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My mouth fell open. I didn’t even have words to respond but I nodded in thanks.
Once we got to the residential level, Nikan went to his room without saying a word. I would need to talk with him later. The last thing I wanted was to leave things sour again when I left.
“He’s welcome to share my room if he wants,” Malina crooned, batting her eyelashes dramatically at Ryker.
I snarled at the implication and without thinking I yanked my dagger from my thigh and threw it at her. The blade spun tip over hilt before embedding into the side of the bookshelf behind where she had ducked her head.
She tsked her tongue. “Mating bond grating on your nerves, Kya?” she teased.
I knew that she was provoking me for amusement, but I wasn’t thinking straight.
“Thanks for the offer Malina, but I’m staying with Kya.” Ryker said from behind me, placing a comforting touch on my back. He understood and was trying to reassure me.
“You’re not staying with me, and you’re certainly not staying with her. But there might be an extra room since some of the Scholars are out on expeditions.” I jutted my chin to a few rooms down the hall from mine.
“Someone broke into Morah and killed multiple Scholars. I’m not sleeping any farther from you than necessary.” He squared his shoulders, clearly not backing down.
“I understand.” I placed a hand on his shoulder and stuck out my bottom lip in a mock pout. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe from any intruders.”
Ryker rolled his eyes and Malina snorted a laugh, prancing to her room after giving me a wink and a mocking “goodnight”, leaving Ryker and I alone.
“My rooms are this way.” I gestured to my door.
To be honest, I was nervous about being completely alone with Ryker—not that I didn’t want to be—but I wasn’t sure if either of us would be able to control our urges. Not to mention, I was allowing a male that I hardly knew stay in my rooms.
Once we were inside, I closed the door behind us and Ryker took in the minimalistic space. While I had lived here for most of my life, I had very few personal items outside of my clothing and gear. The books that were neatly arranged on the shelves belonged to the library and were ones that I had grabbed to place here so that I could read them eventually—though that stack seemed to always get larger, and I didn’t get to read as many of them as I wanted.
I didn’t have any artwork, or plants, no decorations to make this place feel homey. I didn’t want it to. I had always kept the mindset that I was unlikely to survive the Trial, and I didn’t want to leave a bunch of meaningless stuff for my family to have to take care of if I didn’t. And really, it had never truly felt like home to me. I loved Morah. I loved being here, surrounded bybooks and quiet Scholars and my family. But I never felt like I would stay here forever.
Ryker moved to the glass wall to look out at the city below, its lights giving a soft yellow hue against the dark night. “This is quite a view you have.”
“It’s like nothing else.” I walked over to stand beside him. My hand itched to touch his, and he must have felt the same because he put his hands in his pockets and stepped away with a deep breath.
“I’ll take the couch if you’ve got an extra blanket. And I could use a bath.”
I stopped breathing, thinking of my mate being naked and wet in my bathing room, slick from the soap being rubbed across his muscles. I couldn’t help but picture him and wondered if that broad chest that led down to his toned torso had a trail of hair that went past his waist line to his—
“Kya,” he warned as he inhaled through his nostrils. I blinked my eyes back into focus from his harsh tone. “If you don’t stop thinking about whatever is going through that beautiful mind of yours, I’ll be forced to take a cold bath, and I really don’t want to do that.”
“Sorry,” I quietly panted, meeting his gaze. The way he looked at me… “The bathing room is through my bedchamber.”
“Thank you.” He nodded and took his pack with him as he went to my bedchamber.
I busied myself with tedious chores, doing anything to distract myself from the fact that Ryker, a sexy, powerful Lord, was naked in my bath.
When he finally came out, he had on nothing but loose pants, the sight causing wetness to pool between my legs. Moisture still clung to his bare chest and my mouth parted as my eyes hungrily roamed up and down the length of his exposed skin, riddled with intricate tattoos. I wanted to trace every single oneof them. My eyes widened slightly when I did, in fact, confirm a small patch of dark hair that went down his stomach, past his waistband to the obvious bulge of excitement pressing against his pants.
Without a word, I quickly pushed past him and slammed my bathing room door behind me.
I’m the one who needs a cold bath.
After my very long, chilly bath, I finally emerged into the sitting area, dressed in loose sleepwear, to find that Ryker had fallen asleep on the couch, a blanket laid over him at the waist and his arms behind his head. His breathing was even and slow, and I thanked the Gods because I was utterly exhausted and wished for nothing other than the warmth of my bed as my eyes began to droop.
Just to be on the safe side, I slipped one of my daggers underneath my pillow. I didn’t think he would harm me, but I wasn’t taking any chances. Crawling underneath the covers, it took little time before I was fast asleep.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kya
