Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy #2) - G. Bailey Page 0,9
gorgeous, noble… Give me a thesaurus, and I can come up with even more.”
I snort. “I can guarantee that’s not necessary.”
“Maybe,” Landon replies thoughtfully. “But you can humour me, can’t you?”
I meet his eyes again from where I’m kneeling on the floor, and my heart skips a beat. I’m struck with the same pang of guilt and confusion that I felt in the forest with Hunter the other day. An image of Silas pops into my mind, but Landon’s presence in this moment is damn near overwhelming, and I find my reply sticking in my throat. As if reading my mind, Landon clears his throat and begins to examine his fingernails, saying, “I don’t want to step on any toes, though. You and Silas seem… close. If I’m making you uncomfortable, just tell me.”
“You’re not,” I assure him, getting to my feet and rubbing the back of my neck. The scattered clothes suddenly don’t seem as important as they did a few minutes ago. I feel the words threatening to spill out even before I can stop them. “I mean… close? Yeah, I’d say we are. But I don’t know how, exactly, you know?” I frown. “He hides it well, but I think he’s still struggling to get over what happened with Samantha.”
“Yeah.” Landon sighs. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. He’s strong to even have survived as long as he did. I’m glad you’ve been there for him.”
I blink, surprised. “Really?”
“Well… yeah.” He shrugs. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t be?”
I bite my lip. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought…” Shit. My words are getting away from me. I didn’t think we would end up here. “You were saying all that stuff just now… I kind of figured you were…”
Landon raises his eyebrows. “Jealous?” A grin spreads across his face, and he hops down from my bed. “Come on, Boots. Give me some credit. I’m pretty good at picking up on these things. I’m a siren, you know? We have a nose for romance.”
“I…” I clear my throat. “I guess that’s true.” Meeting his eyes, I bite my lip. “So that doesn’t bother you, then? Me and Silas?”
He shrugs. “Should it? I mean, it would be a little weird if you guys weren’t close, considering everything that’s happened. And as for the flirting…” The corner of his mouth twitches, setting off another rush of adrenaline in the pit of my stomach. “Like I said, I don’t want to make things weird for you. If it bothers you, tell me.”
“It doesn’t,” I reply honestly. “I… like it.”
“Good,” he says, taking a step closer to me, and the tension mounts even further. It dawns on me that we’re alone together in my room, with nothing to stop something from happening, if we wanted it to… But that familiar confusion is threatening to rear its ugly head. God, why is it so hard for me to talk about my feelings all of a sudden? “You know, I meant what I said,” he adds in a husky voice, reaching out and brushing a strand of hair out of my face. “None of those adjectives really does you justice.”
“Sweet talker,” I say, unable to pull my gaze away from his eyes, like chips of onyx gleaming against his dark skin.
He leans forward, and my heart threatens to beat out of my chest. Thoughts of Silas seem to flit away in the face of this gorgeous siren, and it’s all I can do not to swoon at the waves of sensuality that I feel coming off of Landon. He moves closer still, his hand lingering on my cheek, and I feel my eyelids flutter - this feels so dangerous, so complicated… Am I really about to go there with another one of my friends? His face is inches from mine, and I can make out the dusting of freckles on his nose. Landon pulls me close, closer still…
And then he flicks my nose. “Gotcha.”
I shove him playfully. “God, you’re starting to sound just like Shade.”
“Hey, hey, easy,” he laughs, rubbing his chest. “I can’t help it that I’m sexy. I’m a siren.”
I groan. “You use that line much, Landon?”
“All the time.” He grins. “Is it working?”
“You know,” I tell him, crossing my arms, “I think it just might be.”
Damn. I’m in so much trouble.
Lunch break is over, and Landon and I have gone our separate ways for the next classes of the day. I’m still reeling from what happened—what