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could have accepted the touch of a lion more easily or more naturally. No human could have
shown better instincts or such a strong desire to follow them. No man had ever felt so right
against his skin.
A frown gathered on Arslan s brow as he realized that was all Ryland intended to say. He
dropped his hand away from Ryland s hair and took a step back from him. His head swirled with
just as much confusion as he saw in Ryland s eyes.
If he hadn t been right about anything else that night, he d been right when he said
Ryland was different to all the other humans who d been thrown to them over the years. No other
human could have ever inspired him to make such an impossibly rash offer.
Anger at his own stupidity flared inside Arslan. He was old enough to know that there
was no such thing as a human who was that good at following his instincts. Forgetting that when
he was with the only human who would ever actually matter to him, was inexcusable.
Sir, I
No explanation is necessary, Arslan cut in. A moment s foolishness didn t mean he
needed the details of his error explained to him as if he was a cub who didn t know better.
The other lions were still watching them. Even if he d made a spectacular fool of himself,
he was still the leader of the pride. He was still responsible for what happened to any human who
was thrown to them. The most important thing, the only thing now, was to get Ryland out of
there while he still had retained enough of his human side to remember that was the only
acceptable thing to do with him.
The car will be waiting for you outside. His voice came out calm and level, as if the
world hadn t suddenly fallen down around him.
Ryland stayed exactly where he was.
It didn t seem like refusal to obey as much as a temporary inability to do anything it all.
Seeing no other option, Arslan led the way, walking out of the room ahead of him.
It worked. Ryland snapped back into reality. He followed the professor into the hallway.
Then he stopped in the middle of the room, his arms wrapped around his torso in some effort to
keep himself warm in the cooler space. Arslan paused by the front door and turned back to him.
Sir, if I could just
Arslan silenced him with a shake of his head.
Ryland took a step forward towards the door, towards him, Arslan wasn t sure which.
I believe the humans have some arrangement where they return you to wherever you left
your clothes. Arslan had never really thought about it before. That was between the humans.
His responsibility for the men who came to them ended when they were returned to the vehicle.
He forced himself to pretend the same standard still applied to Ryland.
The younger man looked past him to the car. He didn t look enthusiastic about leaving
the house with whoever was driving it.
If he didn t want to be in the car with the man, he wasn t going to be in the car with him.
Arslan didn t need to think about it all the decisions he needed to make were made long before
the thinking part of his brain had even processed the facts of the matter.
The traditions surrounding being thrown to the lions were all well and good for other
men, but Arslan would be damned before he saw Ryland thrown back into the hands of a human
who made him even the least bit uncomfortable.
Striding out into the darkness, he watched the driver s look of boredom turned to one of
horror as Arslan pulled open the driver side door and glared down at him.
Your presence is no longer required.
Kershaw said I was to stay here and take the kid home when you were finished with
him.
And I m telling you to leave. Kershaw isn t here. I am. Who do you wish to obey? He
made no attempt to keep the snarl out of his voice.
The man backed away so far, he was half way into the passenger seat. Right. No
problem. Leaving right now.
Arslan stood in the driveway until the car navigated the corner at the end of the road.
When he turned back to the house, Ryland was waiting in the doorway. Arslan caught hold of his
wrist as he stepped past him into the hallway. Ryland made no objection to being led to the seat
next to the coat rack. Sit there. Don t move.
Resisting the temptation to take the stairs three at a time, he left Ryland alone in the hall
and made his way to his bedroom on the floor above. Alone for a moment, he closed his eyes.
He d watched Ryland so patiently, for so long. Somehow, he d allowed himself to start
believing that meant he knew the boy. But he didn t not on a human level not in any way that
might allow him to predict how Ryland would react to the instincts that being with a lion had
raised inside him.
Arslan s nails morphed into claws as he gripped the edge of the old-fashioned dresser.
The lion inside him didn t care if it was realistic to expect the younger man to trust his instincts
the way a lion would, to agree to join the pride after bare a few hours in their presence.
Ryland was his mate. Arslan didn t just know him he owned a part of him that no man
would ever catch sight of. The pull toward Ryland was so strong, so undeniable, it was almost
impossible for him to feel patient toward the younger man s& toward his what exactly? Arslan
had no idea. His sudden loss of confidence in his burgeoning instincts?
Arslan s inner lion roared, demanding to be freed and allowed to call his mate back to
him properly, snarling against the pain of doing the right thing for his human lover when all he
wanted was to be close to his mate.
His claws bit into the wood, not pretty little scratches like those he d left on Ryland s
back, deep gouges appeared in edge of the dresser, marks that would never be polished away, no
matter how much wood filler and varnish were applied.
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