He leaned back on his pillow, his pose completely relaxed.
“I don’t know. You might be a honey-badger to other people, but you’re still a chipmunk for me.”
I wasn’t about to fall for his goading again.
“I’m not making any bets with you, Fenris. You get enough hugs from me the way it is.”
“Pfft. A wolf can never get too much affection, but I wasn’t going to ask for a hug.”
I studied him for a moment, knowing I shouldn’t ask, that it was all part of his trap. But he’d worn me down since we’d sequestered ourselves in the red room.
“Fine. What do you want?”
“You carry me through the halls, and I’ll wipe the debt clean and pay you another $340.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want to be carried, you weirdo?”
He leaned forward, getting serious.
“We’ve been sitting in here for hours, doing nothing. Aren’t you itching to stretch your legs? To do something? To run a little wild?”
“Uh…no.”
“Well, I am.”
“How is me, carrying you, going to stretch your legs?” I asked, giving him a droll look.
He grinned widely.
“Because you’ll be between them.”
After a morning of his teasing, I didn’t react with a black, hungry gaze as I normally would have. Instead, I only rolled my eyes at him.
“You want a piggyback ride?”
“Yep.”
“I’m still waiting for a believable reason why.”
“I want to know how strong you are. Everyone doubts you. They think you’re weak and underfed. You even admitted to me that you’re not eating enough. Don’t you want to know if it’s affecting you?”
I thought of the cooler I’d carried into the house almost two weeks ago. It had been heavy but nothing I couldn’t handle. But, I’d still been feeding from Mrs. Quill then. And, hadn’t I gotten winded several times when I’d tried to keep up with Jenna in the woods?
“I know you’re thinking about it,” he said, watching me. “Let’s see what you can do.”
He threw down his cards and got to his feet.
“Now?”
“Yep.”
Uncertainty filled me. First, I couldn’t believe he actually wanted me to carry him around the Academy halls where anyone could be a witness. Second, even if he didn’t find it embarrassing, I would.
“No, not your chipmunk impression,” he said, observing me far too closely. “Think Clydesdale.”
Slowly, I got to my feet.
“Why do you want to humiliate me?”
“What part is humiliating? Having fun with me or doing something that will shock faculty?”
“The part where I’m your beast of burden.” Never mind the part where I might not be strong enough to carry him at all.
Some of the humor faded from his expression.
“I wasn’t humiliated to carry you on my back. Or is the problem that I’ll have my legs wrapped around you this time?” His smile returned full force as my eyes flickered black. “Yes. Just like that. That’s how you need to look when we go out there. No one will know what’s going on if they see us.”
“Good. Then we’ll all be on equal ground. What exactly is my being able to carry you going to prove?”
“To you? That you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. To anyone else? Who cares. It’s what you think about yourself that really matters.”
I took a deep breath as I suddenly understood what this was all about. Fenris was trying to help me again. When did his version of helping ever go right, though? Did it matter? My life couldn’t go any more wrong. Maybe I did need to be like Fenris and just have a little more fun in general.
I turned my back to him and patted my butt.
“Hop on, Fenris. Let’s see where this round of trouble leads.”
“That’s the spirit.”
There was a shuffle of movement behind me, then I felt Fenris touch my shoulder.
“What are the chances of you falling over as soon as I jump on?”
“Eighty/twenty. What happened to your faith in my strength?”
“I have faith. I was just checking to see where your faith was at. Eighty/twenty aren’t good odds. Ready?”
“No.”
He snorted then jumped onto my back.
He weighed far more than a cooler of food, and I almost buckled under his solid frame. Instead, I stumbled a step and hooked my arms around his legs. I could feel his muscles twitch under my hold. My stomach gave an excited flip.
“Steady, girl,” he said, running his hand over my arms before gathering my hair into a loose pony hold. “Giddy up.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t use your heels with that command or I would have dropped you on the floor.”
He chuckled and reached around me to open the door. With his chest pressed against the side of my head, I couldn’t help but inhale his rich scent and think of the bag of chocolate I hadn’t yet touched at home. My hunger stirred lazily.
“To the end of the hall and back,” he declared, taking up my hair again. He didn’t flick it like a kid holding reins. Instead, he played with the strands like he was petting them. Every follicle went supernova sensitive.
“Cut it out.” I strode out into the hall, determined to get this stupid bet over with.
“Why the long face? Aren't you ready to start horsin’ around?”
I groaned, which he took as encouragement to continue.
“No? Is it because you'll be the mane attraction?
“Stop your bad puns while you're ahead.”
“Okay. I'm Dun. Or are you Dun?”
“I'm about to drop you.”
“Oh, come on. You have more horsepower in you than that.”
I reached the end of the hall. My arms ached a little but nothing crazy. I mean, he was heavy. What I found unusual was how tired I felt. Turning around, I started back toward the red room.
“Your steps are slowing. Giddy up, pony. It’s almost time for lunch.”
His scent hit me hard as soon as he said it. I inhaled deeply, pulling in his rich sweetness as I thought of last night’s cake dream. Would Fenris taste as mouthwatering as the cakes? Was his scent why I had those sweet, cake dreams to begin with?
My stomach growled just as we reached the door, and I released my hold.
His fingers slipped through my hair as he swept it to the side. I shivered at the feel of his breath and tried to step away from him. His hands caught my waist and held me in place. He leaned in and inhaled softly.
“You smell different.”
I shivered again at the sound of his voice close to my ear.
“Are you tired?”
“No, Fenris. I’m hungry. And you’re not helping right now. Please, let go.”
Was it my imagination that his hold tightened ever so briefly before he released me? I hoped so because he was already far too bold for my fragile control to withstand much more of his teasing.
He remained quiet until we were in the room with the door closed. I paced to the pillows and sat while internally reeling my hunger in.
Fenris strolled closer, his hands loosely in his jean pockets as he studied me.