CHAPTER 12
Krusk
“It needs shots,” I told my brother, opening his apartment door with one arm so that I could let myself in while I hefted the gigantic monstrosity that he’d forced Zara to help him smuggle onto the plane. “Or else she won’t be able to walk him.”
Savla was sitting at his desk with his computer, shaking his head from side to side already even as he stood and held his arms out for the beast. “No way. I’ve looked into it, and I don’t know that it’ll be safe for him.
They’ve formulated those things for the dogs of this world and he’s not.
” He said this while making kissy faces at the unblinking, squashed face of the not dog.
“I think that’s more than obvious that he’s not a dog,” I said with a sigh, rolling my eyes. “That thing almost got me in trouble with my mate.”
“I don’t think Ribbon had anything to do with your failure,” Savla disagreed, petting the thing while it lay its head on his shoulder, closing its eyes in bliss, drooling down my brother’s arm.
“Is that its name?” I asked, dropping into one of the armchairs near him. “I panicked and said his name was Dog.”
“That’s a terrible name,” he scoffed, moving to sit on the sofa. He put the panting thing next to him and gestured towards him. “He’s the most handsome mountain toad I’ve ever seen.”
“He doesn’t look anything like any mountain toad I’ve ever seen, Sav,” I told him, trying to ease the burden of him owning the ugliest creature in the history of ugly creatures. “And he eats everything.”
“He has a healthy appetite,” Savla sniffed while Ribbon’s tongue slapped against his eye again, moisturizing it.
“How’re we going to say that he has his shots?” I asked, swiping my palm across my face. “That’s the only way she’ll agree to—”
“We’re going to forge his papers,” Savla answered with a shrug.
I sat up, a grin spreading across my face. “You can do that?”
“I think it’ll be best if you paid her extra so that she could walk him on his own,” he told me, shaking his head before turning and looking at Ribbon.
His tongue was reaching toward the peanuts in the bowl in front of him, snatching a few and snapping them back into his mouth.
“I don’t want any of the dogs she walks giving him some kind of disease. ”
I narrowed my eyes, looking from him to the toad. “Right,” I drawled. “Because they’ll give him something.”
Savla nodded in agreement, going back to his laptop while the toad stole another dozen peanuts.
“If he eats any of the dogs, I’m going to kill you,” I muttered, but Savla was busy cooing at the toad.
I practiced my smile in the panel of mirrors in front of me, attempting to look charming. I had no idea what the hell kind of studio this was, but I knew that my mate would be here today.
Savla had been doing an excellent job of tracking her and knowing what her shifts were like.
While he still was of the opinion that I should be focusing my attention elsewhere—like on learning how to use the magic box—and that mates weren’t necessary, I knew that one day he’d understand. When he found his own.
The naga at the front of the reception area who’d signed me up for an annual pass of unlimited lessons for something called yoga had been very nice and told me that she’d give me a full listing of Emma’s classes. I’d taken it with greed, folding it neatly and placing it into my wallet.
I’d be attending every single one. This one was something called Advanced Vinyasa and while I wasn’t sure what it was, I knew that I needed to be in it. I’d figure it out as I went, I was sure.
The chime of bells behind me told me that someone else had entered the room, and I saw her in the mirror first. My female was beautiful all the time, but now she was clean-faced and wearing the most body-hugging outfit I’d ever seen her in.
Her stomach—the slight, soft swell of it—was bared and her top was basically just covering her breasts. I felt saliva pooling in my mouth.
Fuck, she’s sexy.
Her pants were tight and fitted against her and I just knew that when she turned, I’d get the best display of her ass. As my eyes skimmed up and down over her, taking in everything that I could, she had stopped in the entrance of the room to stare at me as well.
But not in appreciation. Instead, her expression was something akin to horror. Wincing, I tried to pull my eyes from her full cleavage, but I couldn’t.
She hustled her way over to me, grabbing my forearm and spinning so she was facing the doorway, looking around to make sure no one had entered. “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded, and I shrugged, shaking my head as I ran a shaking palm over my mouth and tusks.
How was a male supposed to allow any blood to go to his brain when she was wearing that?
These shorts that Savla had recommended for a workout would be more than useless if my cock kept swelling the way it was.
Spinning around so I wasn’t facing her anymore, I tried to hide myself, but then I was just facing the mirror and she could still see everything.
She frowned for a long moment before her eyes dipped to where I’d cupped my hands in front of me and then her eyebrows swung up before her lips parted in shock. I did not need to be seeing her with her mouth hanging open right now. It was giving me too many ideas.
Instead, I scrambled to remember all the passwords Rudgar had given me since I joined his company. I repeated them in my head, one after the other, not looking at her, and when I finally felt my cock starting to soften, she reached forward and took my arm again.
Well, fuck it all to Hellplane, how am I supposed to make things less awkward if she won’t stop touching me?
Not that I wanted her to stop touching me, but it wouldn’t do for what was happening in my pants.
“Get that,” she said, pointing in the general area of my pants, “under control. The class is going to start soon and none of these ladies are paying for a class and a show.”
I nodded with enthusiasm, hoping I would be able to follow-through on my agreement with her order. “Of course. Yeah.” I repeated the damn passwords seven more times for good measure.
“What’re you even doing here?” she asked, moving closer and my traitorous eyes dipped down to stare at her cleavage immediately.
“Advanced Vinpasa,” I murmured, mesmerized by the way that her breasts jiggled with the movement of her hands as she waved them around during her questions. Holy shit they were glorious.
I could hear the eye roll in her voice as she said, “Vinyasa. It’s Advanced Vinyasa. And if you don’t even know what it’s called, I don’t think this is the class for you. Lorraine has a Beginner Hatha class in an hour. Why don’t you come back?”
I knew that I should be looking at her and not her breasts. It was disrespectful, juvenile and perverted. But my eyes refused to be moved. “I signed up for all your classes,” I told her soft skin. “They fit my schedule.”
“Your schedule, huh?” she asked, waving her hand in front of my eyes and that was the only thing that broke my concentration.
I blinked at her as she stared at me with her arms folded, her hip cocked and her foot tapping on the floor in an impatient clip. “Yes,” I agreed. “My schedule’s pretty tight, but for some reason, all of your classes fit right in.”
It wasn’t a lie, per se. It was just that the rest of my schedule would be filled with going to her other jobs, so I couldn’t go to any other classes. It worried me that she barely had any free time in her day. All of her free hours were in the afternoon and late at night.
I had a feeling that the afternoon slots were also filled, but until I discovered where she was going—which I would—they were the only hours I was free as well.
The light chatter of voices had begun filling in the space, but I couldn’t pull my gaze from her.
She was the only thing that I could see when I was with her.
I should be paying attention to what everyone else was doing, so I could copy them and at least pretend that I was there for something other than her, but when she was around, she was my gravitational pull.
“Alright,” she huffed, with narrowed eyes before leaning a few inches closer. “We’ll see what you’ve got then, Krusk.”
My name on her lips never ceased to make a shiver run down my spine.
“I’ll give it my best,” I told her with an enthusiastic smile and she gave me a small glare before turning away, her hair hitting me in the face. I took a deep inhale, making sure I sniffed her scent as much as I could while staring at the way her ass moved in those tight, stretchy pants.
My groan was low and heartfelt, but she still spun to glare at me, and I grinned in return. This was going to be the best class ever.
“Hey,” a tittering female voice said from next to me. “Are you new here? I’ve never seen you before?”
I nodded, not bothering to look at her, completely focused on my mate. “Yep. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Well you’ve picked quite a class to start with,” she said, and I shrugged, watching as Emma glared at me and then the female next to me in the mirror. Immediately contrite, I stepped away.
“I’m here for Emma,” I told the female, still not looking at her, and I saw Emma’s gaze soften as I moved away.
“Oh, okay,” the female said, sounding confused. I wasn’t there to make friends, though. I was there to learn more about my mate and I could already tell that she didn’t like me talking to other females. I preened internally at that thought.
Is she jealous that I’d be talking to other females?
I didn’t want that for her. I’d never want her to be insecure in our relationship in any way, but if she was jealous, then it would mean that the beginnings of possessiveness were curling their claws into her. They’d already dug deep roots into my chest for her, so it was only fair.
“Alright, everyone,” Emma said from the front of the room, distracting me from my thoughts and pulling me back into the present. “Let’s get started.”