Jin Lu woke when she felt herself falling into someone's arms. She groggily looked around at the small village inn they had stopped at before she had to cover her yawn.
"We will rest here before continuing," Long Yin said as he princess-carried her through the door.
Two of the riders had entered already, while Qin Shun followed behind Long Yin. The other three were left to follow an employee to the stables with the ponos behind the inn.
"We will eat in our room. Make sure to bring plenty of meat," Long Yin told Qin Shun, walking up the stairs without waiting for a response.
Jin Lu ignored the gazes of the inn's patrons as Long Yin carried her to their room. She felt dirty, wanting a bath and a change of clothes. The amused smile that regularly played across Long Yin's lips was back, weirdly comforting Jin Lu. She glared at Long Yin to hide her feelings as he opened the door to their room before stopping him from setting her on the bed.
"I would like a bath and change of clothes."
Long Yin turned, setting Jin Lu on the edge of the bed, since there weren't any chairs in the room.
"As you wish," Long Yin said with a bow, making Jin Lu snort and clear her throat to hold back the laugh at his antics.
Long Yin smiled and walked to the door, turning his head to look back as it started to open. "I will be right outside. Call me when you are done."
Jin Lu watched Long Yin shut the door behind him, looking around the room as she waited for the tub and water to be brought up. The room was sparse, with only a bed and closet. A small window that looked out into an alley was next to the closet. The plain white drapes on either side were so thin that Jin Lu didn't need to move them in order to see out of the window.
Something, intuition or instinct, made Jin Lu cautious as she looked down into the shadowed alley. Jin Lu could feel her skin prickling and goosebumps crawl up her arms.
There was something down there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Jin Lu moved away from the window slowly, jumping in fright when someone knocked on the door. Long Yin was by her side before she knew the door was open, glaring around the room.
"What is it?" he hissed as he protectively gathered her into his arms. His arms tightened when he felt Jin Lu shiver.
"There's someone outside. The alley." Jin Lu's voice was so low that no one else would be able to hear what she said.
Long Yin's long legs took him to the window in two strides, his eyes glowing as they took in the growing shadows outside. Whoever had been there was gone now. Long Yin turned back to Jin Lu, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Bring a screen up," he ordered the attendants as they settled the tub in the corner of the room and started to fill it with hot water.
Two of them nodded, their shuffling feet loud in the quiet room. Jin Lu held her lips between her teeth, the urge to refuse Long Yin's presence on the tip of her tongue. The look of determination in Long Yin's eyes and the unknown individual outside stopped her.
The screen was placed next to the steaming tub and the door finally closed, leaving Jin Lu and Long Yin alone in the room. Jin Lu swallowed self-consciously before walking behind the screen, turning her back to Long Yin. Closing her eyes, she quickly undressed and stepped into the hot water, letting out a sigh as she felt her body relax.
Long Yin closed his eyes, allowing his aura to expand and encircle the room. He could feel Jin Lu moving as he washed and though it was hard to ignore his Yang's presence, he forced himself to pay attention to his surroundings. Protecting Jin Lu was more important than his libido.
The sound of Jin Lu stepping out of the tub and drying himself off reached Long Yin a few moments later. Long Yin got up once he was sure that Jin Lu had dressed in his night clothes. He opened the door, nodding to the guard he had stationed outside it. The guard nodded back before going down the stairs.
Jin Lu crawled into bed, pulling the covers over her exhausted body. Even though she had gotten some sleep on the way here, a bed was completely different from a moving mount. She stiffened a little when she felt Long Yin climb into bed with her, relaxing after a few moments as Long Yin gathered her into his arms again.
"Sleep. I will protect you," Long Yin whispered before Jin Lu felt the slide of his lips along her ear. She shivered but let it go, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.