the whole idea of mates, yet it didn’t seem to fully kick in until changelings had spent some time in Otherworld. What if you were drawn to the wrong fae, only to find out you had a bond with another? It seemed like a lot of unnecessary drama.
“This was all they could find for us,” Liam said when he opened the door to the room. I’d stayed inside, perched on a knotted wooden chair, shivering while he went in search of some clean, dry clothes. He held up a white linen pillowcase and grinned.
I arched a brow. “You don’t really expect me to wear a pillowcase.”
“It’s not a pillowcase,” he said, chuckling, and then he closed the door behind him. “It’s a nightdress. It belonged to the owner’s ex-wife, but it’s the only thing she left behind. Unfortunately, it’s either this, your wet clothes, or your birthday suit.”
Cheeks flaming, I frowned down at the drenched clothes that were clawing at my skin. As much as I hated to admit it, I really did need to change. If I stayed like this, not only would I spend the whole night shivering, I’d have to wear damp, dirty clothes all the way back to the Academy in the morning. If I didn’t hang them up, they’d never get dry.
And I definitely wasn’t going to wear nothing at all.
As tempting as it was.
“Okay.” I held out a hand toward the pillowcase gown. “I’ll change, but not because you said so.”
He smirked and tossed me the gown. “No, I know why you’re changing. It’s because you don’t think you’d be able to control yourself if you were naked in the bed with me.”
I rolled my eyes and shoved the wet cloak off my shoulders. “Has anyone ever told you how full of yourself you are? It’s like your ego is ten times the size of your head.”
“My ego is exactly the right size, as is everything else about me.” He leaned forward and slid his finger along the hemline of my trousers. I froze, lungs squeezing. “Do you need help with those or are you just going to stand there gawking at me?”
Irritation flickered inside me, an emotion that was mixed with a hint of excitement. Somehow, Liam was able to simultaneously annoy the shit out of me and draw me in at the same time. That fact alone made me want to throttle him. And then make up for it by snuggling in close to his chest.
No, my inner voice roared at myself. Stop getting so distracted by the gorgeous fae.
I hadn’t come to Otherworld to flirt with every fae male who gave me attention. I’d come here to learn out to fight, to find out how to battle the monsters who had killed my best friend. At the thought of Bree, all the excitement and annoyance I felt toward Liam disappeared into a cloud of bitter sadness.
I stepped back and gave him a pointed look. “Turn around, please. I’m not going to change when you’re standing there watching me.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong, Norah?”
“Honestly, is it that hard to believe a girl doesn’t want to change in front of you? There has to be something wrong?”
With a sigh, he shook his head and turned his back my way. “Of course not. It’s just that two seconds ago, you had a look in your eye, one that made it seem like you wanted to climb on top of me. And then out of nowhere, you looked...well, sad.”
I shimmied in the trousers and pushed the soaking material to the floor before shrugging my damp t-shirt over my head. I took off my bra for good measure, but I kept my underwear on. After slipping the linen gown over my head, I tapped Liam on the shoulder. He hadn’t even tried to sneak a peek while I’d been changing, a fact I was strangely grateful for. I hadn’t expected him to show much respect for my wishes.
He turned and silently watched me drape my clothes over the a wooden railing by the window. He didn’t even make a crack about my lacy black bra. Instead, he strode toward me and tucked a finger beneath my chin, his fiery eyes searching mine for the truth.
“What’s wrong, Norah?” he asked. “And no, this isn’t about my ego. It’s not difficult to tell that something is wrong when your entire demeanor changes within the blink of an eye.”
With a sigh, I gritted my teeth and glanced away. “It’s