“Is this what mental conversations will be like with you? All perverted stuff? Don’t tell me you’re one of those guys.”
“I’m absolutely one of those guys, but okay. Let us pretend to not be attracted to one another. What would you like to talk about?”
Riyah smiled even bigger. “Sometimes you say things strangely.”
“What do you mean?”
“You say them all formal.”
“It’s how my dad talks. Momma bear curses like a sailor, Daddy dragon is millennia old, an ancient who only turned mortal when he met my mom, so he grew up in a different time where manners were everything. Blame him for turning me into this.”
Vyr’s voice had gone all dark though, and had lost the edge of humor he had earlier.
“You mean blame him for the dragon part?”
“Blame him for everything if you want. You’re a counselor, right? Prison psychologist? You’ll love me. Daddy issues for days. What are you doing? Paint me a picture.”
She giggled and relaxed back in bed. “I’m under mismatched sheets, in my twin-sized bed, in my apartment that is full of boxes from moving. I’m too lazy to unpack them, and I’m fine with clutter.”
“Strike one. I hate clutter.”
“I’m wearing pajama pants with cartoon tacos on them and a white tank top.”
“Bra or no bra?”
“Sports bra.”
“Strike two. What color panties?”
“Get ready for a supermassive boner.”
“I’m prepared.”
“Beige.”
“And there’s your strike three. You’re a boner killer.”
“You’re welcome. Now you don’t have to worry about those eight dudes watching you adjust yourself.”
Another chuckle sounded, low and soft, and it made her smile on reflex. “You have a nice laugh.”
“I can’t sleep lately.” He said it suddenly as though he wanted to do it before he could change his mind.
“Why not?”
“I think it’s the meds. Or The Sickening.”
“What is The Sickening?”
“I’ve been away from my crew and my mountains too long. It started out as nosebleeds, but now I hear things and see things that aren’t there. I feel sick even when I don’t have the meds in my body. Sometimes I Change without knowing. I just…come to and I’ve burned the room again.”
“What did that guard do? The one you ate?”
“He hurt little girls. Thought about it all the time. He was remorseless, and his memories were so loud I couldn’t help but see what he did. Emmitt talks about the lower level being hell, and I’m the devil himself, right? Maybe. But I’m not the only one down here. Paperwork means they’ll have to admit what caliber of guards they hire down here. And they would have to do it publicly. Subject change. Why peonies? In your memory, you had a bouquet of them.”
Riyah swallowed bile at his admission about the man he’d eaten. How awful. She struggled to catch up with the new conversation and stuttered when she said, “Th-they were my mom’s favorite.”
“My mom likes wildflowers. My dad used to buy her big bouquets of expensive roses, but she was never as impressed as when he would go into the yard and pick her some little pink wildflowers. She would put them in this little shot glass and keep them alive for two weeks.”
“That sounds romantic.”
“Oh yeah, my parents would make you puke with their cuteness. Most people don’t get to see it because my dad is so reserved. He has to look in control all the time. But in my house, growing up, I watched them. I used to think I wanted that someday, too.”
“You don’t anymore?”
“Nope. I want dirty talk and beige panties. Wear some extra hideous ones tomorrow, and I’ll guess the color.”
“Deal,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll call them Vyr-panties.”
A satisfied, sexy rumble vibrated through her mind. “Good girl.”
Holy hell, he was sexy.
“Thank you.”
“Stop that.”
“I think you are sexy, too. I like your freckles.”
Riyah pressed her fingertips against her heated cheek. “Really?”
“Do you have freckles on your shoulders?”
“Yes.”
“Back?”
“Yes, and a birthmark. A tiny one under my right shoulder blade.”
“Mmmm. Who knows about that?”
“Just you. I don’t think anyone has paid attention to it before. Why is it so easy to talk to you?”
“Because you’re crazy, and you’re really only talking to yourself.”
“Jerk.”
He chuckled again. God, she liked when he did that.
“These damn flashing lights are going to drive me insane.”
“Put your pillow over your face.”
“Trying to suffocate me already?”
“No, to block out the light. I’ll talk to them about the flashing lights tomorrow and leaving you in the damn dark. It makes me want to stab Emmitt for doing this. Do you want me to tell you boring stories until you get tired? I’m pretty good at them.”
“Back up, woman. Did you just get protective?”
“Maybe.” She smiled at the slowly turning ceiling fan she could barely see in the dark. “It’s bullshit is all I’m saying. If they’re gonna kill you, they might as well try and make it comfortable.”
“Right? I’ve been trying to tell them that all along. They gave me actual gruel for dinner. Makes me wish they would speed the process along, but maybe that’s the point.”
She giggled. “We should not be joking about this. It’s horrible of us, and not funny at all.”
“You’re right. Let’s cry together instead. That solves all problems.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I suppose joking is better. Just so you know, I’m not going to let them kill you, though.”
“Oh, are you my knight-ess in shining stilettos?”
“Yep. I’m the heroine to your story. Don’t eat me before I get my job done.”
“Hmm. Eat you, eat you?” His voice dipped lower and went sultry. “Or eat you?”
“Perv.”
“I’ll wait right here while you touch yourself.”
“Okay, I’m going to sleep now.”
“You can’t. You already told me you would tell me boring stories, and you should never break a promise to a dying man. That’s seven years bad luck.”
“I think that’s if you break a mirror.”
“Potato Potah-toh. God, I would literally kill for potatoes. Six months on lower level food, and I’m bored out of my mind. And beer. I would do awful things for a beer.”
“Hey, beer rhymes with Vyr.”
“Ha. One of my crew calls me ‘Beer’ sometimes just to piss me off.” Vyr got quiet for a few seconds. “I would also kill to hear Nox call me Beer again. I miss their stupid voices.”
“Do you like being alpha?”
“No. I suck at it. I don’t care enough about keeping the crew quiet to keep us safe. And now look what I’ve done? I called my crew to me. Asked them to put themselves in this awful place just to try and prolong my life. Alphas are supposed to be selfless, and I’m not. I’m a selfish creature.”
“Because you want to live. It’s not selfish.”
“Mmm. A good alpha would put his crew before himself. But mostly they put themselves before me. They tried to keep me steady, keep me from destroying things. Subject change. What did you eat for dinner? I’m serious when I say the food is boring here and I want to live vicariously through you.”
“A TV dinner. Chicken nuggets and squishy macaroni and cheese and little asparagus bites.”