Page 60 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
Twenty-Eight
Ella
Both Caz and Dirkwere waiting for us outside my room as I pulled open the door and walked through. Easing past them, I turned and shot Anna a glare.
She hadn’t told me they were outside. With their dragon hearing, they would have heardeverything.
My bestie just smiled back at me.
Dirk sniffed at the air, and I wanted to die. There was no way he couldn’t smell the “aroma” that still lingered in my room. Now it was in the hallway, and my mate knew I had been very thoroughly aroused at the thought of him earlier.
Great. That was just great. I was so not ready for this.
Anna fell in beside Caz as they led the way. I followed, Dirk walking at my side but keeping a respectable distance. I couldn’t blame him. This was the first time we’d seen each other since the tower incident. Therealtower incident, not my dream.
Pushing that aside, I focused on the now. I was eager to see Holly. She had already been at Yarl’s estate when I was brought there and bound with one of his collars. When we had walked into a storage room to gather supplies, Caz, Dirk and the others had popped out of hiding and taken us both away.
It would be nice to see her. We hadn’t spent a lot of time together during my weeks there but enough that I hoped perhaps we could be friends. I loved Milly and Anna, but having more than two friends didn’t seem so horrible an idea.
“Are you well?” Dirk asked as we walked, his voice low.
“I’m fine. Thank you,” I replied, watching as Caz’s arm slid up under Anna’s shirt, resting casually against her lower back.
Skin on skin. Protective, touching. Close, always. Maybe Annawasgoing to enter her heat soon. Even for them, they were extra close.
I glanced over at Dirk as we walked. Could I do that? Get so intimate, so close with him? What would it be like, to spend days locked away together, mating, eating, occasionally sleeping and mating some more. Was that something I wanted?
As if sensing my thoughts were about him, Dirk chose that moment to look over.
“Uh,” I said, whipping my head away before our eyes could truly lock on.
The hallway spun and I missed a step, stumbling.
Dirk was there. His hand around my shoulder, the other around my waist steadying me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, his fingers holding tightly.
Too tight. My skin burned wherever he touched me, igniting a response I couldn’t ignore. This was real. Not a dream I could ignore.
I stood up straight, trying not to cringe when I saw both Anna and Caz watching me.
“Come on. Let’s go see Holly and the others,” I said, pointing.
Anna smiled at me and tugged Caz back around before he could ask any questions I definitely did not want to answer. Not right now. The way my body was on fire was an impossible sign to miss.
Things between Dirk and me were accelerating out of control.
Up ahead, Anna sighed and all but melted into Caz, who held her upright.
I frowned at the display, remembering Anna’s thoughts about her first heat. It seemed to be coming on fast. How long did she have?
We rounded the corner and nearly slammed into a pair of Elites deep in conference with one another. Given that we were using side hallways and not main passages, encountering them here meant they did not want to be seen.
“My lord,” they said as they recognized Casimir, backing out of the way so we could pass.
I didn’t see any respect in their body language, though, only deference to someone stronger than them.
As Casimir moved forward, the eyes of one of the Elites drifted onto Anna.
