make sure I can’t have him either?
Why else would she invent an entire sexual relationship between them?
To sabotage us before anything could even start.
News flash, Amelia: I don’t want Drake!
She’s acting all jealous for nothing.
Drake made it perfectly clear how he feels about getting involved with Tributes. He literally ran away from me, even though I agree with him.
I close my eyes and try to clear my head. Try to practice my meditation like I’m supposed to.
A screech overhead makes my eyes fly open. The dragons on the periphery suddenly take off, their massive wings beating the air as they circle once before flying away in formation.
I glance at my watch. Good. It’s been two hours. Time to head back.
I slowly make my way back to the vehicles, watching as one or two pull out, already making their way back to flight school. My feet feel heavy, exhaustion settling into my bones. It’s been one hell of a day, and it’s not even lunchtime yet.
Jordyn is about to get into an SUV when she spots me, her face lighting up. Then she gets a confused look, her head swiveling as she searches the area behind me.
“Where’s Drake?” she calls out.
Before I can answer, Scar appears at my elbow.
“Drake asked me to give you a ride back,” he says in his gruff voice.
Of course he did.
“I can go with Jordyn and Grim,” I tell him, gesturing toward where my friend is waiting.
Jordyn nods enthusiastically. “Of course she can. Grim won’t mind.”
Scar looks between us, then shrugs. “Perfect. See you all there.” He heads toward his SUV.
We climb into the vehicle, which is already running with the air conditioning blasting. Grim is behind the wheel, his huge frame taking up most of the front seat. His perpetual scowl is firmly in place.
“Harlow’s coming with us,” Jordyn tells him as we slide into the backseat.
Grim grunts.
That’s it. Just a grunt. Not a “sure” or “fine” or even an acknowledging nod. Just a grunt, which is typical of the big brute.
I catch Jordyn’s eye and have to bite back a laugh.
As we pull out of the parking area and onto the jungle road, Jordyn turns to me.
“So where is Drake?” she asks again. “I thought we were supposed to stay together for the full session.”
“He needed to get back to the office,” I say, keeping my voice neutral. “Something urgent came up.”
Jordyn gives me a look that says she knows there’s more to the story, but she drops it. For now.
“How did your session go?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.
“Fine,” she says with a shrug. “Grim’s idea of telling me something personal was to let slip that he prefers red meat to fish and chicken.”
I laugh. “Sounds very much like Drake’s answer,” I tell her between giggles. “He told me he likes his steak medium rare and enjoys crossword puzzles.”
From the front seat, Grim grunts again.
“What a male likes to eat is very personal,” he growls, his deep voice rumbling through the vehicle. “Very revealing about character.”
This sets us off into another round of laughter.
“When do you guys get to work on your mind-bond again?” I ask once I’ve caught my breath. “You’d need Grim to be in dragon form, right?”
“Yes, he would,” Jordyn says, shooting a look at the back of Grim’s head. “Your guess is as good as mine. I hope soon, because we need to work hard on that aspect. I really want this to work out.”
“My dragon is difficult,” Grim says, his tone matter-of-fact. “We can’t progress unless our bond becomes rock solid.”
Jordyn rolls her eyes. “So you keep telling me.”
“You’ll die otherwise,” he adds.
“So you keep telling me,” Jordyn repeats, but there’s steel in her voice now. “We’re going to make it happen.”
“It can’t be forced,” Grim says.
“Watch me force it,” Jordyn shoots back.
“You can’t force it,” he tells her again, his voice gentler than I’ve heard it. “We spoke about this earlier.”
Jordyn shifts in her seat. “I know. I told you I’d give it some thought.”
He grunts again.
My curiosity is piqued. “Give what some thought?” I ask, looking between Grim and Jordyn.
“That’s between me and Jordyn,” Grim rasps, sounding annoyed. “Interference or outside opinions are not required.” He pauses. “No matter how well-meaning.”
“Harlow is trying to be nice,” Jordyn tells him off. “You don’t have to be so damned grumpy about everything.”
Another grunt.
Jordyn and I stifle our laughter, pressing our hands over our mouths to keep from cracking up again.
We arrive back at flight school, and Grim parks the SUV. He turns in his seat to look at Jordyn.
“I’ll see you later,” he tells her, his voice softer than usual.
He grunts a goodbye at me and then he’s gone, striding toward the office buildings without a backward glance.
“He’s a ray of sunshine,” I say, and we both dissolve into laughter again. “Drake is just as easy-going,” I add, and we laugh even harder.
“Grim is not as bad as he makes out to be,” Jordyn says once we’ve calmed down. Then her expression turns serious. “What happened?” she asks as we start walking toward the canteen for lunch. “Why did Drake really leave? I can see there’s more to it. Out with it.”
“He had to work,” I say, but even I can hear how weak it sounds.
Jordyn stops me, grabbing my arm. “You can tell me. I’m your friend. Did you guys fight?”
I sigh, looking around to make sure no one else is within earshot. “You know that Amelia came to see me last night before she left.”
She nods. “Yes, but what does Amelia have to do with anything?”
“I already told you that she gave me a few pointers about riding dragons,” I explain.
“And that she apologized for how she treated me. But what I didn’t tell you is that she may have mentioned that she is in love with Drake.
” I lower my voice. “She said that the two of them had a sexual relationship when she first bonded with him. That it was supposed to be just about the sex, but she fell in love with him by accident. When he broke it off with her, she was devastated. Has been pining for him ever since. It’s why she reacted so badly when I came into the picture. ”
“Oh, wow!” Jordyn’s eyes widen. “So, she had to work with him for years, loving him but not having it reciprocated. No wonder she treated you like the plague. Not that it’s acceptable, mind you.”
“Here’s the thing, though.” I pull her toward a quieter area near some flowering bushes. “The reason she told me was to warn me against making the same mistake. She told me she can see that there’s an attraction brewing between us.” I widen my eyes.
“Is there?” Jordyn raises her brows, looking super interested all of a sudden.
Heat floods my cheeks. “You’ve seen the guy.” I shrug. “He might be a bit of a jerk, but he’s hot. I’ve already admitted to finding him sexy. I mean, you told me you were going to make a move on him, so I know you agree.”
“I do, indeed.” Jordyn grins. “He’s insanely gorgeous.”
“Thing is…” I pause, not sure how to put this into words. “I think he might be attracted to me, too.”
Jordyn squeals, actually squeals, and I have to shush her.
“I might have caught him checking me out today,” I say quietly. “Okay, that isn’t exactly true. I definitely caught him checking me out. I keep going over it and I’m sure of it. His eyes were all over me, and he had this look.”
“What look?” Jordyn pushes, even though I know she knows exactly what I mean.
“That look guys get when they’re picturing you naked,” I admit.
“I’m normally weirded out by it. But seeing him looking at me like that made me…
hot all over.” I shake my head. “Then I told him about Amelia. I wish I hadn’t.
I should have left it alone, but I guess I suspected she might be lying.
I wanted to know for sure, so I went there… like a complete moron.”
“And you found out she was lying through her teeth,” Jordyn says, nodding. “And she’s jealous because she knows him. Knows that he’s into you.”
“Not into me,” I correct. “Just attracted to me. Not that I’m going to do anything about it.”
“Why not?”
I stare at her. “Are you kidding me right now? What kind of question is that?”
“You were recently badly hurt by Miles,” Jordyn points out.
“Yes…and? What does that have to do with it?”
“The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else,” she says with a wicked grin. “Especially someone as hot as Drake.”
I laugh despite myself. “You’re insane. I’m not doing that.”
“It works,” she insists. “There’ll be no risk of you falling for him because you’re on the rebound.”
Then she gets this sheepish look on her face.
“What is it?” I ask, immediately suspicious.
She looks around to make sure no one is listening, then leans in close. “I’m probably going to sleep with Grim,” she tells me.
“What?” I practically yell, slapping a hand over my mouth. “You’re kidding. Grim? You? Him? Sex? Really?”
She laughs at my reaction.
“Actually, he isn’t such a bad guy. If you move past his whole gruff vibe, he’s pretty good-looking underneath it all.
” She fans herself. “You should look at him next time. Really look at him. He’s cute.
He took off his shirt today, and I nearly swallowed my tongue.
He’s not my type, so there’s no chance of it turning into more. ”
“Why do it then?” I ask, genuinely confused. “It’s a huge risk. You could be booted from the program if you guys are caught.”
“Actually, a sexual relationship between us has been encouraged,” she says, and my jaw drops.
“Even by the powers that be?” I frown.
She nods. “We’d need to keep it hush-hush, because as a rule, they don’t want shifters and their riders in relationships.
But they also really need another mind-bond.
This is one of the best ways to achieve that.
Grim spoke to me about it today.” Her cheeks flush slightly.
“Sex is a good way to solidify our mind-bond. It would be strictly physical. No emotion. He told me there’s no pressure at all to comply.
He was really nice about it, actually. It makes a strange kind of sense that sex would bond two people. ”
“Exactly!” I tell her. “That’s why it’s a bad idea for either of us to be considering this.
Besides, Drake made it perfectly clear that it’s something he won’t entertain…
ever!” My voice rises slightly. “He got angry when I told him about Amelia. He told me he would never fuck a Tribute. Not ever! Then he stormed off.”
“So, no work emergency then?” Jordyn asks, eyebrows raised.
“Nope.” I shake my head.
Jordyn is smiling broadly now. “I think he seriously has the hots for you, or he wouldn’t have reacted the way he did.”
“Nah, you’re wrong there.”
“He overreacted, Harlow,” she points out. “That speaks volumes. I think Drake wants to take you to Orgasm Land really badly.”
“Orgasm Land?” I burst out laughing. “That’s not a thing.”
“It totally is,” she says with mock seriousness.
“Well, I’m not going there with Drake,” I tell her. Then I pause. “I can’t believe you’re going to sleep with Grim for a mind-bond.”
She gets this naughty look on her face. “It wouldn’t just be for the mind-bond. I reckon someone as serious as Grim will be great in bed. I’ll enjoy myself in the process.” She grins. “At least I’ll know that I did everything in my power to mind-bond with his dragon.”
“It sounds dangerous, if you ask me,” I warn.
She gives me a look. “It’s only dangerous if there’s any chance of me falling for the big grump, and that isn’t going to happen.”
“If you’re sure, Jords.”
“I am.” She nods a few times. “If you see me walking like a cowgirl tomorrow, you’ll know why.” She lowers her voice. “These guys are no slouches in the dick-size department.”
We crack up laughing all over again, drawing curious looks from a couple of staff members passing by.
“If the opportunity arises, I think you should totally jump into bed with Drake. Live a little. Have some fun. Stick it to Cathrine and Miles by letting Drake stick it in you.” She winks at me, and we both laugh so hard that tears stream down our cheeks.
“You’re too much,” I tell her when I finally catch my breath. “We’d better get to lunch.”
“I need to keep my strength up,” Jordyn jokes, bobbing her eyebrows. “For later.”
I shake my head as we start walking toward the canteen. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Oh, I know all right.” She laughs again.
This time, I don’t join in. Instead, I think about Drake’s face when he stormed off. About the attraction I can’t seem to shake, no matter how much I tell myself it’s a terrible idea.