155 Parental Pressure (22)

By the time Iris entered the bedroom, Kyro was already lying under the blanket. She jumped on the bed and lay down against his back, but sleep was as far away from her as the moon. With her brain working in overdrive, there was no chance to shut it down.

It was even hard to be still. Again and again she shifted her pose, lying on her side one moment, then on her back, then on her stomach with front paws covering her eyes. Yet no matter how much she shifted about, the dangerous thoughts didn't leave her.

And Kyro's presence wasn't helping much. She could hear his breathing, feel him right next to her, and it sent her heart racing. Her mind wasn't ready for such things!

"Can you stop? It's midnight, just go to sleep," Kyro muttered in annoyance, and Iris froze for a moment. Was she bothering him? She had to stop somehow…

'Didn't I swear not to let him find anything out?' Taking a deep breath, she forced calmness upon herself.

It lasted for around a whole minute. Then, she could no longer hold it in and moved, curling into a ball. Her thoughts were just too embarrassing! Why was she suddenly thinking about his mouth and what it would feel like to kiss him? 'Arggh!'

Kyro used that moment to rise slightly and turned to face her. "What's with you…"

Like a startled rabbit, Iris scrambled back. Had he heard what she was thinking? But that was impossible. No way. It—

Her thoughts came to a sudden halt when she realized that she was no longer looking up at him. A surreptitious glance down revealed that she was very human now, and she grabbed for the blanket while a scream threatened to escape her lips.

At that moment, Kyro moved and covered her mouth. "Not a word," he whispered in a slightly breathless voice.

Iris' first reaction was to struggle, but Kyro held her down, and soon her mind rearranged itself. She stilled and nodded lightly, feeling her cheeks growing bright red.

One of his hands was over her mouth, while the other was wrapped around her waist and hands to hold her still. She was pressed against his chest, skin to skin, while clutching the blanket to her front.

If this wasn't a compromising position, then she wasn't certain what was.

"You-you… can let me go," she whispered into his hand.

Kyro didn't seem to have heard, but then he pulled away from her like he'd been burnt. "Sorry," he muttered, pulling as far away from her on the bed as he could.

Although it wasn't that far, she could barely see his form in the total darkness of the room. This served to hide her flaming cheeks, but she also had no clue about what might be running though his mind at the moment. Without seeing his expression, she couldn't even begin to guess at it.

'What a double-edged sword,' she thought while pulling the blanket tighter around herself.

"Don't make a noise, my parents are sleeping nearby," Kyro said in a carefully controlled voice, and Iris still had no idea what he was thinking.

"I know," she agreed. "You just startled me."

"I startled you?" Disbelief dripped off his voice like thick honey. He then moved closer and poked her forehead with his finger. "And you think just changing into a human while I'm trying to fall asleep is perfectly normal?"

He kind of had a point… "I didn't do it on purpose…"

"Right," he said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. "Well, you can finally tell me what is wrong with you today. What's got you so agitated this evening?"

"I-I..." What was she supposed to say when the truth was too heavy a weapon for the moment? "I realized that I don't want to stay a fox forever." 'Here, this should work, right?' There was a minor fragment of truth in this, but not enough to get her thrown out.

There was movement from his side, but she couldn't tell what he was doing. Then he only said, "Oh?"

It wasn't much of an encouragement, but she decided to spill some nonsense to make sure he wouldn't ask about this again. "It's nice and all, but I'm missing so much. Being a human is much more… entertaining. You can meet friends, travel the world, and do things you can be proud of. It's a more fulfilling life, don't you agree?"

"And you want to tell me that it never crossed your mind before?"

"I thought it was a trade worth making," she said, then noticed how depressing it sounded. "Anyway, there's also the problem of you finding someone."

"How so?"

His calm, unhurried questions in a voice that betrayed nothing was starting to get on Iris' nerves, but she still answered him. "You were flirting with those five throughout the whole evening, so how could such a thought not cross my mind?"

"So that comment before didn't mean that you were jealous?"

"Of course not! Why would I be?" Her answer was a way too fast, and even Iris herself could tell that…

However, Kyro didn't call her out on that. Instead, he asked, "Where did you leave your clothes?"

"Huh?"

"Are you planning to sleep in only that blanket? I wouldn't tempt fate like that if I were you."

His words were low, dangerous, and she shivered. But there was little fear in that reaction. "I— No, they're in the wardrobe, the middle shelf."

When he left the room, she closed her eyes, breathing hard. This was crazy, way too crazy. Why did she have to turn back right now? How could she keep her reputation as a normal girl if she kept changing in his bed? It was a coincidence that no one would believe!

Kyro soon returned with her pajamas, and she escaped into his study to dress up. At least she hadn't chosen anything fancy to buy and gotten some thin pants and shirt for nightwear. They weren't sexy in the least, so Kyro couldn't think that she'd planned it all.

Then again, he was taking it exceptionally calmly this time. There was little surprise, besides the initial shock.

When she returned to his bedroom, she returned the blanket to the bed. "Why are you taking all of this so well?" she asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.

He turned on the bed, pulling the blanket over himself. "What do you want me to do? It's not the first time you've changed, and I can't send you to your room right now. You'll return there tomorrow, once I drive my parents home."

"I see..." She didn't really see anything, but if he was fine with it, she should be as well. In theory.

Reality was not that kind, however. The moment she sat down on his bed, a mixture of emotions washed over her. Dread, embarrassment, and uncertainty were the most prominent among them, but things like anxiety, excitement, and others were not missing, either.

"If you want to sleep, go to sleep. If not, go to the study and don't bother me."

Swiftly, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. There was no sleep in sight behind her closed lids, but she didn't dare to move an inch.

Without a word, Kyro threw half of the blanket over her, then turned around. His breathing soon evened out, and he was asleep.

Iris didn't find it that easy to follow. Her heart beat a frantic song, and her mind conjured numerous future events that she couldn't tell were good or bad.

'I don't think sleep is in store for me tonight,' she muttered to herself in her head while trying in vain to silence her inner voice.