“Breakfast, finally.” Callie set her basket aside and reached out to Will with grabby hands. “Gimme, gimme! I’m starving.”
He stopped next to the spread blanket Callie and Lacey were sitting upon and teasingly swung the platter away, his brown eyes narrowing. “Ah-ah. Not until you guys fill me in. The terrible thing?”
“Nothing,” Callie said quickly.
Lacey chuckled. “I was just reminding Callie of her first attempt at basket weaving.”
Will snickered. “Yeah, that was pretty bad.”
“Woooow,” Callie said. “At least Itried, unlike you.”
“Hey! Only because I burned my fingers trying to get extra supplies for us.”
“Which is why you get a pass. Now both of you stop mocking my first basket—may it rest in pieces—and give me food.”
Laughing, Will bent and set the platter down in front of them before sitting atop the blanket. “Bon appétit.”
“You’re a saint.”
Callie plucked up a yellow riverberry and tossed it into her mouth. The moment she bit down, the sweet yet sour juice burst on her tongue. She hummed appreciatively. It was delicious, similar to a grape both in flavor and texture, and was easily one of her favorite alien fruits. Thankfully, they grew in abundance along the nearby river, allowing her to forage them as often as she pleased.
Eating another berry, she drew in a deep breath and swept her gaze to the side, across the suspended rope bridge thatconnected the humans’ treehouse platforms to the rest of the village.
There was activity all around Kaldarak as its residents prepared for Singer’s Promise. Thornskull vrix with hides of earthy reds and oranges, yellows, browns, and greens mingled with each other, working in harmony as broodlings played or helped their parents. The white male thornskulls stood out the most from the rest, though they were far rarer.
Callie spotted Garahk, one of those white thornskulls, just as he drew his mate Nalaki’s headcrest down to his own. Their five broodlings were gathered around their legs.
She smiled at the open affection the leaders of Kaldarak showed one another.
When she’d first met Garahk, he’d been terrifying. The huge, powerfully built vrix had been covered in mud, with wicked spikes on his shoulders and headcrest. But despite his intimidating exterior, he was a compassionate, thoughtful leader, a male of honor with a gentle nature.
As Will and Lacey chatted, their voices seeming far off, Callie searched the platforms, but she didn’t spot any of the black shadowstalker vrix.
Looking for a particular combination of black and blue, Callie?
She smiled.
Perhaps.
The morning breeze, carrying the fresh scent of mist, flowed over her skin. Callie turned her head toward the ancient temple. Sunlight shimmered on the waterfall, breaking into a blooming rainbow on the mist that hung in the air.
Her skin warmed at the memory of what had happened in that temple last night. She’d bathed in those pools after sunset many times, and never once had anyone walked in on her. The vrix seemed to visit the temple most often in the morning. Calliehad come to see it as her perfect escape, her little sanctuary, where she could let her guard down for a short while.
Out of everyone in Kaldarak, it had been Urkot who’d walked in on her as she stood naked within the hot springs. Urkot, who had been her friend, who had gifted her precious, pretty stones because he knew she loved them.
It should’ve shattered her sense of security, but oddly, it hadn’t. She’d always known there was a chance of someone walking in on her. It wasn’t as though the pools were private, and they certainly didn’t belong to her. But that it had been Urkot? That had sent a rush of exhilaration through her.
How long had he stood there? How long had he been…watching her?
Warmth sparked low in her belly. She liked the thought of him watching her bathe.
Callie ran her fingertips down her cheek. She could almost feel the ghost of Urkot’s finger trailing over her face, could almost feel his rough, possessive touch as he grasped her chin, forcing her to keep her eyes on him.
Had he truly called herhispretty female?
What is happening to me?
She was horny, simple as that, and she’d just experienced one of the most erotic moments of her life with a spider man. She’d sat astride his hindquarters, had felt the warmth of his body radiating between her thighs. She had rubbed oil into his hide, had explored his broad back with her hands, learning every plane of his defined muscles, marveling at the strength he’d built over years of labor in the tunnels. Fuck, he even had dimples on his lower back. Now that was sexy as hell.
