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“That will not work,” Arden said.
A moment of silence followed the dragon shifter growling so deep that it scared Gamble.
“I want you out of my bed the moment you wake up and stay on the pillow. If I find you wrapped around me again, I will shave off all of your fur.”
There was no reply, and Gamble was pretty sure Spooky was already asleep or at least pretending to be. Clearly, he wasn’t worried about the dragon’s threat. Arden’s footsteps retreated back to the bathroom, and the moment the door closed and the shower turned on, Gamble rolled from under the bed.
Sure enough, there was Spooky curled on the same pillow. One eye opened but he closed it and curled tighter. Gamble shook his head, but he didn’t have time to wait and see if the familiar would survive the night. He made his way to the door and slipped out. His magic wrapped so tight around him it was making him sweat.
Gamble didn’t even think about releasing it until he went down the stairs and was locked in his room. Once he was safe, he dropped the illusion and sucked in a huge breath. Gamble placed his hand over his racing heart and stared down at his feet. He swore by the sound of Arden’s voice he was a goner. But why in the hell was Spooky up there? The familiar had his own room on their floor.
But more importantly, why did it bother Gamble?
Arden wokeup with Spooky's naked body wrapped around him. He studied the planes of his face, memorizing every detail of his face from his long lashes to the spattering of freckles on his nose and cheeks. They reminded him of Micha's freckles and he thought fleetingly about dragging his fingers over them while tears stained the pretty bird's cheeks.
Spooky's eyes fluttered open and he smiled. "Good morning."
"Get out."
The immediate frown that took hold of Spooky’s lips made something twist in Arden's stomach. He sat up and pulled away, trying to put distance between the two of them. He’d allowed Spooky to stay, but seeing him in the orange light of the setting sun was different.Step away.
Once he climbed out of bed, Spooky sat up and pulled the blanket around his slender body. Arden's eyes took in his soft skin, the freckles on his shoulders, and the way his big eyes looked so sad. The familiar’s eyes welled up and Arden groaned.
"Spooky..."
"Everyone here is so fucking cruel," he spat out. "I just wanted to lay with you for a while. What's so wrong with that? When you thought I was a cat you let me follow you everywhere and now you cut me off. Why?"
"You know why."
"Because we had sex?" Spooky scoffed. "It was one time!"
Yeah, it had been one time and it had never left Arden's brain. They'd fallen into bed together a few nights after Porter left. Spooky had been lonely and sad. And Arden? Well, he had broken all of his rules for a single night of companionship. Now, it was biting him in the ass in the form of a clingy familiar. There was a reason he had put rules in place and he was the idiotic one that had broken them.
"Spooky, you need to let it go."
He climbed out of bed with the blanket still wrapped around him. "Fine."
Arden stared at him as Spooky shifted from one foot to the other. Slowly, he started to realize that the familiar was trying to shift into his cat form and was failing miserably. He let out a frustrated "fuck."
Moving to the closet, Arden pulled out one of his shirts. He walked back over to Spooky and yanked the blanket away.
"Hey!" Spooky protested, trying to cover his body.
"What? You're shy suddenly?" Arden asked. "And yet here you are day after day in my room."
"You're being a bully," he huffed.
"And you're being a pain in my ass."
Arden pulled the shirt over Spooky's head, and when the familiar stood there, glaring at him, he sighed and shoved his arms through each of the holes. The t-shirt was huge on Spooky, falling mid-thigh on him. Arden stepped back to avoid doing what he really wanted to do. Which was to throw him on the bed and fuck him senseless.
Instead, he opened his bedroom door and stepped away. "Goodbye, Spooky."
The familiar looked up at him and he saw something in his big eyes.Damn familiar.The man got to him and he had no idea why. He watched as Spooky shuffled out of his door. When he was on the other side he turned, opened his mouth, and shut it again before he walked off quickly.
"Shit." Arden pushed his fingers through his hair. "It's too early in the day for this."
Crossing one of his own lines had been a mistake. Not only because Spooky was so clingy, but because part of Arden wanted to have him in his arms. He longed to have a warm body next to him that he could get lost in instead of thinking about what he had to do today; balancing the books, talking to his hosts, and getting things set up for tonight.
