His own eyes widened. Those words had come out so naturally, without a thought, and they felt right. Felt true.
Callie didn’t rebuke or deny him, didn’t withdraw or shudder in disgust. Instead, something in her gaze shifted, softening as her eyes flicked between his. Reaching up, she gently curled her fingers around his wrist and smiled. “I would love them, Urkot. And…maybe I could join you in the caves sometime to explore.”
Terrible cold swept through him, tensing all his muscles at once.
Even under the best circumstances, he would’ve deemed it too dangerous, but with today’s events fresh in his mind, he was horrified at the thought of Callie going down there. Right now, all he could think about was her being harmed.
All he could think about was her being killed.
Words clawed up his throat and lodged in it as he released her and withdrew his hands much more quickly than he intended to. He would not allow thoughts of her in the cave to take over his mind. He’d crumble, his every thread coming undone, were his mind to continue along that path.
No. He would keep her away, above ground, where it was safer. He had lost too many vrix he cared about to the dangers understone. He could not expose her to those same dangers. He could no longer bear the thought of a world without her.
Twisting to grab his jar of vineroot oil from the edge of the pool, he opened the lid and began rubbing the oil on his chest and abdomen. He forced himself to focus on the quick, rough motions of his hands, on the feel of his callused palms and fingers scraping his hide.
“Urkot? Are you okay?”
“It is not safe,” he said, nearly in a growl.
Callie sighed, and Urkot glanced at her in time to see her roll her eyes. It was…unsettling when humans did that.
“This whole planet isn’t safe,” she said. “I could take one step out into the jungle and get eaten by a carnivorousplant.”
“No.”
“Urkot, come on. Don’t?—”
“No”
Callie huffed. “I agree with Rekosh. You are stoneheaded.”
Urkot’s hands stilled, and his mandibles twitched.
So what if he was stoneheaded? If it kept the ones he cared about safe, he would accept it gladly.
He resumed coating his hide in the oil, trying his best not to look at the tempting female beside him. But even if he wasn’t looking at her, he was always aware of her, always aware of the unseen tether that ceaselessly drew him toward her. From the edge of his vision, he saw her rise to her feet.
Grunting, he bent his arms backward to spread oil on his back. As always, his bulky arms and broad shoulders made it impossible to reach most of his back, forcing him to strain and stretch.
“Here, let me do it,” Callie said as she took the jar from him. “It’s okay to ask for help sometimes.”
Without awaiting his reply, she moved behind him, threw one leg over his hindquarters, and straddled him. He blinked, momentarily stunned. Gathering his long, damp hair, she draped it over the front of his shoulder. And then her soft hands were upon his hide, rubbing the oil in, fingers working firmly over his taut muscles.
Now, his entire body stilled. He hadn’t expected this, never could’ve expected it. Tingles spread across his hide as she massaged the oil into his back, the fine hairs on his legs rose, and pressure built deep within his chest and core.
Urkot grasped his forelegs with all three hands, squeezing them as though it could dull the sensations she was causing. It wasn’t merely her hands; it was her weight on his hindquarters, the warm, bare skin of her legs pressed against him, and her soft ass atop him, covered by only a thin layer of cloth. Her scent permeated him from her calves brushing his leg hairs.
Never in all his years had anyone offered to do this for him. Never in all his years had anyone touched him this way.
For it to be Callie…
His eyes fell shut, and a shuddering breath escaped him.
Her hands started at his upper shoulders and worked down his back. A shiver coursed through him when she reached the base of his spine. His stem twitched against his slit, and his claspers drew in tight against it.
By their eightfold eyes. Shaper, unmake me!
She lifted her hands. Relief followed. Urkot drew in a deep inhalation, willing his body to calm, attempting to retake control. Callie was doing him a kindness. He would not answer it by being swept into a mating frenzy.
