You crack your eyes open, feeling dizzy and warm, but not uncomfortably so.

You heard a soft sighing coming from behind you. Altair must have joined you in the ocean of cushions. Still tired, you decide to try to sleep again, and you settle into the arms that surround your waist.

Wait, arms?

Whipping around as best you can while lying down, you come face to face with Altair. His hood is down, the first time you've seen him with it.

His face is alluring, which you could have told even with his hood, but now seeing him without it, it only seemed to become more attractive. His arms hold you securely to his chest.

He must have done this in his sleep. You gently grab the arm that is draped across your midriff and try to remove it as slowly as possible as not to wake him. You succeeded in displacing his arm from you, but it didn't last long.

"No," he groaned, placing his arm back around you. Your breath hitch bit. Is he even actually asleep?

Inhaling, you try again to pick up his arm and place it back at his own side. He growled, opening his eyes and looking right into your own.

He was definitely not asleep.

"Stop it," he hissed, gripping you again. This time, he brought you even closer to his athletic body. He rolled you onto your side and dragged you to press against his chest, where he held you firmly. You now now had your face pressed against his chest, and he buried his face into your hair.

What is going on with him? Before this moment, he'd been nothing but professional with you. You had been confused, of course, when he, the new Mentor, assigned you to a mission with himself. What could he want a novice's help for?

Not that you didn't enjoy...whatever this was. You'd admired Altair for many years, even through his hard times being demoted to novice status. You were just a bit lost.

But he never been acting like this with you before.