I reached over the coffee table that separated us, patting his knee. “You’ll always have me,” I promised.
Someone knocked on the door then, and Tariq jumped up to answer it.
Cabe appeared on the other side, seeming larger-than-life beside my lanky brother. He notched his shoulder against the inside of the door jamb, raising his eyebrows at me for a moment, though there was humour dancing in the depths of his toffee eyes.
“Car’s about to leave,” he informed us.
“Alright, I’ll just grab my bag.” Tariq disappeared into the bedroom and I moved out into the hallway, trying to avoid Cabe’s attention.
“Morning, pretty ghost.” He tugged on a lock of my hair, his tone teasing.
“Lucifer.” I finally looked at him, but only to narrow my eyes at him.
He shook his head as Tariq reappeared, and we met the others at the elevator. My face flamed red as I also avoided looking at them. Quillan didn’t tease me the way Cabe had. In fact, he seemed to be avoiding acknowledging me every bit as much as I was avoiding acknowledging him. When we realised that there were too many people to all sit in the back of the limo, I quickly opted to take the front passenger seat, next to Arnold.
“How’s it going, Miss?” Arnold asked me, turning the classical music playing on his radio down a notch.
“I’m good, Arnold.” I smiled at the older man. “How are you? Thanks for taking Tariq shopping, by the way.”
“I’ll take that boy shopping over driving Lord Weston back and forth from Seattle any day. It’s me who should be thanking you.” Arnold’s wrinkled face pulled into a grin, and I found myself liking him immensely.
“In that case, you’re welcome.” I laughed.
I reached over and turned his music back up, and his smile widened, setting into his cheeks. I relaxed into the seat, my mind wandering to the people sitting behind the film of glass that separated us. I could feel them: concentrated forms of energy all tethered to me. Cabe had a certain light to his essence, and I could almost reach out and feel the heat of his proximity. Noah felt different… he was more of pull, something that tugged at me every now and then, never allowing me to forget that he was there; never allowing my attention to stray from him for long. I even had a keener sense for Quillan since the second bonding: he was a force that hovered over me, a sort of darkness that chained me to where I stood, wrapping me in shadowy velvet. I wished Silas were in the back so that I could examine him, too.
When we pulled up to the campus, I thanked Arnold and said goodbye to Tariq before joining everyone in a huddle to watch the car drive away. The silent giants were as alert as ever; Andrei nodded in greeting but Hans didn’t pause in his scanning of the surrounds.
“You’re with me now,” Quillan said, checking his watch. “Might as well walk together.”
I shuffled to his side and Cabe patted my shoulder before moving off. “Be nice, Professor!” he called back to Quillan.
Noah punched him in the arm and shot a glance back to me before dragging his brother away. He looked as wary as I felt. Quillan ignored them both as I fell into step beside him, keeping quiet until we were inside the lecture hall. Quillan had paused inside the doorway, turning to look at the silent giants. Andrei grunted and backed out, allowing Quillan to shut the door on them. He made his way down the aisle to the bottom of the hall before pushing into the paper room, which had undergone another transformation. It now held a canvas propped up on an easel in the middle of the room, and a selection of paints scattered on a table beside it, along with a collection of brushes, and several clean rags.
I moved wordlessly to the canvas, sitting on the stool and running my fingers over the rough white surface.
“Are you angry at me?” I asked eventually.
“I’m angry at myself.” He exhaled, stretching his hands out by his sides as though he were nervous, before curling his fingers into loose fists. “It was much easier to stay away from you when you were resisting the bond. Now… it’s bordering on impossible, but I seem to be the only one trying to maintain any distance.”
I nodded at my lap, suddenly feeling the burn in my ears that hinted at my blush. “Do you want me to maintain distance? With all of them?”
“Yes—no—I don’t know. I don’t think that they’re the problem.”
“Then who’s the problem?” I asked, looking up from my lap.
“Not who. What. It was that kiss.” He walked to where I was perched, his eyes heavy on my face. “I kissed you. I surprised myself… and you surprised me.”