richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

"Oh, look at that. Even you have limits," I teased. "Your crazy spending is stopped at last.”
We waited for Victor and Natalie to finish up. He was apparently buying her something, and
she looked like she might grow wings and fly away with happiness. I was glad. She'd been
dying for his attention. Hopefully he was buying her something extra-expensive to make up for
it.
We rode home in tired silence, our sleep schedules all messed up by the daylight trip. Sitting
next to Dimitri, I leaned back against the seat and yawned, very aware that our arms were
touching. That feeling of closeness and connection burned between us.
"So, I can't ever try on clothes again?" I asked quietly not wanting to wake up the others. Victor
and the guardians were awake, but the girls had fallen asleep.
"When you aren't on duty, you can. You can do it during your time off.”
"I don't ever want time off. I want to always take care of Lissa." I yawned again. "Did you see
that dress?”
"I saw the dress.”
"Did you like it?”
He didn't answer. I took that as a yes.
"Am I going to endanger my reputation if I wear it to the dance?”
When he spoke, I could barely hear him. "You'll endanger the school.”
I smiled and fell asleep.
When I woke up, my head rested against his shoulder. That long coat of his—the duster—
covered me like a blanket. The van had stopped; we were back at school. I pulled the duster off
and climbed out after him, suddenly feeling wide awake and happy. Too bad my freedom was
about to end.
"Back to prison," I sighed, walking beside Lissa toward the commons. "Maybe if you fake a
heart attack, I can make a break for it.”