Her thumb moved in soft circles on my shoulder and I closed my eyes. Yelena didn’t seem so scary now. It was hard to be as on guard with her as I should when I could fall asleep with the next breath and she was patiently cradling me.
I had no idea how long we sat there. I drifted in and out of sleep in her arms and finally woke to the sound of her purr and heartbeat steady in my ear. My neck was stiff and my legs prickled with pins and needles when I sat up and shifted. Yelenawas just as close as before, sweet, spicy scent filling each breath. Her fingers cupped my cheeks, her gaze flickering over mine. My heart kicked into gear. Were all shifters this unfairly attractive? Surely they couldn’tallbe this beautiful, but all the ones I’d seen so far were definitely on the top of the pretty pyramid.
“Feeling better, precious?”
“Mhmm.” Her thumb brushed over my cheek and warmth rushed under her touch. “Why do you call me that?”
Her head quirked. “Precious? That’s what you are—brought to me by the gods, foretold in Haru’s dreams, and meant to be mine. Precious is exactly the title you should have.”
“Oh.” My stomach fizzed with butterflies and molten heat, and my heart buzzed frantically. Yelena’s golden gaze pierced right through me. Her hand slid under my jaw, thumb and forefinger holding my chin so I couldn’t look anywhere else.
I leaned in, almost magnetized toward her, and before I even felt like I’d moved she was right there, soft, full lips brushing against mine. Heat rocketed down to my toes. I pulled back a second later, though she didn’t let me get very far. Struggling to get my breathing under control, I pressed my hands to my thighs and dug in my nails for an anchor.
Yelena brushed her thumb over my bottom lip and let me sit back a bit more. “Do you want to tell me what’s going through your head right now?”
“I dunno that I could verbalize it.”
Yelena smoothed her other hand over my hair and cupped my neck, lightly pinning me in place as surely as if she’d leashed my collar to the wall. “Try.”
I swallowed hard. “I want to feel safe and comfortable and I…I know you’re probably used to getting anything you want. I don’t know what you want from me. From any of us. I don’t think thatthiswould be a good idea.”
She nodded and sat back.
“You’re very pretty,” I continued. “Like,sopretty, but I want to know that we’re going to be okay and have some space with Caden and Seth to just breathe for a moment.”
“Understood.” Yelena helped me stand and I followed her to the elevator on wobbly legs, my stomach churning nervously. “Haru and I will let you have the suite until tonight.”
I perked up. “Really? You don’t mind?”
“I’ll have to confer more with the other Protectors anyway, and it’s been a while since we’ve eaten in the dining hall.” She took my hand and pulled me through the open elevator doors. My stomach flipped at the contact. I leaned against the mirrored walls since I was still unbalanced, and she punched in the code that let us access the suite floor before it rose up.
“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand. “I don’t want you to feel like you need to leave, but the downtime is appreciated.”
The elevator doors opened at her suite and we stepped out. She put in the code to let us inside and all three of the occupants turned toward us. Caden was by my side instantly, tugging me into his arms.
Yelena looked around us. “Come, Haru. We’ll eat in the dining hall tonight.”
He nodded and slipped past us, the two of them stepping onto the elevator together.
“Stay in the suite,” Yelena ordered. “I’ll have something sent up.”
Yelena and Haru left us, a heaviness dropped out of the air as the doors closed.
Icould hear Caden’s purr from across the room. Logan was barely visible, wrapped up in his arms.
Caden huffed a sigh. “I was ready to take Haru hostage and force them to show me where Yelena had taken you.”
“How long was I gone?” Logan asked.
“Almost three hours.” My voice sounded croaky in my ears. I’d felt her the entire time, like a steady second heartbeat in mychest. I wasn’t sure what all had happened while she was gone. The flares of warmth and magic had been almost constant at a certain point, and the pulses of lust and confusion had offered some clues, but not enough to craft a narrative for myself. I couldn’t tell if the lust was because Logan was scared of Yelena or if she was into her—neither of which I blamed her for.
The alpha lioness oozed authority and power, so it stood to reason Logan’s feelings could go either way, or in both directions. The wolf was no different, but Haru’s authority was quieter, softer. Betas tended to slip under the radar like that with less in-your-face power, but it was still effective.
“The doctor came up to check on me while you were gone.” Haru had taken a keen interest in me while the doctor did my treatments, focusing their warm gaze on me the entire time. He was just as attentive and sweet as I remembered from our time in Orlando.
Logan slid out of Caden’s grip and jogged over to me. My heart leapt when she leaned down to kiss me and I lifted a shaky arm to slide my fingers into her hair. I breathed in her jasmine and forest scent as she pulled away to let her forehead rest on mine.
“What did the doctor say?”