Zina wasn’t sure she had the words to describe what that had been. Her head still felt muddled from ecstasy, her body still tingling.
It’s because he is our mate,her antelope said, giving her an irritatingly knowing look.Which we would have known sooner, had you not locked me away.
Zina didn’t have the energy to feel indignant right now – and anyway, her antelope was right. As if to confirm it, the animalharrumphed!in a very fed-up way, before receding into the background of her mind again.
Well, I’ll just have to find a way to make up for lost time, I suppose.
Zina exhaled, resting her forehead against Trent’s arm. She felt tired, but in a good way – not the terrified exhaustion of the last few weeks, but simply content and sore in all the best ways.
“Oh, wow – Zina. Look.”
Trent’s voice drifted to her as she lay snuggled by his side, and Zina blinked, turning to him.
“What is it?”
“Look up.”
Zina cocked her head in confusion but did as Trent asked, turning her gaze upward to the night sky, only to be confronted with –
“Oh – oh,wow.”
Zina had spent most of her life in cities – places where she’d been lucky to see a few stars twinkling in between the skyscrapers, and only the very brightest could ever be seen. But out here in the desert, with nothing around except utter pitch blackness, the stars above them were laid out across the sky like a shimmering, dazzling blanket.
Zina blinked, a sense of wonder filling her. She’d neverseenso many stars before in her life – the sky was so clear and dark that she could even see the long, shining stretch of the Milky Way, a dense streak of stars that looked almost – almost –
Well, milky,she thought.
“That’s amazing,” she murmured, unable to tear her eyes away. “Does it always look like that out here?”
“More or less,” Trent said. “This was the view I grew up with as a kid. It’s good to finally see it again. And to see it with you.” He turned to her, his teeth flashing in the darkness. “Mind you, the view down here is pretty good, too.”
Zina felt her cheeks flushing as she realized how naked and uncovered she was – but even though they were outside, here with Trent, it didn’t seem to matter.
“As much as I’d like to keep enjoying it though, we’ll get pretty cold,” Trent said, reaching over and pulling their other blanket over them both. “And I guess we should get some sleep.”
“Yeah,” Zina said regretfully. Honestly, there was nothing else she’d rather do than go for round two, or at least spend some time curled up next to Trent, stargazing and talking about what their newfound bond meant. Well – newfound for her. It seemed like Trent had known for some time.
I’ll have to ask him about that later,she thought, as a yawn cracked her mouth wide open.But for now, I better –
Closing her eyes, she was asleep before she even finished the thought.
Chapter 10
Trent was woken by the feeling of sunlight flickering across his face. For some reason, however, he didn’t snap instantly awake like he usually did – he was a morning person, after all, and once he was awake he was awake, and he didn’t really see the point in lying around in bed.
Thismorning, however, something felt different.
“Mmm.”
As Trent turned his head at the mumbled sound coming from beside him, everything suddenly tumbled into place.
Zina.
She was snuggled up by his side, her forehead resting against his shoulder, eyes still closed in sleep, her long, thick eyelashes sweeping down over her cheeks. She looked beautiful, of course – but also more relaxed and contented than Trent had seen her look since they’d met up again. His heart thudded in his chest as he looked down at her. He wished she could always look this way: serene, peaceful, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Once this is over and done with, I’ll make sure she never has to worry about a thing in her life, ever again.
Even as he thought it, Trent knew that was probably impossible – but it wasn’t going to stop him from doing everything in his power totry.
