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“I let myself in using your code. I hope you don’t mind.”
****
Rakkur
As it turned out, he did mind. Very much. He tossed me out of his room, and I’d hardly seen him for the past two days except for when he escorted me somewhere. I’d been good and I hadn’t tried to go anywhere alone, because I’d already pushed him pretty far.
I’d given him a couple of days to cool off, though, and I’d decided to come back to try to wear him down. I was currently standing in his room, watching him sleep. Tariq was snoring softly on his bunk beside me.
He slept in the nude, like most Tygerians did, so I was being very careful not to touch him and keep a little distance between us. After the last time I sneaked in, he had spoken very sternly to me and told me in no uncertain terms that if I did it again, he’d be forced to tell my parents.
So here I was, doing it again.
It had seemed obvious to me that I could talk him out of telling my father when I was safely in my room. Now that I was here, though, I wasn’t at all confident about what he’d do once he woke up. Oh, I was confident he’d be furious and get that face again, the one that looked as if he’d just stubbed his toe on a razor blade, and it was all my fault. But I still held out hope.
I was hopeful that calling my parents was just a bluff, and I could eventually talk him into doing what I wanted him to do.
I had a lot of practice in sneaking around quietly, not to mention getting my way, or else I’d never have managed to get out of the palace to join my friends at all. There was always hell to pay when I got home, because Blake had discovered I was missing by then. Occasionally, he’d send the guards out after me, but usually, he was just waiting for my footsteps in the hall.
Yesterday, when I got into Tariq’s room, I’d used the code that I’d seen him put in the keypad the very first day onboard the ship—and if he really wanted to keep me out, why hadn’t he changed that code? At home we used retina scans, but that wasn’t practical for rooms used by a lot of different people on a constantly changing basis, so the numbers he punched in made it much easier. But I knew he still could have changed it if he’d really wanted to.
I’d thought he’d maybe change it that first night I caught him in the shower, and he’d kicked me out, but he still hadn’t, which led me to believe he didn’t really want to. At least not consciously. Some part of him was enjoying this game we were playing, or at least I really hoped so.
Carefully, I eased myself over him so that I was straddling him, making sure we had nothing between us. His eyes immediately popped open, and he seized my hands, so I quickly bent and pressed my lips firmly against his. For one fleeting second, he moaned softly, and then he picked me up and literally tossed me off the bed onto the floor.
“Ouch! That hurt,” I said, rubbing my backside and looking up at him resentfully.
He was sitting up in bed like an outraged virgin, holding the covers to his chest and glaring at me. “It serves you right. Rakkur, and this has to stop. It’s the second time you’ve broken into my room.”
I stood up and took a step closer to the bed. “‘Breaking in’ is such a strong term. I just want to talk. It’ll help me so much, and no one will ever know.”
“I’ll know, Rakkur, and I won’t do it. You already saw what can happen that first time I transformed in front of you. You could have been hurt. Besides, it’s a complete betrayal of trust. Of your parents and my own oath. What kind of person would I be if I did what you ask?”
“The kind that helped me in my time of need. You won’t hurt me, because your tyger thinks of me as its mate. Besides, he’s getting used to me now, and you’ve stopped transforming.” I held up a hand as he opened his mouth to protest or tell me off. “I know, I know. I’ve heard it all before. You still don’t feel the same way as your tyger. You don’t love me and it’s only a biological attraction. I’ve heard it all a million times.”
“Not that it’s done any good.”
“But don’t you see, this plan of mine will work. It will help you. If I can make this king happy, then he’ll make a good offer to me, and I’ll move far away. You’ll never have to see me again.”
“No. Now leave before people start moving around and someone sees you coming out of my room at this time of morning.”
“Are you sure you won’t just talk to me? One time, and then I’ll leave you alone.”
I got the look again—the one I hated so much—and I sighed as I gave up and turned to leave.
“Get dressed and I’ll take you to lift weights.”
“I’ve told you I don’t need anyone to take me anywhere.” I said, glaring at him. “If you won’t do as I ask, then forget it. I don’t feel like working out anyway. Go about your own business and I’ll do the same, and I won’t bother you anymore. Ever!” I spun around and ran to the door, still giving him plenty of time to call me back. He didn’t.
I knew I was being an ass, but I couldn’t seem to stop. I knew he’d been trying to make me understand there was no way he was going to agree to my big plan, and what I was doing was simply harassment. If someone had done it to me, they’d have been arrested. So why couldn’t I seem to stop doing it to him?
Once in my room, I flopped down on my bed. I hadn’t been kidding about not working out. I was no longer in the mood. I’d spent days trying to tease and entice him and he’d stood by the wall like a statue, completely unmoved by anything I did. Every morning, we went to work out, and he closed the door of the weight room and locked it so no one else could come in while I was there. Then he stood silently by the wall staring into space. Sometimes, he’d call out a word or two if he thought I was doing something wrong or lifting too much weight, but mostly he seemed to just be waiting until I was done.
Four hells, maybe I should take him at his word when he told me he had no real interest in me. This was a lost cause, and I was making a fool of myself. It was time I took no for an answer, because he’d been clear. I couldn’t make him love me.
Except occasionally, he kept giving me hope.
Each day, after I finished working out, he’d escort me back to my room so I could shower, while he waited in the corridor. Then we went to first meal, where he mostly talked to the other Imperials and ignored me. However, if anyone tried to engage me in conversation, he’d glare at them until it got uncomfortable for everyone involved, and they stopped.
