Crescent Wolves - G. Bailey Page 0,55
to… presume. Or ruin what we had. I just feel like you’re mine and I would do anything, anything to keep your heart.” Tentatively, almost shyly, he reaches out to touch my face. His hand is warm and steady, and I find myself leaning into his touch. It feels like there’s a fire burning in my stomach as I look up at him, this dark, thoughtful dragon shifter who risked everything to find out the truth about my past.
“Silas,” I say quietly.
His lip twitches in a small smile, and then he kisses me. My head feels like it’s going to explode, his soft lips gentle against mine, the fire in my stomach now a raging inferno. In what little kissing experience I’ve had, I’ve never experienced anything like the passion I’m feeling right now, as his other arm wraps around me, pulling my body close to his.
Finally he pulls away, his eyes searching mine. “Boots?” he murmurs.
“Don’t stop,” I reply, and within moments my lips are on his again.
Chapter 23
I wouldn’t have thought I would end up sleeping well , but for the first time since the assembly, I find myself sleeping soundly. Having Silas next to me is comforting, and even though we’re cramped in the little dorm room bed, the feeling of his arms around me is enough to make it all worth it. We stopped kissing sometime later in the night and fell asleep, which I’m glad of. There’s no use denying now that I do feel something for Silas, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s a connection that’s lasted ever since I first met him. What this means for the future, I can’t say, but I feel safe in his arms. My mind is still in pieces over what he told me, but in the shelter of my dorm room, I’m able to put thoughts of experiments and conspiracies out of my mind.
The first thing I become aware of when I awake the following morning is the fact that Silas is no longer in bed with me. Groggy, I sit up in bed and see that light is streaming in through the window, and the sun is already high in the sky; it’s a Saturday, which means no classes, although activities have been fairly limited ever since the new security measures went into effect. Brow furrowing, I peer out the window to the clock--it’s almost eleven AM.
Slowly I get out of bed and get dressed out of my pajamas, wondering if maybe Silas has already woken up and gone to the bathroom. I take my time dressing, then return to sit on my bed for another few minutes while I wait for him to come back. It’s quiet in the dormitory, and I can hear the sounds of the other students beginning to move about. Still, nobody comes to my room, and after another spell of waiting, I pull out my phone and send Silas a quick text: Hey, where’d you go?
The message arrives but remains unread. Maybe he left his phone in my room…? But upon checking, I see that none of his stuff is here; he must have dressed and left. Sighing, I leave the room, glancing around at the other girls in the hallway as I make my way down to the common area. He might have gone down there to meet me, although why he wouldn’t wait for me, I have no idea. Maybe guys are just strange about these things.
The common room is bustling, but there’s no sign of the tall dragon shifter anywhere, and I begin to feel the first stirrings of unease. Silas still hasn’t opened my message. Not wanting to wait any longer, I approach the first boy who comes down from the dorms and ask, “Excuse me--did you happen to see Silas Aconite up there?”
“Silas?” The boy frowns. “Now that you mention it, no. He didn’t come to bed last night. Hey,” he adds jokingly, “maybe whatever got that Brody kid got him, too.”
I give him a thin smile but don’t laugh. Stop it, I tell myself. You’re just being paranoid.
Am I, though?
My worry only grows as I leave the dormitory building and begin to wander around the campus, asking the people I pass if they’ve seen Silas. Those who even know who he is tell me that they haven’t seen him since last night, and his dorm room is shut and locked. I make a sweep of the campus,