Page 44 of Never Feed a Dragon

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?

---