Moon Bound

Chapter 30 - Scents of Him

I slowly came awake nestled comfortably in the warmth of Codrin's bed surrounded by his earthy scent. Burying my face in the pillow, I breathed in deeply allowing myself to become heady with it. Memories of being cocooned in his arms brought a lazy smile to my lips, but as consciousness bloomed, I became aware I was no longer held in his embrace. Sliding my hand across the mattress, I reached out for him, but my fingertips only brushed empty sheets.

My eyes fluttered open.

It took a moment for them to adjust to the dimly lit room. With a yawn, I rolled over onto my back and stretched. A well kindled fire burned in the hearth casting a warm glow. My eyes searched the room.

"Codrin?"

A soft knock sounded at the door, and before I could respond, one of the huge double doors swung open and Vlad slipped in.

"Dr. Grey...?"

I scrambled to a sitting position clutching the blankets to my chest in an effort to cover my naked body.

"I'm sorry...," he choked out, quickly spinning around to give me privacy. "Pardon my intrusion Dr. Grey, I— I brought your things." —he held out a small bag and a dress still on it's hanger— "His Highness said you would need them for the meeting."

"Meeting?"

"You've been scheduled to present Elena's case at the summit this morning. You're expected at 10 am"

Shit! I'd completely forgotten.

I looked around for a clock. That's the thing about living inside a gigantic cave system, there were no external clues to the time, "W—what time is it?"

"It's nearly 9:30, Dr. Grey."

"What!" I screeched.

My outburst almost startled Vlad into turning around to look at me, but he stopped himself.

"Why would he leave me so little time!"

"H—he said you needed the sleep."

Mentally I cursed Codrin. He'd barely left me with time to dress, much less shower. I looked over to where Vlad stood with his back to me. He was nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Vlad, thank you for bringing me my things, but you've got to go now, so I can get ready!"

"Y—yes, my lady."

He strode to the chair by the fireplace setting my bag in the seat and carefully laying my dress across the back, all while awkwardly trying not to look in my direction.

"My apologies again, my lady." He said, giving a sort of half bow as he hastily exited.

I flew out of the bed as soon as he was gone. Snatching up the bag he'd placed in the chair, I rushed into the bathroom and dumped the contents out on the counter. My small bag of toiletries, two different bras, and a couple pairs of panties tumbled out. Dear goddess...I hope he didn't have poor Vlad go through my room and collect my things. The thought of Vlad digging through my underwear drawer made me grimace, but I couldn't really spend anymore time on that uncomfortable thought at the moment.

I basically only had time to pee, brush my teeth, and pull my hair back. Splashing warm water over my face to clean the sleep out of my eyes, I checked my reflection in the mirror. My face burned with a slight flush, giving me a healthy glow versus the pallor I'd recently been experiencing, my new rosy appearance was curtsy of the intermittent heat cycle I presumed. Dabbing on some moisturizer, I examined my under eyes and was relieved to see the dark circles, I'd been sporting of late, were finally starting to fade a little. Codrin hadn't been wrong, I'd needed the sleep, and I'd slept better in his arms last night than I had in months. My heart rate kicked up as my body remembered the feel of him pressed against me.