The longer we sit there together, the more my brain begins to work and information filters in. This man doesn’t trust me, sitting here on top of him is going to cost me big time the moment I get up, and I’m going to have to move soon because nature calls.
There’s also a lot of talk happening about whether or not the Resistance is going to retaliate against us in the next seventy-two hours that has me tensing and an icy bead of sweat rolling down my spine.
What if I’ve led them here, to my Bonds and my friends, and we’re about to be wiped out?
My panic must be obvious because the chatter stops around me and then there’s movement. I turn my head just as Gryphon reaches us, bending until he’s at eye level with me, his gaze sharp on my face as he assesses me. “What’s wrong, what do you need? Anything, Bonded.”
I can’t say it out loud. I can’t admit what it is that’s tearing me in half right now, so I take the coward's way out and send the words directly to him as I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t want to leave him, but I need the bathroom. I don’t want to lose this.
There’s a moment of quiet and then I hear rustling, the tight arms around me gently falling away. I have to swallow the whimper that creeps up my throat, and I keep my eyes shut until Gryphon’s hands tug me away from the warmth and security I’m clinging to.
The air in the room is cold against my exposed skin, and he’s quick to get a sweater over my head that smells like Nox. I take a deep lungful of that scent and finally open my eyes, just in time to see the furious look on North’s face as Gryphon slides my arms into the sweater. His body acts as a shield from the rest of the room so that no one can see me. This time I’m choking down tears at the next round of rejection I’m going to face from my Bond.
Don’t think like that. He’s pissed that Hannity and Rockelle are insisting on the debrief happening now so that he can’t just tend to you like he wants to. No one is rejecting you, Bonded. Not now, not ever.
I don’t even argue with Gryphon for reading my mind. I can’t let myself believe what he’s saying. I can’t afford to open myself up to that kind of pain, but then North’s eyes flick back down to mine and I watch them soften.
Soften.
He leans forward until my breath catches in my throat. It feels like he’s about to kiss me, right here for the first time, in front of God knows who, and my cheeks heat, but instead he murmurs to me quietly, “Go with Gryphon. I’ll get this wrapped up as soon as I can.”
His hands hold onto my hips as I stand, keeping me steady until I’m sure my legs won’t give out, and the second I wince at my first step, Gryphon wraps an arm around my waist. I allow myself one last glance at North’s face before we leave him behind, and if I thought his hands felt desperate on me earlier, they had nothing on the dark possession in his eyes now.
He’s staring at me like I’m prey.
I glance quickly away and let Gryphon lead me out of the room slowly. I keep my eyes on the ground so that no one can see the shock I’m experiencing. When I curse at the pain in my freshly healed thigh, Gryphon murmurs, “Felix said you need to stretch the muscles out, otherwise I’d just carry you. He’s told me not to take the pain away so that he can check up on it again and get more accurate in the healing, but if it’s too bad, I’ll just carry you. Fuck what he says.”
I shake my head and grit my teeth. “He’s a Healer, we should do what he says. It’s not so bad, more of an old ache than pain anyway. Please tell me there’s a toilet nearby though, because it’s about to get awkward as hell if we have to make it back to my room.”
He shakes his head at my stupid attempts at humor, walking me over to a bathroom only two doors down, and then I spend way too long convincing him to leave me alone to pee. He tries to talk me into letting him stay in there with his back to me, but there’s no freaking way I could pee like that. No way, and he’s crazy for even suggesting it.
Brutus pops out from behind my ear and jumps down onto the tiles in front of my feet. Tears fill my eyes because I’m tired, emotional, and so fucking relieved to have him back. Seriously, the few hours we’d been apart were too much for me now, and it occurs to me that Nox now holds a massive trump card over me.
If he takes this puppy away from me, I will break in half.
The moment Gryphon hears the toilet flush, he’s rushing back into the room, his eyes raking over me like he’s checking for any damage I might have taken while sitting on the goddamned toilet, and I huff at him.