His laugh rumbled against me. “Don’t apologize, Bonecarver. When you’re not flush against me in my bed, I like it.” He lowered his voice. “I like that you want me, but I shouldn’t. I am your trainer and...”
“And?” Both my arms were curled between our bodies, my hands in fists near my throat, but the urge to touch him, to feel his skin beneath my fingers, was nearly unbearable.
“If you knew the truth about what happened the night my sister died, you wouldn’t want me anymore. If you knew my utter failure, the dishonor...”
“You can’t know that. I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I wish I could tell you.”
“You can trust me.”
“Youdon’t trustme. You haven’t told me what you’re hiding.”
I was warm again, but I started to tremble anyway. What about the night I dreamed of him biting me, of me screaming and shouting I couldn’t turn?My secret... What about yours?
I pulled back and finally lifted my eyes to his face. His expression was soft. Vulnerable. The memory of the vampire sinking his teeth into my hand surfaced unbidden. Did he know? Was he trying to tell me he knew? He’d seen the teeth marks on my hand, questioned my obsidian iris. Had my dreams given me away? Or was he trying to get me to confess? I clenched my teeth together and buried my face beneath his chin again. We went quiet. I couldn’t speak it.
Vander cared for me, and I for him, and maybe he wouldn’t kill me if he found out I’d been bitten by a vampire, but would he tell Commander Locke? He wouldn’t even break the rules to kiss me. He was loyal to LOA before he was loyal to me. I was scared of Vander—of how much I longed for him, and how it would break me if he turned on me.
Despite the storm of emotions fighting for dominance inside me, I eventually fell asleep, curled against his warm bare chest.
I wokewith the bright sun shining through the windows and last night’s snowstorm dripping from the warming temperature.Vander was asleep on his belly, head turned away from me, while I had one leg curled across his lower back and was hugging his arm like it was my pillow. What in the world was going through my mind while I slept to be all over him like this? My pulse jumped as I realized his hand rested on the inner thigh of my bottom leg. I didn’t want to make quick movements, or I’d wake him, and I wasn’t up for another awkward, slightly heartbreaking moment. I slowly rolled onto my back and folded my hands over my stomach and crossed my ankles.
Vander lifted his disheveled dark-mahogany head with a yawn and turned his face toward me. The corner of his mouth curled. Even with sleepy eyes and messy hair, he was so beautiful it made my heart skip. “Was I a comfortable pillow for you? I think my arm is wet from your drool.”
I gave him a side eye, and he chuckled. “I don’t drool.”
He smiled. “I was teasing. People do that sometimes. Maybe you’ve heard of it.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of it. Just not from you.”
He propped his head up on his palm. “Are you saying I’m a stiff?”
I giggled. “I’m not even sure what that means. I’m saying you’re so serious. Usually, but especially with me.”
“You’re my apprentice,” he said as if that settled that. “It’s a serious business to make sure you know enough to survive this world.”
I paused a beat before working up the courage to ask, “And when I’m not your apprentice?” I stared, enamored with the way he stilled at my question. The way he stopped breathing.
“I can’t think about that right now. What we both need to focus on is training you to be an assassin.” He looked out the window. “Snow’s melting, and it’s our day to celebrate. I’m sure your friends and team are getting ready to go into the city. We should too.”
“For debauchery? I haven’t forgotten your promise from the first game.”
He let out a low laugh and my pulse rose at the sound of it. “What is your definition of debauchery? I think we might have different ideas of that.”
“Close dancing and maybe too much to drink?”
“Oh, Bonecarver.” He sighed and fell back onto his pillow to stare at the ceiling. “I enjoy your innocence. It’s endearing in this dark world. I’ll take you to Enchanted Elixir for some fun.”
My curiosity piqued. “What is your idea of it then?”
He smiled, all serpents and shadows. “It’s indulgence in your deepest sensual desires. It may involve too much to drink but there are other pleasures to drown yourself in, Bonecarver.” His eyes glazed a bit and fell to my lips, studying them like he was magnetized. Knuckles grazed the inside of my knee, and I jumped at the unexpected touch. He smiled once again. This was dangerous territory. I felt like we were towing in a line that kept getting shorter. “I think you should get dressed so we can get out of this room.”
Magnetized myself, I had to force myself up and out of his bed. The chill in the air quickened my steps, however, and I hurried to my side of the room. I tugged my long black coat on and slipped my feet into the pair of fur slippers. Although the sun was up and the temperature was warming, it was still freezing in here.
I pulled open the lid of my trunk and took out a clean set of assassin attire. “How do we eat and drink in public if we always have to keep our masks on?”
“We don’t. We will wear civilian clothing today. The Commander doesn’t like assassins to wear the uniform when we go into public or pubs. When drinking gets involved, people do things they ordinarily wouldn’t, and it could sour the League’s reputation. We also don’t talk about being assassins.”
