Chapter 10

Ryuu grunted as Alodie pushed him against the wall, letting her continue kissing him as she slid her hands over his chest. He loosely wrapped his arms around his waist, barely hooking his hands together to keep them anchored. Ryuu wasn’t feeling up to or into the frequent make out sessions Alodie encouraged them to have. He honestly wanted to tell her to back off and leave him be for a while, but he didn’t feel like dealing with her unique form of spite.

He couldn’t stop thinking about blue-black hair spread out over green grass, slim yet full body against his, and the deep blue eyes that had captured his attention. Ryuu felt the girl he had run into had also, somehow, captured his soul with one look.

The feeling of cold hands slowly creeping up his shirt snapped his focus back to the present. A shiver went down his spine as Alodie’s coldness seeped into him and his warmth seeped into her. He moved his lips over her cheek, down her neck for a small nip, and slowly back up to kiss her lips. Her hands, warm now, moved over his chest then slid down over his stomach, stopping at his hips.

She deepened the kiss, pressing up against him, and he rested against the wall. Her scent, that unique fae scent, swirled up into his nose and enticed him to become more fully engaged in the moment, but it repelled him more. He was quickly getting irritated with her, and decided it was best to tell Alodie he didn’t feel well then go back to his room.

However, his ears picked up the sound of soft footsteps heading towards them, and he pulled Alodie closer. Maybe he could make it seem like they were almost to the point of getting naked and get the person to go away faster. There was no way Ryuu would reject Alodie’s attention with an audience - he would wake up to a snake in his bed.

That thought changed when the footsteps halted and the muskier scent of the girl on his mind reached his nose. Without pause, he pulled away from Alodie and met shocked blue eyes that were staring at them.

It was fascinating to Ryuu to watch as anger, perhaps even jealousy, filled her eyes. For a moment, it even appeared like her eyes flashed a deep purple color. He barely managed to hold back a grin as his heart thumped harder and his inner beast roared loudly in his head. The beast had done that when Ryuu had run into her too, a noise of surprised happiness instead of the normal angry chuff or irritation. When left to it, the dragon side of him was very introverted and hated everyone, except for the black-haired beauty before him. That was a puzzle for Ryuu that he mused over as the girl slowly took a step backwards to back out of the hallway, causing a deep growl to rumble his chest.

The growl snapped Alodie from her own spell as she realized that Ryuu wasn’t going to continue kissing her. She looked at him, realized his attention was down the hall, and turned to see what was going on. Almost immediately she dismissed the girl there with a scowl and flick of her wrist.

“Oh, it’s you. Go away, new girl.”

Ryuu watched as that made the beauty stop in her tracks, her blue eyes zoning in on Alodie’s hands as they slid up his body. Anger truly flashed over her face, turning her eyes purple for a second. As intrigued as Ryuu was by that flash of emotion and color in the girl's eyes, he was tired of Alodie and wanted to be alone with purple-eyes.

“I think you’re going to be late for that nail appointment you mentioned Alodie,” he murmured, pulling her hands off him. “You should go.”

Ryuu didn’t bother looking down into her angry face when her head snapped up. He kept his eyes on purple-eyes, hoping she wouldn’t run off. Alodie snatched her hands out of his, huffing. “Whatever, Ryuu.”

The other girl watched Alodie as she walked away, her eyes switching once from the dark blue of the ocean to the deep purple of royalty. Then she glanced at him, bit her lip, and walked back the way she had come from.

Now that she wasn’t trying to tiptoe her way out of the hall, her figure quickly disappeared around the corner. Ryuu lunged forward to go after her, determined to at least learn the name of the girl hounding his thoughts. But as quickly as he rounded the corner, he had to stop. She was staring down the hallway, moving some strands of hair out of her face as she cursed softly under her breath. He couldn’t help the small smile that lifted the edges of his lips, but he forced them back down to a natural face before he spoke.

“Need help?”

Whatever she was species wise, she was not aware of her surroundings. Ryuu’s amusement at the short squeak of alarm and quick spin to face him died only because of the look of fear and agitation on her face.

Unfortunately, his eyes were also drawn to her luscious lips as she bit the bottom lip again.

“Yeah. I can’t seem to find my room.”

This time there was no stopping the smile that curved his lips. She was so… cute, standing there with cheeks bright red and chewing on her lip. All of his protective instincts roared to life, and he stepped towards her without really knowing what he was doing. His hand slid smoothly around her slim wrist, and he gently tugged her with him when he shifted his weight and started walking back towards the hall she had found him and Alodie in. She gasped softly as she stumbled into his back, surprised by the sudden movement. There was a huge temptation to turn and pull her into his arms when he felt her body against his, but he pushed onward.

Gentle, insistent tugs began as she tried to free herself. “Uh, excuse me! Could you kindly stop dragging me down the hallway like a caveman? I can follow you without being manhandled!”

The thought of letting her wrist go flitted across his mind - but instead of letting go, his grip tightened as the dragon in him growled at the idea. Once assured that the contact between Ryuu and the girl wouldn’t be severed, the beast gave a rumbling purr that almost left Ryuu’s lips, and made him feel that his skin was vibrating.

When she tugged and pulled for her hand once again, he sent a cold glance over his shoulder at her. Whatever she perceived had her stopping the attempt to get free of his grip. Ryuu grinned at the victory once he was facing forward again. The soft sigh behind him that drifted to him made him fight down a chuckle at her reluctant acceptance of the situation.

Jayde scowled at the broad back in front of her, wishing she could smack the guy silly. The question of ‘why’ kept running through her head like a song on repeat. She signed softly as she thought about how that question wouldn’t ever be answered with how quiet he was and with how many things kept happening.

They soon arrived at the dorm mother’s room and Jayde pulled her wrist free of his grip. He released her as he turned to look at her, his eyes conveying nothing as they stared at each other.

She cleared her throat, feeling nervous as a blush worked its way up her neck and into her cheeks. “Uh, thanks, for leading the way here. I know how to get to my room from here.” She gave him a small smile then turned to go down the hallway, feeling his eyes on her back.

“Wait.”

Jayde paused, turning to face him, her curiosity high as his low, commanding voice. She noted he was now leaning against the wall, a small smirk on his face.

“What’s your name?”

He...wanted to know her name? It confused Jayde and she wasn’t sure she wanted to even tell him. Although it was only fair since she knew his name, he didn’t know that she already knew his name and she didn’t feel good about him knowing hers. However, to make friends, one must be friendly.

“It’s Jayde. Jayde Vaninee,” she said it a little softly and quickly, watching his eyes widen a little in surprise. “What’s your name?”

He was silent for a moment, studying her. Jayde figured it was only polite to ask his name, but his silence now made her uncomfortable. After a few more seconds, he cleared his throat and said, “Ryuu Pendragon.”

Buh-geezus!

His name, rolling off of his own tongue with his own accent, was weirdly sensual and just sexy. Rie-yew. Maybe, probably most definitely, it was sensual because he pronounced his name like it was meant to be said instead of how the blonde-hoe in the hallway had said it. Rai-ew. Just thinking now about how she said it made Jayde want to grimace.

Jayde smiled, and bowed slightly to him. “Nice to meet you… Ryuu.”

A huge smile spread across his face, his eyes lighting up as well. “Pleasure is all mine, Jayde Vaninee.”

She could feel another blush forming, so she turned and fled to her door, quickly entering her room. She leaned against the closed door, grinning like a looney from the exuberation she felt from having seen his genuine smile. From him saying her name. Strangely, her heart was screaming at her to give him a hug even as her mind yelled at her to stay put.

Jayde closed her eyes, sighing softly as she pushed all of her feelings away, into a closet with the door shut. There was no way he’d be interested in her. He was way out of her league, and already had a girlfriend. She needed to forget about Ryuu Pendragon, and focus on the studies and the school she was now attending.