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“Y ou’re up.”

Kai heard the voice behind her. She didn’t need to turn from the window to see who stood there.

Not only did she recognize Aodh’s rough, baritone vibrato, but the tug on her body announced it.

The all-consuming heat made her heart race.

It was like moving too close to the sun.

The closer he got, the more the blaze grew from her core outward.

She would love to fight it and stand firm against his pull on her, but it was impossible to resist him.

Hell, if she had any chance of resisting, it would have been before the days she spent in his bed, in his arms, with him driving hard between her thighs, satisfying all her senses and touching something deep inside her.

An area she hadn’t known existed until him.

She didn’t know how to respond to the feelings and emotions he stirred. It scared the shit out of her. If she felt this way now, once Morlie felt better and they needed to leave, how would she walk away and not feel ripped apart?

These are crazy thoughts, Kai. She gave herself a mental shake.

But she’d been trying to keep those ideas from spinning since she awakened after bathing.

She’d dressed and ate, still no closer to ridding herself of the harassing questions.

The tray Tana had brought her sat empty and waiting for the efficient attendant to come and get it.

The first time Tana had brought her food, Kai had wondered how’d she ever consume so much.

She’d struggled to get down half of it. Now, she was cleaning her plate easily.

She found herself ravenous for food over the last three days.

She knew the increase in appetite had a lot to do with the vigorous activities she’d engaged in with Aodh.

For the last twenty minutes, she’d stood at the window staring at the bright-purple sun now high in the sky.

From the angle of Aodh’s suites, she could see very little on the ground, with the ledge blocking her view, but there was strange activity in the air.

She’d seen more than a few massive shadows moving through the early morning clouds, and when it was light enough, she saw the fast-flying images so high up she’d gone out on the ledge, not too far, and glanced up to try and get a better view to no avail.

She knew what they were. Even as her mind tried to fathom what Aodh had told her, his kind were—dragon-shifters. So, dragons were flying up, way up in the sky. The sight made her shiver, her blood under the heat of the second sun at such large fire-breathing beasts.

Standing outside, which had taken all her body’s strength to push the humungous sliding glass door open enough for her to step through, trying to see creatures that didn’t want to be seen. She felt useless. Were they hiding from her? Not wanting to be seen by the human?

She sighed. You’re not that important, Kai.

If she weren’t important, Morlie wouldn’t be important to anyone but her. It was why she’d been standing at the window feeling anxious, hoping she’d see when Aodh returned so she could see her sister.

“Yes, for a while now.” She turned.

He stood behind her. His turquoise-opal eyes traveled along her body slowly until they met hers.

She fisted her hand to keep from squirming under his hot gaze.

“You’re dressed. The clothes fit you well.” The blue heat in his gaze clued her into the words he’d left unsaid.

Those words didn’t need to be said. She understood that Aodh preferred her how he left her, naked and ready for him.

Her thighs tightened with the knowledge.

She had done a great job while he was away, convincing herself that since she didn’t have an adverse reaction to the powder this time, she would not have the same response to Aodh.

The tingling and achy feeling of her sex and nipples would not be an issue.

However, when she heard his voice and felt the heat of his presence, she knew that was not the case. Her response to Aodh was still just as intense.

That freaked her out because she couldn’t blame anything outside herself for responding to him.

“They are nice, but I would have preferred my things.” She glanced down at the loose-fitting dress.

It flowed around her body onto the floor.

The soft, light material—more delicate than anything she’d felt on her body before—covered her from shoulders to feet.

She was bare beneath it, and it made her feel vulnerable.

She wasn’t sure why since it had been weeks since she had underclothing, but at least she’d had pants.

“Your things were not fit to be worn any longer.”

“They were still mine,” she stomped away, trying to keep space between them. If Aodh got too close or touched her, she wasn’t sure she could keep her body from giving in. Even now, she was craving his touch and had to press her thighs together to ease the ache. “I want them back.”

He pivoted, tracking her with his gaze. “Most likely, they have been incinerated.

She gasped. “No.” She rushed forward, forgetting to keep away. Clutching his vest, she demanded, “Those are my things. No one had the right to destroy them.” She banged against his chest with her fist.

“They were tattered pieces of material. I’m surprised they even held up on you.” Aodh didn’t try to pry her hands off him. His body standing firm as if she were a silly gnat attacking a giant.

“I don’t care what you think of them. The jacket was my father’s and—” Her voice broke away as she thought about the gold bands that belonged to her parents, a symbol of their love for each other—something she would never have. Perhaps there was still hope for Morlie to find love one day.

He stared at her for a moment, silent.

She hated being under his perceptive scrutiny. Letting him go, she stepped away. Now, Morlie was indeed all she had left in this world. “I want to see my sister.”

With a quick nod, he started toward the door.

Pissed with their exchange, she followed the hulking male. As they left the room and headed down the stairs, she took several breaths, forcing herself to stay calm. She was going to see her sister, and that was where her focus needed to be.

Morlie. Morlie. Morlie . She kept repeating her sister’s name.

Since waking on clean sheets after her bath, her mind became inundated with guilt, once again, at how she’d spent her days instead of being by her sister’s side.

She vowed it would not happen again. She’d now kept her word to Aodh and given her body over to him.

Repeatedly. There wasn’t any further need for her to do it again.

There was a shot of pain that went through her body at the thought of not being with him. She ignored it.

When they arrived at the medical room, Kai rushed in when Aodh opened the door. She was anxious to see her sister. In the antechamber, she stopped at the glass wall.

“Morlie?” She could see Morlie now. The room only had wisps of white smoke floating around.

Staring at the bed, she saw her sister’s body, still prone.

She wasn’t strapped down to the bed any longer.

Her face, which had once held a gray cast, now looked healthy and vibrant.

Her eyes were still closed, but her chest lifted and lowered even and steady.

Kai exhaled. She let all the worry and tension leave her body. The fear that knotted in her gut and made her feel ill when she thought of losing her sister settled. Morlie was going to make it. She wouldn’t lose her like her parents to the horrid virus.

“Can I go in to her?” She glanced away from Morlie to Aodh.

He was standing next to her. It surprised her that he wasn’t staring at Morlie but fixed his eyes on her. Reaching out, he dragged a thumb over her cheek.

She saw the wetness on his finger when he pulled it away. Kai hadn’t realized she’d been crying. She swiped at her face to stop the stream, but more fell.

“She will be all right. The worst is over now.” Aodh confirmed her hopes. “You can’t go in yet.”

“I want—”

“Soon,” he cut her off. “The healing smoke is almost gone. It is good for Morlie but bad for you.”

Rolling her bottom lip in, she swallowed back the accusations on her tongue. Shifting her gaze back to her sister, she said. “I won’t leave her again.”

She caught Aodh’s short nod. “I will have Tana bring your evening meal here.”

Kai looked at him. Stunned, she couldn’t believe that he’d agreed so fast. She would have thought he’d press her on sex. Give some reason that she had to return to his bed since Morlie hadn’t recovered yet.

“Thank you.”

Instead of responding, Aodh walked away.

She turned her head and followed him. He didn’t leave. Instead, he went to one of the oversized chairs against a far wall. Picking it up, he brought it to where she stood.

“Sit,” he commanded.

Lowering her body to the seat, she folded her legs in the chair and rearranged the dress skirt so it wouldn’t get tangled up. “Thank you.”

“I have things that require my attention.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before he walked out.

Kai sat stunned, staring at the now-closed door. She felt some way about him just leaving her.

What did you expect?

She didn’t have a response to the question. Maybe part of her was disappointed he’d given in to her demand that she stay by her sister’s side. Was it that easy for him to walk away from her? Has he gotten his fill from me?

Her fists tightened in her lap as she tried to bury the thoughts of him seeking out Ninki. The woman had told Kai plainly that she was his past and future lover. So, Kai knew if Aodh went to the other woman, she’d welcome him with open arms.

Kai’s teeter-totter emotions were making her feel nauseous.

They would probably laugh at the inexperienced human who’d rolled around for three days in his bed.