Lorien POV

“Isn’t that reason enough?”

“No.” The word slipped out more petulantly than I intended, and I bit my lip, realizing I sounded like a sulking child. Auren shifted, lifting his arm and angling his head back to look at me.

I immediately fell onto my back to avoid meeting his gaze, but the low rumble of his chuckle still reached me.

“If it wasn’t enough,” he murmured, “I wouldn’t be sleeping on the floor, would I?”

He didn’t sound like the ruthless man who ...