Page 80 of These Fractured Bonds

Footsteps thundered past her door. She stilled, her hand on her bed sheets, ready to get in, but curiosity got the best of her. Yareli crept along the hallway in the direction the footsteps had gone. She slowed a few doors down, hearing voices from inside a plain wooden door, and pressed her ear into the wood.

Leo’s voice came through, muffled. “I’ve tried my best to delay, but they’ve ignored me.”

“Are they in the receiving room?” Augrys asked.

Leo said something inaudible.

“Inform them I’ll be there in a few minutes. If they showed up unannounced, then they may do me the courtesy of waiting until I am ready.”

The door opened, and Yareli stumbled inside. She regained her composure and smiled sheepishly. “Hey guys…”

Her heart clenched when Leo looked at her, raising his eyebrows high on his forehead. Augrys, however, did not look shocked; he closed the door behind her.

“I see you’re reenergized,” Augrys commented dryly.

“Enough so that I’d like to attend this meeting too.”

He appraised her, taking in her pajamas. “You need to look the part. Get changed and meet me here in two minutes.”

She grinned, then remembered she had no idea what the meeting was about. “Wait, who’s here?”

“The other leaders of the Keepers,” Leo answered. His eyes had not left her since her arrival, making her uncomfortable.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll go get ready.”

Yareli all but ran back to her room, changed into the second set of her lieutenant uniform, and returned to Augrys’s office. To her—guilty—relief, Leo was no longer there.

Augrys looked up from his desk, mid pen-stroke, and coughed into his fist.

“What?” she asked.

He coughed again, unable to hide the snort underneath it. Bewildered, Yareli glanced at her clothes.Had she forgotten to button her pants?

“Your sash is a mess,” he said at last.

“It looked fine to me.”

He walked toward her, shaking his head. “Your knots are all wrong. May I?”

She nodded. “Well, I haven’t had much time to practice.”

“I’ll fix them.”

He deftly untied the knot at her shoulder. “It’s the second knot that is throwing you off.”

Yareli kept her eyes forward, acutely aware of how close he was to her. If she turned her head, she would touch his fingers—lovely and, quite frankly, sinful fingers. She stiffened when Augrys met her gaze.

“I’m going to do your waist now.” His voice was quiet, soft like his touch, and she hated how her body reacted.

An ardent desire rushed to her core, leaving her every nerve on fire.

He didn’t break eye contact as he knelt, and traitorous god, she almost caved when his fingers brushed against her waist. She swallowed, closing her eyes. A terrible truth lay before her. She really liked him on his knees.

He stood and said, “All done. Your uniform is pristine.”

Her uniform…His compliment was borderline ridiculous, and if she was hopeful—which she wasn’t—it was a pathetic attempt to avoid saying anything that could be misconstrued. But his eyes spoke the truth, the greens and browns bright in intensity; he was as affected as she was by their close proximity.

No, do not cave to the pretty boy.