“Wait here,” Cruxan said, plucking his dagger from where she still held it in her palm.
She bit her lip, wondering if something lived in the cave. That thought definitely put her on edge. She watched helplessly as Cruxan disappeared into the darkness of the small opening, her heartbeat thrumming in her throat.
Relief washed over her when he emerged a few moments later, his dagger unused. He held out his hand to help her up onto the slightly raised ledge of the cave lip and together, they ducked inside.
It felt cool and damp within. It was too dark to see how far back the cave extended so Crystal stuck as close as she dared to Cruxan. Judging from the look he tossed over at her, that seemed topleasehim. She blushed, looking away, stepping away.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “Should we gather supplies?”
“Tev, but I will do it.”
“No,” Crystal said, shaking her head. She already felt like she was taking advantage of him. She wanted to help out, needed to help out. “Show me what to look for and I’ll help you.”
He must’ve heard the stubbornness about the issue in her voice because he let out a low, “Tev.”
She followed him out of the cave, back down onto the forest floor.
“The water gourds are deep in the earth,” he informed her. He pulled a thick strip of bark from the nearestpillervatree, handing it to her. “You can use this to dig. They will usually be close the roots of the tree.”
She nodded, eager to help. Though the ground was mushy from the storm, she dropped to her bare knees at the base of one of the trees and used the thick bark to scrape away at the earth.
Meanwhile, Cruxan did the same, though she’d only made about a few inches of progress when he pulled his first gourd from the ground. She wiped at her forehead, shooting him a surprised look, but it only made her more determined.
“You’re one of those people who are just naturally good at a lot of things, aren’t you?” she huffed out, scraping at the earth with more vigor, her arm beginning ache.
His expression was all arrogance when he looked over at her. “Tev.”
She made a sound in the back of her throat, one of disbelief. “How modest you are,” she murmured.
He shrugged one of his massive shoulders. From this angle, the way he was bent over, his bared back was on full display. She’d done her best not to ogle it, which was perhaps why she’d taken to walking next to him during their trek. She didn’t want another ‘I can smell your arousal’ mishap.
But right then, she couldn’t help but watch the way his muscles pulled and shifted, how his arm flexed. In the misty fog of the forest, his skin appeared almost silver, reflecting the light around it.
That thought came again, louder than the first time:
I want to draw him.
She swallowed, though it sounded more like a gulp to her ears, drawing his attention. He paused in his work, his eyes flashing,flaring, as he took in her expression that she desperately tried to hide.
“There are many things I excel at,luxiva,” he rasped, his voice almost silky as it deepened. He actually purred as he said, “Some of which, I would be more than pleased to demonstrate for you.”
Crystal’s breath hitched, her eyes widening when she picked up on his true meaning. Her core gave a helpless throb and she muffled a small, surprised sound.
She caught Cruxan’s grin.
A little irritated, a little frightened by his potency, she averted her gaze back to the small hole in the ground she’d made, and said, “I thought we talked about this.”
“Talked about what?” he returned, his tone innocent.
She let out a short exhale through her nostrils. “Never mind.”
They lapsed back into silence, before Cruxan broke it with, “I cannot help myself. I am naturally this way with females. I apologize if it offended you.”
Crystal’s lips pressed together. She didn’t know what stung more…that she’d grown upset simply because an attractive male was flirting with her…or that Cruxan openly admitted that he flirted a lot with other females.
Leo had been a flirt too. He’d been charming and open around all women. When Crystal had met him, she’d been the awkward, chubby girl in her junior class. He’d been a freshman at the local community college, an older, handsome boy who she couldn’t believe approached her, who she couldn’t believe wanted her.
Maybe that was why she was so guarded around Cruxan…because he reminded her of Leo.
