Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

Fiona

I ’d come to Vyk’s quarters ready to unload on him. I’d even had a list of grievances ready to list out, starting with his outrageous demand that I spend the night with him. Then he’d opened the door with his usual stern expression and bits of white down stuck to his beard. It had been impossible to stay livid when the guy looked like he’d buffed his cheeks with a gosling.

I couldn’t imagine how the stuff had gotten there, since I could tell from even the most cursory of glances that his quarters contained nothing that wasn’t black or dark gray. But I also couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t there. It would be like letting a woman walk around with a strip of toilet paper clinging to the bottom of her shoe. It wasn’t in me to ignore it .

When I reached up to brush it from his face, he’d reacted as if I was going to strike him. I froze, choosing not to struggle. One, he was considerably bigger and stronger than me. I could already tell from the strength of his grip that he could shatter my wrist if he wanted. But I also didn’t want him to think I was a threat. I thought about reminding him that he was the one who had requested—no, required—my presence, but that seemed overly aggressive, considering my position.

I searched his eyes, noting for the first time that they held traces of fear, although I had no idea why the Drexian would ever fear me. “You don’t trust very easily, do you?”

He did not glance away. “I am a security chief for a warrior school that our enemy would love to destroy.”

I steadied my breath, even though the touch of his flesh was sending tingles across my skin. It was all I could do not to imagine the gruff warrior holding both of my wrists as he pinned me to the bed. Instead, I tilted my head. “Do I look like the enemy?”

For a moment, I thought he might say yes. His gaze roamed my face, as if searching for treachery. I didn’t know all of Vyk’s story, but it was clear the guy had been through enough shit to make him suspect everyone, even a woman half his size. I wondered if the fact that he had been part of a plot at the academy against humans made him even more wary of me. Did he think I’d been biding my time to take revenge on him?

Come to think of it, that wouldn’t have been a bad idea, if I was the vengeance type. But grudges had never been my style. If I’d held onto grievances as I’d worked my way through the military, I would have been nothing but a ball of fury held together with hairbands and mascara. It wasn’t that I didn’t remember what the commander had done, but I wasn’t willing to let it eat me up.

As if he’d finally realized that he could snap my wrist if he sneezed too hard, Vyk released my arm. I reached over and plucked the fuzz that had snagged onto his beard, being careful to be gentle and not make sudden movements. I handed it to him. “I like the silver, but you’re not ready to go full Santa Claus yet.”

Then I slipped past him into his quarters, heading straight for the fireplace. I guess being the security chief had its perks, or maybe all the Drexian staff members had bigger rooms than mine. All I knew was that the rooms in the female tower where all the human women stayed did not have fireplaces with sitting areas like this.

I released a contented hum as I stood facing the flames. If I’d known he had a fireplace, I might not have been so reluctant to come, although I wasn’t going to say that out loud. I also wasn’t going to tell him that his fireplace reminded me of a smaller version of the one in Admiral Zoran’s hidden study. That would mean explaining why I was there—to improve my card game—who had taken me—the Admiral’s adjunct, and who had given his approval—Admiral Zoran himself.

I slowly spun to warm my backside. Only then did I see that Vyk sat in one of the chairs facing the fire watching me. I bit back a sharp comment. It wasn’t like there were lots of seating options. The room might be bigger than mine, but it wasn’t cavernous.

“What is a Santa Claus?”

His question caught me off guard, and I blinked at him a few times. “What?” Then I remembered that I’d told him he wasn’t ready to go full Santa Claus, forgetting that the Drexians didn’t have Christmas or Santa. “Oh, it’s an Earth thing. He’s a fat elf with a white beard.”

He scowled. “You think I could be a fat elf?” He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. “What is an elf?”

I exhaled. I hadn’t thought I’d be explaining human customs like Santa, and I hadn’t known how hard they were to explain without any context. “It depends on your preference. If you want to go with the Christmas version, they’re short little creatures who wear pointy shoes. Except for Santa, who is inexplicably chubby and human-sized. Or you could go with the Tolkien version, in which case elves are tall, immortal, and incredibly hot. Oh, and both versions have pointy ears.”

He stared at me. “You are making this up.”

I laughed and shook my head. “I am not. Ask anyone. I mean, ask any human.” When his glower didn’t fade, I added, “I only meant that the white fluff made your beard look white, like Santa. That’s all.”

He grunted and gave a curt nod. “Earth is a strange place.”

“Sometimes, but I’ll bet Drexians have customs that seem normal to you but would seem weird to an outsider.”

“We do not.”

His certainty that his culture made total sense should have annoyed me, but it only made me laugh more. “Whatever you say.”

I didn’t know why the guy was so hostile and defensive. He was the one who’d wanted me to come to his quarters. I slid my gaze to his bed and the one fluffy pillow and the one deflated one. Suddenly, I understood the source of the white fluff. “You want to tell me what the pillow did to piss you off?”

Vyk jerked his head to the pillow that still had remnants of its insides poking out the frayed end. He emitted a low sound of frustration.

I got the sensation of being locked in a cage with a wild animal who’d been agitated. All that was missing was him stalking back and forth with a tail twitching. Since I had no intention of being pounced on, I decided to change the rules of the game.

“Our deal was that I would owe you three nights. I don’t know about you, but I usually sleep at night.” I kicked off one boot and then the other as I sauntered toward the bed. “I don’t like overly filled pillows anyway, so I’ll take the flat one.”

I tugged back the gray blanket and slipped into the bed, curling to the side and facing away from Vyk. I was taking a huge chance by turning my back on someone who was big enough to overpower me in a heartbeat, but for some bizarre reason, I was sure that he was more afraid of me. I closed my eyes and forced myself to ignore the sounds of him standing and moving toward the bed.

Had I made another bad gamble?