“What do you mean?”
“You would not give me your food otherwise,” he pointed out. “Food is too precious. You know that.”
“You’re my friend, Seerin,” I told him, avoiding his question indirectly. “Aren’t you?”
His eyes flickered. He murmured something under his breath in Dakkari. Then he reached out a hand, cupped the back of my neck, and pulled me to him.
“Lysi, friends,” he murmured, though his voice sounded strained.
A long inhale whistled through my nostrils when he kissed me once, twice, three times.
The third time he lingered and seemed to be waiting for something. Hesitantly, I parted my lips for him. A shocked gasp escaped me when I felt the warmth of his tongue flick inside and he responded with a deep groan.
“Vok, Nelle,” he rasped, pulling back slightly, his breathing a little ragged. I felt a little dizzy when I saw him adjust his bobbing cock underneath the furs with the side of his palm. “You do not know how much I have denied myself with you.”
“You should eat,” I said hurriedly, swallowing—gulping—again. My nipples were tightened in hard points and despite my bleeding time, I felt my belly sizzle with arousal. It was a sensation I’d rarely felt before.
“Eat?” he repeated slowly then looked down at the tray of food I’d placed on him, as if he’d just remembered it was there. He blew out a sharp breath, catching my eyes again. “Very well.”
I watched him eat, trying not to think of his dizzying kiss. He ate methodically, efficiently, and I watched his jaw flex with fascination. A tiny part of me mourned the loss of the food, but a larger part of me liked that he was fed.
“You were hungry once, weren’t you?” I asked softly. He’d made comments here and there and my mind had catalogued them all. “You made the remark about breaking the habit of saving food. And now, you told me I cared for you because I was giving you mine.”
“Youdocare for me,” he corrected.
“I never thought a horde king of Dakkar would know hunger. The hordes always seemed so rich in resources.”
He polished off the food quickly and then took a swig of the fermented wine that came with my meal. I’d left it because it made my blood rush too fast, but he seemed to enjoy it well enough.
“Before you take me to your bed,” he murmured, “you wish to know this?”
“We’re not having sex, Seerin,” I informed him, the thought making me nervous.
“Yet,” he rasped, reminding me of when he’d arrogantly told me that when, not if, he took me, I would be more than willing. “Perhaps you should know who I was before this. It is only fair,” he murmured over the goblet’s rim before he drained the wine.
My brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
He set to tray aside.
“Vorakkarcome from long, ancient lines. Strong blood lines that can be traced back for centuries,” he said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I hadn’t known that. “However, they are selected during the Trials, a series of challenges set by theDothikkarto test the strength, will, and determination of those that aspire to becomeVorakkar. Only those that come from ancient families are allowed into the Trials.”
“So your line must be very old,” I guessed, wondering how far he could trace his ancestors.
“Nik,thissie,” he said with a bitter chuckle. “Not at all.”
I frowned.
“They called usduvna,” he said.
“Duvna?”
“Little creatures inDothik, who scavenge and eat trash and hide in dark, warm corners to avoid being seen.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head.
“I grew up on the streets ofDothik,” he told me, his voice dropping and darkening, and I stilled. “So,lysi, I know hunger very well.”
“What about your parents?” I whispered. “Are they…are they still alive?”
