Chapter 7
seven
ELI
Vi was quiet after we left the cabin.
She yelled responses rather than answering mentally when I talked to her throughout the flight. I knew I’d probably screwed up somehow, but given the mental pressure of heat, I didn’t bring it up.
The hours passed slowly.
I loved the sky, but flying wasn’t what I wanted at the moment.
I wanted her.
Just her.
The trip would buy me a few weeks to show her that we could be good together before I admitted that I’d been trying to set off heat ever since our first argument.
So, it was a necessity.
One I’d survive.
Probably.
It was the early hours of morning in Switzerland when we arrived. The sun wasn’t rising yet, but like all dragon shifters, I could see fine in the dark.
Vi could too, now that she had my magic running through her veins. The bite had accomplished that, and made me want her even more.
I hadn’t thought that was possible. I’d been obsessed with the woman for so damn long.
We landed behind a building, and Vi pulled out a pair of my clothes for me while I shifted back. After I was dressed, I took her hand, and followed the map on my phone to the hotel. I’d landed nearby, but exactness could be difficult when navigating to a new place from the sky.
The male employee at the hotel’s desk was friendly as he gave us the keys to our suite. Too friendly. He kept smiling at my female.
I held a firm grip on her hand, gritting my teeth against the urge to get her away from him. Though she shot me a look that said I was losing my mind, Vi took control of the conversation, grabbing the key and thanking the guy politely.
She stepped up close to my side as I pulled her through the hotel, and whispered, “What the hell was that? You looked like you wanted to kill that guy.”
“He was smiling at you,” I gritted out.
Her you’re insane look hit me again. “So?”
“So you’re mine .”
“Is this the possessiveness thing?” she asked, as the elevator’s doors closed behind us. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. I can tell it is.” She leaned her back against the elevator’s wall and closed her eyes. “Flying is exhausting. It’s fun, but I didn’t realize how much it would wipe me out. You must be even more tired than I am.”
“I’m used to it. Not a big deal for me.” I stepped closer and slid my arm around her waist.
Vi stiffened in response.
I’d obviously done something wrong, though I didn’t have a clue what.
She had been fine until we had sex, so had I screwed that up? There was no missing the woman’s climaxes. Her body tightened around me too damn much. And the sounds she made… I could lose control just thinking about them.
So she’d enjoyed the sex.
I’d given her time to turn me down, in case it wasn’t what she wanted. She was the one who had run from me, after I told her what would happen.
Maybe she was pissed about the bite?
It had to be that.
The elevator dinged, and we got out on the right floor. Our room was on the far end of the hallway, so we walked in silence. I’d taken the backpack from her after we landed, but left my arm around her waist. If any other men stepped out of their rooms at such a close proximity to her, the arm would anchor me.
The last thing I needed was to get sent to my own prison for killing a human who bumped into my mate during heat.
We stepped into the suite, and she walked around for a few minutes, checking everything out. I let her go, sitting on the edge of the bed and just watching her. The room was spacious for a hotel, but I’d picked the largest one they offered. I wasn’t about to make my female feel trapped during heat.
“I’m going to shower before I crash,” she finally said, grabbing her bag and pulling out a pair of her sleep clothes. The woman couldn’t have known what those soft little outfits did to me, or she would’ve slept in something that covered more of her skin.
Though I wanted to give her the space she was craving, my instincts forced me off the bed when she walked to the bathroom. I caught the door before she could shut me out, and met her narrowed eyes with my own.
“Putting a door between us right now won’t turn out well,” I said. “I’m barely maintaining control. Push me over the edge, and I could lose it entirely.”
“What does that mean?” Her forehead creased.
“I’m a dragon, Vi. An animal. My human side calls the shots most of the time, but heat pushes the beastly instincts to the surface. Some of us have no control over them at all, and are lost to them like Jasper was.”
Her eyebrows shot upward. “Randa kept shit from me?”
It was the first time she’d said as much since heat started.
I wondered if it was the first time she’d realized it. But, it was true. Randa had to keep dragon secrets as much as the rest of us did. That meant maintaining the lies about heat and fate.
“This day just keeps getting better.”
She’d said she was exhausted, so I tried to silently pick out the changes in her scent that might signal the feeling, so I could recognize it next time.
Vi started to turn toward the shower, but I caught her wrist gently, stopping her before she could go.
“I should’ve warned you about the bite,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t. It didn’t even occur to me.”
She blinked, as if caught off guard by the apology. “It’s fine. Not that big of a deal, all things considered. I’m sure you have a lot on your mind too.”
When she tugged her wrist free, I let her go.
She left her clean sleep clothes on the countertop, stepping into the walk-in shower before stripping her clothes off. The tile walls hid her bare body from me, and heat’s power made me itch to remove the space between us.
Not seeing her was nearly painful.
I forced my mind back to my earlier thoughts when her clothes landed on the floor by my feet. The scent of our pleasure was thick on them. The urge to pick up her thong and drag my tongue over it nearly overpowered me.
But I’d upset her.
Done something wrong.
If it wasn’t the bite, what was it?
She was upset that our bond was sealed, sure, but this seemed different. And she didn’t want to voice it, so it had to be a fairly big deal. Or maybe something personal.
Wracking my brain, I tried to come up with a potential answer.
I couldn’t come up with a thing.
Unless…
She couldn’t have been.
Could she?
I’d been sure I was feeling her pleasure when she tightened around me, but what if I was wrong?
I had to grip the edge of the bathroom countertop I was leaning over just to stop myself from striding into the shower and demanding the truth.
When my breathing steadied enough that I could get the words out, I finally asked.
“Spaghetti?”
“Yeah?” Her voice sounded slightly more relaxed.
“Did you fake your orgasms?”
There was a moment of silence.
A long, tense moment.
I gritted my teeth against the urge to step into the shower with her again.
“I’m not the kind of girl who fakes orgasms, E,” she finally said. “Didn’t you feel my body responding? You should be well-acquainted with the signs of a woman’s pleasure.”
“Why?” I couldn’t prevent the irritated question from escaping.
“Because you obviously have plenty of experience in bed.”
I clenched my jaw.
My mate thought I’d been screwing my way through Scale Ridge, hoping a mate bond didn’t appear?
That hurt.
It was my fault she assumed the worst of me, but that didn’t make it easier.
Telling her the truth would require admitting I’d finally fucked her because I wasn’t willing to lose her to another man, and tired of waiting for our bond to appear.
A bond she didn’t want.
So, I stayed quiet.
“Why would you even ask me that?” Her voice was frustrated.
“You’re upset with me. I’m trying to figure out why.” My words came out more gravelly than I intended.
She didn’t reply to that.
A few minutes later, the water shut off.
I grabbed a towel off the hook nearby, and stepped to the edge of the shower. She didn’t seem to want my eyes on her body, so I stayed far enough back that I couldn’t see her as she accepted it.
“Thank you.” Her voice was quiet. Slightly surprised.
I itched to tell her how badly I’d wanted her.
How long I’d dreamed of having my name on her lips. My mouth on her body. My scent on her soft, sexy skin.
But I stayed silent, giving her privacy even though that was the last thing I wanted to do.
I was just going to have to accept the space between us for the moment, because there was no way around it.