Remember that, I told him with my eyes, then turned and let Kols say his good night.
Rather than wait for him in the hall, I went to the guest room and closed the door. There would be no dream-walking tonight. Aflora deserved her time with Shade. Even if it did make me want to break something.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aflora
I clasped my cloak around my neck, my fingers drawing over the collar beneath. Kols had taken it off me again last night, then held me while I slept in his bed. Zeph hadn’t joined us, choosing to stay in the guest room for the fourth day in a row.
It sort of felt like he was avoiding me. Although, I’d seen and spoken to him several times because he’d essentially moved into Kols’s guest suite. And he’d led class yesterday, as well as two days before that, so he wasn’t entirely evading me. He just had this distant air about him that I didn’t understand.
We also hadn’t been intimate since the day I returned with Shade—an oddity only because we’d spent every day for a week prior to that getting to know each other between the sheets. Then this week, he’d barely kissed me.
Something was definitely bothering him.
Which, in turn, left me uneasy.
Shade had sent a message saying he’d meet us in the village later. He wanted to check on Ajax because he hadn’t been in class since the attack on the tavern. I’d told him not to worry about me, that I’d be fine with Zeph. But as I studied myself in the mirror, I wondered if that were true.
Then the male in question knocked on my door, his voice soft as he uttered my name from the hallway. “Are you ready?” he added in that same tone.
I swallowed and nodded, more to myself than to him since he couldn’t see me. “Yeah,” I called back to him, then grabbed my wand from my nightstand, tucked it into my cloak, and met him at the threshold of my room.
His green eyes roamed over me with interest, his lips curling a little. “Casual looks good on you,” he murmured, noting my jeans and cream-colored sweater. I had on a pair of boots as well that covered my calves up to my knees. It seemed a bit strange, but Ella showed me how to wear them on the outside of my pants. She claimed it was all the rage in the Human Realm.
Some days I really missed my Elemental Fae roots and the wardrobe that came with it. Those outfits were far simpler and nature friendly. Mostly because I used to make my clothes out of the earth.
These were… not as natural.
But Zeph seemed to approve.
He wrapped his palm around my nape, drawing me to him for a long, sensuous kiss that had me wondering if I’d just misunderstood his behavior these last few days. Because wow. His tongue really knew how to engage mine. I hummed against him in approval, my body melting into his as one of his arms cradled my lower back while his opposite remained against my neck.
Minutes passed, his warmth bleeding into me and claiming me in a sensual manner. I pressed my palms to his black sweater, the soft material gliding across his hard abdomen beneath.
He nipped my lower lip, then deepened our kiss with a groan before walking me backward into my room. It was the wrong direction, but I didn’t mind. I’d missed him. I’d missed this.
And it was our first time doing this without any sort of audience.
Because we were finally alone.
Pleasure zipped down my spine, my heart racing with excitement.
Yes, yes. More, please.
Zeph must have read the need building inside me, because the arm around my back slid lower, his palm grabbing my ass to yank me flush against his growing arousal. I moaned in response, my fingers gliding up his sweater to his broad shoulders.
The back of my knees hit the edge of my bed, when a giggling in the hallway interrupted our moment. Zeph broke away from me so quickly I nearly fell onto the mattress, but my legs locked into place, keeping me upright.
“You think that’s cute, do you?” Tray asked, sounding genuinely amused by whatever Ella had just done.
The door to their bedroom closed as Ella replied, “I do, yep. If you’re nice to me, I’ll consider handling that issue for you later.”
“Oh, you’ll be handling it all right, El. I guarantee it.”
“Now who’s being cocky?”
“I called