Page 43 of Dragon Boss (Paranormal Delights 2)

Micha forced himself up from the floor and flushed the toilet. Brushing his teeth and a quick shower were in order. He went about doing it even as his body felt as if it was seconds from dropping. His sleep had been shit for the past few days; constantly looking over his shoulder and trying to spy on Arden were taking a toll on him. And he had no one to confide in. Micha was alone like always.

He exited the bathroom wrapped in a fresh, white towel. He headed toward his room, but at the last second, he turned. Before Micha could think better of it, his knuckles rapped against Eldon’s door. He waited for the vampire to answer, but as the seconds ticked by, he realized Eldon wasn’t there.

Probably for the best. What was he even looking for?

Micha sighed. He could really use some of Eldon’s calmness. Whenever Micha was near him, he felt settled. Even if he couldn’t tell the man what was wrong, at least he could pretend to be normal for a little while and bask in Eldon’s warm glow.

Turning around, he booked it back to his room. Once the door was closed behind him, he flipped the switch. But even with the lights on, the shadows attempted to close in on him. His chest rose and fell, his fingers trembled, and he tried to count slowly until he could breathe again. But it was too much. The corners of the room closed in on him and he had to get away.

Micha was up and back out of his room before the panic could consume him. As he whirled around, he ran right into another person. Their bodies tangled and he ended up on the floor in a heap.

“Shit, I thought everyone was asleep already,” Gamble said.

Micha scrambled up, and he shook his feathers out. “Sorry.” He bit his lip, taking in Gamble’s rumpled clothes and the bags under his eyes. “I’m so sorry.” What if he’d hurt Gamble? All because he was scared. “Stupid.”

“What? I’m fine, you don’t have to beat yourself up about it,” Gamble said. His head turned each way, and he crouched lower. His curly brown hair, free of its usual ponytail, framed his angular face. “Have you seen you know who?”

Micha was still checking Gamble over, looking for any signs he was far more hurt than what he was letting on.

“Who?” Micha couldn’t think of who Gamble was referring to. He moved around Gamble, gazed around, and then reached out to ensure his ass wasn’t bruised.

“Hey.” Gamble chuckled and quickly covered his mouth.

“You’re ticklish?” Micha had no idea why that surprised him, but Gamble always acted so laid back and mysterious that him being ticklish was the last thing Micha would have guessed about the mage.

“That’s not true,” Gamble shouted. He looked around, his eyes darting everywhere. He cleared his throat. “I’m not ticklish.”

Laughter bubbled up out of Micha. For the first time since his phone had rang, the knot in his chest eased. Gamble slapped a hand over his mouth, muffling the sound.

“Shh. Damn it, are you trying to get me caught?”

Caught?Micha clamped his lips together, still chuckling, but he shook his head.

“Good. Now, have you seen Arden around? I have some magical trackers about the place but usually he comes onto this floor to see if he can find me. He hasn’t come back.”

“What did you do?”

Gamble bit his lip, and his green eyes lit up for a split second. “I kind of let my mouth slip and then put Arden in an illusion while I made my escape.”

Micha blinked a few times. He couldn’t have heard the man right. “You did what?”

“Hush.” Gamble covered his mouth again and glanced around nervously. “Man, you aren’t usually this loud.”

Micha’s face heated, but how else was he supposed to respond?

“Let’s go to your room. Mine is off limits.” He clicked his tongue. “Damn shifters and their obsession with hunting. I know for a fact Arden’s been checking it every chance he gets.” Gamble rolled his eyes.

Micha nodded and put in his code. When he let Gamble in, the witch instantly took a seat on the floor next to the bed and sighed.

“It’s starting to get hot as fuck outside during the day,” Gamble said.

Micha nodded, although he had no clue about the weather when the sun was up. He mostly slept the day away. It wasn’t as if he had any family or friends to call and meet up with or hobbies to speak of.

Gamble’s olive-green eyes moved lazily up Micha’s body, and it felt like a heated caress. “You know to each is their own but you do realize you’re still naked right?”

Micha looked down and nearly screamed.How in the hell?When he’d run into Gamble, he must have dropped the towel. He’d been too busy worrying around the witch that he hadn’t noticed he was stark naked.

He rushed over to his closet and took out a new pair of pajama shorts. They were a soft baby, silky baby blue and perfect for sleeping in. Micha never wore a shirt to bed; he preferred to let his wings be out without any material rubbing against the base of them.

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