“We shouldn’t pretend that this is something it isn’t,” I said, scooting away from him, drawing the furs up over my shoulders when I shivered. “If—if I need to give you a child eventually, then that is something we can discuss. In the future. But there is no reason for me to be in your bed every night.”
“Perhaps I desire you,” he growled. “Have you ever thought of that,rei sarkia?”
“Because of last night?” I asked, though my voice shook a little. “That was expected, was it not? Because of thetassimara?”
He looked away from me and a whispered curse fell from his lips.
Just the memory of last night, of his hot, seeking tongue between my thighs, of his soft kisses at my breasts made me breathless. He’d shown me pleasure so intense that itstillscrambled my mind just thinking about it.
And then there were the moments when I’d felt my belly flutter and my heart sing. Soft moments. When he’d stroked my hair and murmured that he’d wait for me to get used to his size. He’d been patient. He’d stroked me until I was rocking against him. And after we’d come together, in a dizzying rush, he’d placed his head right over my heart and seemed to melt into me when I touched his hair.
My heart gave a dull thud. He’d been…surprisingly vulnerable with me last night. Sex had shown me a different side of him. An erotic, maddening, wonderful side of him. In those moments, I’d felt cherished. I’d felt wanted and needed. He’d even made me feelbeautiful. As if I were the only female in the entire universe, as if I were the only female he desired above all others.
Then reality had returned. He’d pulled out from my body, rose from me, and I’d felt the cold shift of him, just as tangible as the cold air drifting across my flesh, filling all the places where his warmth had been.
I told myself it was for the best. If he’d been that way with mealways…I might actually be in danger of loving him. Of caring about him with everything I had in me.
I wasn’t sure I could survive that and so I told myself it was best to keep my distance, especially when he’d made it clear he felt the same.
“If you wish for me to sleep elsewhere, I will,” he said. The words shocked me. Was…was that athreat? Did he mean that he’d take other females, that he would warm their beds since he was not in my own? “But you will not sleep in here. I forbid it.”
I…didn’t want that either. I didn’t know why the thought of him with other females bothered me so much but the hot jealousy threatened to choke me.
Looking at him, it occurred to me that he looked tired. So very tired. He’d told me he hadn’t slept last night, after all.
What would arguing accomplish? Nothing. The male was stubborn. I’d known that even under the Dead Mountain when I tried to clean his wounds and give him fresh well water.
“What’s the word for stubborn male in Dakkari?” I whispered, repeating words to him I’d once asked, though we’d been in an entirely different situation then.
His eyes flashed. His brows furrowed and for a moment, he looked surprised. As if he was remembering that moment too, remembering those words, rememberingme. It had been the first time he said I had claws of my own. Those words had filled me with…pride.
“Sailon,” he answered, his eyes narrowing. I was surprised he actually gave me the word.
“Now I know what to call you when you call mesarkia,” I informed him.
IsworeI saw his lips quirk. Just briefly. But it was gone in the next moment, replaced by that unreadable, hardened expression.
“Come,” he murmured. “I’ll guide you back to thevoliki.”
I asked, “Where did you go last night?”
Wrune stood. He reached down and gripped my waist, hauling me up until I was before him.
Our eyes locked. For a breathless moment, I remembered the soft stroke of his tongue and the way he’d kissed me. His hands tightened on my waist and I felt a dull pang where he’d left his bruises, but I didn’t move a muscle.
Unconsciously, my hand reached out to touch his forearm. It was as hard as a boulder, unyielding and strong. Yet, I spied scratches down it. From my own nails?
Our bandaged wrists touched and pressed and I felt tension rise between us, though it didn’t feel unpleasant. Just…charged.
“Does it matter where I went?” he asked quietly, his voice tired. His answer disappointed me. I thought of Junira. Hukri had pointed her out to me in the horde this morning and I’d seen she was beautiful, tall and dark, with wide hips that attracted the gazes of many males.
Wrune had been attracted to her, I knew. It was her place I’d stolen, after all.
He took the furs that were bundled up on the sleeping pallet and draped them over my shoulders. Then, without another word, he led me from thevoliki, our hands falling away from one another.
In the morning, I’d ask Hukri if it was common for Dakkari to stray to other beds, even in marriage. I might not like her answer, but I needed to know. If I knew there would be other females, it would make it easier to detach.
We walked in the silence of his horde and once we reached hisvoliki, we ducked inside. I wondered if he would stay this night. A part of me…hoped he did.
