Page 62 of Never Feed a Dragon

eleven

ELI

Vi didn’t hold my hand as we made our way out of the hotel room.

Or as we walked to the restaurant.

Or as we ate enough food to absolutely astound the waiter. Who kept staring at my mate like she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

She was.

And she was mine.

It took everything in me not to tell the bastard to get lost.

Or punch him in the fucking nose.

We took a train to a city nearby when we were done eating, and thankfully, no one stared at her there. After a few hours on a tour bus, followed by some dinner, we took the train back to our hotel. Our room had been cleaned so thoroughly, I could barely smell the evidence that we’d been through heat together.

It pissed me off, though I couldn’t let Vi see that.

She wanted me to be her roommate, and I’d agreed.

Because what was the other option?

Tell her I’d been in love with her for years?

Admit the last thing I wanted to be was her roommate?

Bury my face between her thighs and try to convince her with the only real tool I possessed that she was mine, whether she liked it or not?

None of that would work on Vi.

The only way she would ever agree to be with me the way I wanted was if she made that decision herself.

So, I kept quiet about my feelings.

I had fun with her, like she wanted.

And when she agreed to let me share the bed with her until we were back in Scale Ridge, I acted like I wasn’t beyond relieved.

I’d give her the space she needed, because it was my only chance at convincing her that she would like spending her life with me.

Even if it killed me a little.

twelve

VI

The days passed quickly.

I wasn’t ready to go back to normal life and figure out our roommate dynamics when the last day of our trip came around. We’d been nothing but friends who snuggled at night since heat ended, and that was nice.

Eli always had a joke to lighten my mood, and I had a blast egging him on with sarcasm. It made everything fun.

Going home might mean more loneliness, and I was tired of that. Eli would have his own life, he’d have his own job, and I’d have to go back to mine. Which meant working from home.

Though I was excited about doing so in his cabin’s glorious kitchen, I knew uncomfortable conversations would come with it.

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