Riyah wiped her face clean of a smile and cleared her throat as she looked at him again. “How are you feeling today?”
“Like shit. I had a rough night. I think you know that, though. How did you like that footage?” Something hard flashed through his silver eyes.
“I did watch it—”
“I asked you not to.”
“—because I need to see what living in here is really like for you.”
“You’re going to watch me break, Badass Princess.”
“I need to ensure you make it to the end of your sentence, and that means being involved in every stage of your transition here.”
“Riyah—"
“It doesn’t make you weak,” she said, cutting off his thoughts rattling around in her head. “But I need to see everything. For me. It helps.”
“Helps how? Seriously, how could watching me damn near bleed out every night help you?”
“You are a very powerful creature, Vyr Daye.”
“So?”
She glared at him. “Me, too.”
The cameras in the upper corners popped and sparked, and the lights went out. She was immersed in total darkness, and she could hear the guards yelling outside the hangar doors, as if they couldn’t open them. What the fuck?
“We have thirty seconds. What do you mean?” Vyr asked in the dark.
“Watching you suffer feeds my power. I fucking told you I’m not letting you die. If I have to step in, I need to be at the top of my game. Fuel me with your suffering, Red Dragon.”
A hand gripped her forearm in the dark, and she was yanked forward. And then his lips crashed onto hers. There was a powerful, vibrating rumble that rattled straight through her, but she didn’t care. Desperate for the last few seconds with him, she parted her lips and let him thrust his tongue inside her mouth. He slid his hand up her bare leg and under the hem of her dress to her panties. He made it to her upper thigh and gripped her so hard she gasped at the pleasure and pain. His fingers dug into her skin as he kissed her. Chaos reigned with the sounds of yelling and panic outside the hangar doors, but for this moment, it was just her and Vyr.
He bit her bottom lip hard and released her suddenly. “Compose yourself. You’ve got five seconds.”
Breath hitching, she straightened her dress and licked her bottom lip in case it was bleeding. She didn’t taste iron, though. She stood and picked up the chair, and when the lights came on, she was poised like a lion-tamer, keeping a big-cat away. Vyr sat on the bed, relaxed, hands unclenched as he watched her jab the chair legs at him.
“What just happened?” she screamed as the hangar doors blasted upward and a team of four wearing fireproof gear came slinking in, rifles trained on Vyr. “Who did that?”
“Technical glitch, ma’am,” one of the guards murmured as he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her back toward the open hangar door. “You’re okay. Everything’s okay. We’ve got you.”
And in the second just before the hangar door slammed closed, Vyr gifted her with a wicked smile.
Chapter Seven
“Well, what can we do to reduce the anger?” Riyah asked in her calmest voice as the giant grizzly shifter with the blazing white eyes glared at her from across her desk.
“Ain’t no quick fix, Doc. You can kill me, that’s about it.” He stood so quickly the chair behind him blasted backward and smashed into the wall, making yet another hole in the sheetrock. Great. “It was really fuckin’ nice to talk to you and get nothing accomplished but hey, at least I missed my shift at the commissary, and now I’m down another dollar of wage, so thanks a bunch for abso-fuckin-lutely nothin’.”
“Well maybe you should stop making shanks and plotting to kill your cellmate, Daniel,” she said cheerfully. “See you tomorrow.”
Daniel spat on the cement floor and flipped her off. Only his hands were in handcuffs behind his back, so she had to purse her lips against a smile at him struggling with his middle finger. Sometimes the inmates were awesome and wanted to improve their situation, and sometimes they were Daniels.
Two guards led him out of her office, and the door clicked closed behind him. She did her best not to jump out of her skin when he slammed his forehead against her front window and stared at her for three terrifying seconds before the guards shoved him down the hallway. Today had been a pill. And she missed Vyr. When she had these appointments, she shut him out so he didn’t get riled up. He didn’t like that she was in this room with the baddies of the prison. Didn’t like that he couldn’t help if she got in trouble. And sure, she was completely capable of handling herself in these situations since her training had prepared her for this job, but it was really nice having someone care if she was okay.
She pressed her finger on the screen of her tablet, waited for it to read her fingerprint, then entered in ilikebigdicksandicannotlie69 and then she said her name to get through all the security. When it opened up on her notes, she skipped to Vyr’s and began to read.
Subject Inmate: Vyr Daye
June 7 – First day of observation – Standoffish, defensive, very powerful, struggling for control, sick, defeated, quiet, angry, dragon is half-dead. Huge changes need to be made for him if he is to survive this another six months.
June 8 – Second day of observation – Last night was eventful. He was in my head. It was nerve-wracking at first, but then I was comfortable with him there very quickly. He controls a great deal of power, and no one knows what it’s like for him. This is a man who has been misunderstood his entire life, from the second he was born, and still, he hasn’t quit on humans. He didn’t stop trying to protect people from himself, even when they ripped him apart in the media. Flawed, deep-rooted anger stemming from childhood, showing a great devotion to very few, loyal, protective. Cute. He had a nosebleed though, and it opened my eyes to how bad things get for him locked down there. Things need to turn around immediately. I’m asking Emmitt to keep the lights on and give me 24/7 video access to Vyr. I’m also asking for an improvement to his diet and some sheets for his bed.