A shadow looms over me before something soft sweeps against my cheek, and I realize with a start that it’s his tail—making shivers burst across the side of my neck.
It brushes across my chin, back up my cheek. Repeats in a slow, gentle stroke.
A foreign feeling pumps through my chest, my ribs, and vibrates down my spine. Makes me feel warm and snuggly.
Comforted.
Like a soft hug for my heart.
Another swish of his tail, almost like a paintbrush gliding across my cheek, and I smile, deciding I like it very much.
Deciding I’m more and more certain he’snotgoing to eat me.
I shuffle forward until I’m tucked before his big, wet nose, my eyes level with his ebony globes that reflect my messy hair and flushed cheeks. “You protected me,” I whisper, lifting my hand, and his tail pauses mid-swish as I edge it forward—slow.
Measured.
The beast whuffs through flared nostrils, blowing the blunt ends of my hair off my shoulders as I lower my hand into the dip between his eyes and rub his soft, sleek fur.
He releases a rumbling purr that suggests he’s enjoying the attention, and the faintest smile kicks up the corner of my mouth.
That seed in my chestthrobs.
I think of Rhordyn—tucked somewhere inside the beast—and my heart lurches.
Can he see me?
Hear me?
I wonder what he’s thinking. Feeling.
How he’s going to react when I ask him the questions bubbling inside my chest.
“I need to see him,” I whisper.
There’s a long, tense silence.
Another tail brush to the cheek.
Another.
A stern, firmly rooted sense ofstubbornpulses through me, mimicking the look in the beast’s eyes.
I don’t think he wants to let him out.
I give him another rub, this time behind his twitching ear, and he tips his head, nuzzling into the action. Lids lowering.
He likes that spot.
I keep going until every breath is a deep, sawing purr, then pull my hand away and shuffle back.
He blows out a short whuff, eyes snapping open, his massive paw easing across the stone and nudging against my thigh once.
Twice.
I shake my head. “No more ear scratches until I see him.Please …”
He blinks at me.
