Chapter 79: Shy

Vance

"Well, as you said, you just picked up his scent!" Vance snapped back, rolling his eyes dramatically as he turned back to the boiling kettle. "You didn’t find him anywhere, so how am I supposed to find him?!"

Vance poured the scalding water over his coffee grounds, letting out a heavy, frustrated sigh. "We need to get ready for the whole tournament anyway. We kind of have to win, and it’s not like that Whitelock boy can avoid the tournament games the way he avoided this cabin. He has to show up for the opening matches."

Malric nodded slowly, turning toward the hallway. "Yeah. You are right."

Vance spun around, holding his steaming mug of coffee, giving Malric a thorough, disgusted up-and-down look. "I’m drinking my coffee. You need to be the one to go get a bath and get ready right now before you embarrass us all looking so ugh!"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Malric muttered dismissively, turning his back to walk toward his room.

As Malric walked past, Vance’s sharp eyes casually trailed down his brother’s back, and instantly caught onto a flash of silver hanging loosely out of the back pocket of Malric’s trousers. It was a delicate, intricate chain, a necklace dangling dangerously close to falling out onto the floor.

Vance blinked, his eyebrows pulling together. "Where did you, " He pointed a finger. "Is that a necklace? Where did you get that?"

Malric instantly froze in his tracks. He didn’t turn around, but his shoulders visibly tensed up. "A necklace? What are you talking about?"

Vance scoffed, taking a step forward. "The necklace hanging straight out of your pocket! That’s what I’m talking about!"

Malric aggressively shoved his hand into his back pocket, stuffing the silver chain deep out of sight before quickly turning his head, giving Vance a sharp, defensive glare. "Oh, nothing! Bye! You don’t ask me questions. I’m the bigger brother. Goodbye!"

With that, Malric practically bolted down the hallway, slamming his bedroom door shut behind him.

Vance stood alone in the kitchen, staring at the empty hallway in complete disbelief. "What a weirdo," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. He turned back to his steaming cup, taking a long, hot sip of the bitter black coffee, his eyes staring blankly out the small cabin window toward the foggy mountains.

"Today better be a better day than yesterday," Vance grumbled to himself, his voice laced with grim determination. "Because if it’s not, someone is definitely getting hurt."

Aina

Warmth was the very first thing Aina felt.

She shifted slowly beneath the heavy blankets, her body feeling completely weightless yet deeply, intensely sore. She turned onto her other side with a soft, sleepy murmur, and the bright, golden morning sun immediately hit her face through the tall cabin windows, forcing her to wince against the light.

Slowly, her eyelashes fluttered open.

She lay there for a moment, utterly disoriented and thoroughly confused. Her head was foggy, her brain trying to process the unfamiliar, grand canopy ceiling above her, the scent of crisp mountain air, roasted espresso, and old parchment filling her lungs, and the sheer softness of the mattress beneath her.

She lifted her arm to rub the sleep from her eyes, and froze. Her gaze dropped straight to her inner forearm. There, etched permanently into her fair skin, was the glowing, intricate mark shaped like an elegant, flickering flame, with the name Roiner resting proudly at its center.

In an instant, everything came crashing back into her head like a tidal wave.

The dark forest... the possessive kiss... the Persian rug before the roaring fire... his hot hands, his cock, his sharp fangs, the desperate, intoxicating rhythm of the entire night...

Aina’s face exploded into a violent, scorching shade of bright red. "Oh my gosh!" she gasped out, burying her face straight into the plush pillow as a wave of pure, overwhelming embarrassment hit her like a freight train.

She was internally screaming, her mind racing at a million miles an hour. She was completely, hopelessly flustered. On one hand, she wanted to evaporate into thin air from the sheer embarrassment of how wild and needy she had been last night, but on the exact same hand, a tiny, shameless voice in her head was screaming that Roiner was ridiculously, unbelievably hot, making the whole thing feel like an absolute blessing at the same time.

Unable to contain the chaotic storm of emotions inside her, Aina began rolling wildly back and forth across the massive bed, clutching the heavy blankets tightly against her chest as she squirmed like a dramatic caterpillar.

"How long do you plan on being in bed?" a deep, smooth voice suddenly rumbled through the quiet room. "Don’t forget you have the tournament today."

Aina instantly stopped mid-roll, her eyes snapping open in absolute terror. She slowly peeked her messy head out from beneath the furs, her eyes tracking toward the armchair sitting near the window.

There sat Roiner. He was leaning back comfortably, his long legs crossed, looking like an absolute god in the morning light. And to make matters ten times worse for Aina’s fragile sanity, he was completely bare-chested, his broad, beautifully sculpted chest and sharp abs fully on display.

Aina’s breath hitched violently. "Oh..." she squeaked out, her brain completely short-circuiting at the sight.

Panicking, she immediately buried her face straight back into the oversized pillow, her voice muffled as she squealed, "Just a second!"

Bracing herself, Aina tried to sit up, placing her hands on the mattress to push her body out of bed. But the second she shifted her weight, a sharp, sudden ache flared straight through her lower back and thighs.

"Ow!" Aina gasped out, instantly collapsing right back down onto her stomach with a pathetic thud. She whimpered softly into the sheets. "Oh wow... everything hurts."

From across the room, a low, deep, intoxicating laugh echoed through the air.

Roiner leaned forward, a dark, thoroughly amused glint in his eyes as he looked at her squirming form. "Of course everything would hurt after the night we had."

Aina buried her face even deeper into the pillow, her voice completely muffled as she groaned, "Don’t remind me about the night!"

Roiner let out another low chuckle, his broad shoulders shaking slightly as he stood up from the chair. "Aina, there is no need to be embarrassed."

"Yes, there is a need!" Aina shrieked dramatically into the mattress, rolling right back onto her side and covering her face with her hands, refusing to look at him. "You saw everything!"

Roiner walked over to the edge of the bed, towering over her with a dangerous, breathtaking smirk playing on his lips. "Yep, I saw every bit of you. You are beautiful."

Aina whimpered, squirming wildly beneath the covers as she tried to fight off the heat threatening to melt her entire face off. She looked up at him through her fingers, her mouth running away with her before her brain could even stop it.

"And you are scrumptious! Divine! I could eat you again!" she blurted out, her voice high-pitched and completely unhinged with flustered energy. "You looked like a peppermint talk cake!" Roiner paused, blinking down at her in utter, genuine confusion as a sharp burst of laughter escaped his lips. "What?" Aina aggressively kicked her legs beneath the heavy furs, continuing to roll back and forth across the bed despite the sharp, throbbing ache in her lower back.

"You heard me! A peppermint talk cake!" she yelled into the blanket, internally praying for the wooden floorboards to split open and swallow her whole right then and there. Floor, swallow me whole! Just swallow me right now!