Page 25 of Hunted
“Itisquite good,” Ruya offered.“And I picked this one because I thought everyone might need some stress relief.”She quirked a wry look in my general direction.“Or are you planning to pull an all-nighter again.”Her tone said she knew how little sleep I’d been getting, and wasn’t a fan of that plan.
It had been far too long since I’d spent the night curled up with Ruya in my bed.Simply sleeping next to the woman who was meant to be my mate.But I couldn’t.Not with how I was feeling lately.Not with how unstable I was.
I watched her handsome face, wondering if she knew how badly my dragon was insisting on not only making her my true mate, but acting in ways that were...contradictory to my usual preferences.I wasn’t one to go around wanting toimpregnatepeople, for fuck’s sake.This woman turned my entire world upside down.
She smiled.Calm.Warm.Knowing.
Gods, I wanted to kiss her.Tasteher.Feel her soft hands on my skin.
Instead, I sipped my tea, enjoying the cool wash of magic from Yukio’s herbal infusion.“It’s so perfect, I could drown in it,” I said.And no, I wasn’t talking about the damned tea.A faint blush crept over Ruya’s cheeks, as she finally understood the silly double-entendre.
The silence that followed was warmer.Free from some of the earlier tension and despair.And I knew it was all due to Ruya’s mere presence.She was growing into the queenly omega she was always meant to be.
Martina stood and stretched.“I should go relieve Dusek and take a turn on security.”
Yukio rose as well.“I’ll check our pet vampire, make sure he’s still in his room and see if Acacia has anything useful to offer.Then I’m taking a nap.”He shook his head at our sorcerer.“Come on, Sanka, before you blow off a finger or something.”He glanced at Ruya, paused, then very deliberately walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close so he could press a kiss to her cheek.“You’re right.We all need rest or we’re going to start stabbing each other.”
A small smile lingered on Ruya’s lips after he released her.It was so rare for Yukio to publicly express tenderness for anyone.Even those of us he’d been intimate with for years.It was a beautiful thing to witness.And it made my dragon want to hoard them, draw them close and keep them always in my sight and never let them go....
I pushed the possessive alpha dragon back with iron will and watched Yukio and the others leave abandon me to my struggles.
Chapter 9
Robin
Ruya joined me at thetable.We didn’t speak for a while.Maybe she knew I needed a moment to reel in my chaotic feelings and impulses and get a hold over my impatient and agitated inner beast.Embarrassing.
She poured more tea.Pushed it toward me.Rested her hand near mine, not reaching out and touching me in some patronizing way, but clearly wanting to.
“You’re allowed to rest, Robin,” she said softly.“You’ve said yourself we don’t have all the information we need to make any real move yet.So let the others worry about all the what-ifs for now.”
“I don’t want to,” I bit out, honesty winning out over my desire to make some pithy remark.“This ismycourt.Myrevenge.I am their alpha, their leader.I should beleading,damn it!And instead, I feel like I’m some weak-willed thing constantly having a fit of the vapors.”
Ruya huffed a laugh at that last bit and rolled her eyes.“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure no one thinks you’ve suddenly become some fragile Victorian caricature of a woman.I hardly expect you to swoon any time soon.”
A brief smile curved my lips.I couldn’t help it.Dramatic, perhaps, but that’s how I felt every time I showed weakness in front of my court.Like some old human stereotype of a woman.But my amusement quickly faded.The pressure behind my eyes was building again.I closed them, breathed slow and deep.The dragon coiled inside me, restless and hot.
