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standards as a lion.
It was because humans didn t make any sense. They didn t do what their instincts
commanded. Arslan sighed as he turned a corner and steered his way back to his empty den, his
empty bed.
Human men couldn t be trusted. A lion would have to be a fool to fall for one the way he
might fall for another lion, to expect the same from them as he would from a feline lover. A
professor would have to be a fool to fall for a student too, a man who was practically half his
age. A man who agreed to be thrown to the lions as if it was some silly little game, a man who
had no idea what the tradition was supposed to mean, what it had meant back in the mist of time.
Of course, it didn t make the least bit of difference if he was an idiot, or if Ryland lacked
what could be expected of a lion. Ryland was his mate Arslan had never been more certain
about anything in his life. Neither of them would rest comfortably apart for very long now. All
he could do was give the other man whatever time he needed in order to face those facts and
accept the instincts that lying with his mate would have raised inside him.
Stopping at a traffic light, Arslan dropped his head back and snarled at the roof of his car
and the world in general.
* * * *
Ryland re-opened the front door and peeked out just in time to see Arslan s car turn the
corner at the bottom of his street and drive away. He stood on the doorstep and stared after it for
a long time, his arms wrapped tight around his body, hugging Arslan s coat against his bare skin.
 You re letting the cold in!
Ryland sighed and closed the door.
One of his housemates peered out of the living room at him. He looked at the coat and the
bare ankles and feet poking out of the bottom.
 Good night? Fred asked.
Ryland took a deep breath and let it out as another sigh. Leaning against the wall by the
door, he tried to make his brain work. He failed miserably.
Fred s eyes opened very wide.  You didn t& 
Ryland closed his eyes.
 Bloody hell! You did! Fred said.  You actually did it.
Ryland forced his eyes open and stared down at the coat. It was far too big for him. The
sleeves covered his hands. But it smelled like Arslan. For all he knew it could have been months
since Arslan had worn it. But it still seemed to hold some of the lion s warmth as well as his
scent. Ryland pulled it even tighter around him, clinging to the faint echo of the shifter s touch.
 Did you get paid?
Ryland nodded, swallowing down the bitter taste at the back of his mouth.
If you come to us willingly and of your own free will, with no thought for your own gain
and only wishing to add to the pride, then you are welcome& If you are who we think you are&
He closed his eyes, but found it impossible to hide from that horrible moment when he d realized
that not every man who went to the lions went there as a cheap whore.
 How much?
 Two thousand, Ryland whispered. Maybe not cheap, but still a whore for all that. It had
been just enough to pay the remainder of his tuition fees. When he lifted his gaze, Fred was right
there in front of him.
His friend put one hand on each of his shoulders as if he thought he needed steadying.
 You okay?
Ryland nodded. It wasn t as if he could tell him the truth.
 They didn t want you to do anything really weird, did they? Fred asked, huge green
eyes opening wider than ever
Ryland shook his head.  No, it was&  Good? Perfect? The best night of his life?
Fantastic because it was Arslan? Ryland closed his eyes for a second. What could he really tell
his friend?  It wasn t a problem.
Fred didn t believe a word of it. Ryland saw that the moment he re-opened his eyes.
Stepping to one side, Ryland moved out of his friend s reach and headed for the stairs.
 Ryland?
 I m fine, he said, not looking over his shoulder.  Just tired. I ll see you in the
morning.
Fred said something, but Ryland couldn t listen to the other man right then. He closed his
bedroom door behind him and leaned against it for a few seconds. In the darkness of the room,
he walked blindly across to his bed. His feet kicked against a discarded pair of shoes. Fumbling
at the bed, he pushed all the clothes he d changed into and out of before his appointment with the
lions, onto the floor.
He bit back a sad little laugh. All that worrying about what he should wear had been a
truly spectacular waste of time. Lying down on the bed, he curled into a small ball, Arslan s coat
still wrapped around him. The movement of the cloth against his skin brought his attention back
to the scratches on his back. Arslan s marks&
Biting down on his bottom lip, Ryland closed his eyes very tight and did his best not to
fall apart, not to give in to the deep sense of despair that swirled inside him.
Arslan would never have forgiven him if he said yes to him based on a lie, if he d said
yes while playing the part of a whore. He knew that with a sort of certainty he couldn t ever
remember feeling before. There were things a lion would forgive and things he wouldn t just
like there were things a family would forgive, and things they wouldn t.
When he said yes to Arslan he had to mean it. He had to be able to look him in the eye
and see that the older man knew it was the truth. He hadn t been able to correct that part of him
that his family hated so much, but he could fix this. He could be the person Arslan had thought
he was when he invited him to join the pride.
Ryland tasted blood as his teeth cut into his lip. No matter how logically he tried to think
about it, something inside him screamed that he needed to be back with the professor now. He
wasn t where he belonged. He had to be with Arslan. Then everything would be okay. It was like [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]