“What?”
“Dead serious.”
“Well, uh… Azrim might take a while to convince to come around. But I want to be sure you’re open totwoof us.”
I lean closer, sweep my nose over his, and am about to kiss him, when someone coughs.
We look over to see Davarok sitting on the edge, his armored pants rolled up and bare feet in the pool.
He grimaces and points covertly to Marne and Kren by the gate. “They’re watching you.”
Zorin sighs. He sets me down and backs up. When he blinks, his eyes soften into humanoid irises again, and his claws retract until he looks like a marbled blue man standing in the pool with me. “This fucking sucks.”
I feel Zorin giving up hope and take his hand in the water. He looks up at me with caution.
“I’m with you. We just have to make it through this week. Then the next. And so on. But I’m open to your proposition.”
He nods and rubs his fingers over mine under the shield of the pool’s rippling surface. “Thank you.”
I close the distance between us and admire the way Zorin’s skin ripples and his breath comes faster. The simplest brush of my hips against his makes his whole body shudder. “Just because they said no mating doesn’t mean we can’t still want each other…and dootherthings.”
Zorin lifts his hands to my shoulders and gives them a gentle squeeze. “It does for me. If I let my Shifter have just a little too much control, he will take over. And I struggle to think straight when he has control.”
“So what you’re saying is that I just have to get him to take control?” I tease.
He grins. “As much as I want you, I do not want to risk your life.”
“I risked my life every day just to keep living until I met you. Since we met, all you’ve done is protect me.”
But Zorin still seems reluctant. And I hate it.
“Fine. You keep your lust to yourself. But until I have orders, I’m going to do what I want.” I lean in, take in his scent again, just because I know he’ll like that, then I back up and climb out of the pool.
Zorin follows me like a lost puppy. “Where are you going?”
“To get some food. We missed lunch.”
Zorin shifts onto all fours and shakes himself like Radar after a dip in the river, spraying me with mist.
I screech a laugh as the cool water coats me. “Zorin!”
Davarok chuckles and throws a towel at Zorin when he stands upright again. Zorin thanks him, dries off, and drops our damp towels into the laundry bin.
We walk back to my room where Zorin greets Radar and plays with him while I change in the bathroom. Marne, Kren, and Davarok post themselves outside.
When I’m dressed, I wait for Zorin at the door. He seems to have taken to my dog. Radar seems much happier with him, too.
Zorin holds the door for me as we head for the dining hall. He stays close, but speaks a lot less with the others around. I don’t get the sense anyone in his pack is against us being together, they just have their orders and are trying to follow them.
We pick a booth by an enormous tank filled with colorful tropical fish filled with blue light, corals in bright reds and oranges, and even an electric eel. We order food from the tablet at the table before Zorin reaches across and takes my hand in his.
“So tell me about your scavenger life.”
“Not much to tell.”
Our drinks arrive, and Zorin has a sampler set before him, while the server sets a hot vanilla cappuccino before me.
“Not going to get crazy?” he teases.
