“Gladly. But we do need to talk.” His eyes flick to Alleria, sprawled on the table, tunic hanging open, breasts wet from my mouth. “When you’re finished, that is.”
He turns and walks out.
The silence that follows is deafening.
I look down at Alleria. She’s staring at the ceiling, her cheststill heaving, her face burning. The bond between us is a mess of emotion—shame, fury, confusion, and underneath it all, the desperate ache of interrupted pleasure.
I step back, and pull my hand away.
She scrambles upright immediately, yanking her tunic closed, fumbling with the fastenings. Her face is burning red, and she won’t look at me.
I need to get out of here. If I stay in this tent, I’m going to put her back on that table and finish what I started … and that wasn’t my intention when I started my demonstration.
“Stay here.” I walk out before she can respond.
Therin is waiting a few paces from the entrance, arms folded, making no effort to hide his amusement.
“Not a word.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.” His mouth twitches. “Though Idohave questions.”
“Keep them to yourself.”
“For now.” He falls into step beside me as I stalk toward the edge of the camp. “Your temper has been getting worse for days. You’ve been avoiding that female like she’s a plague carrier, and now I walk in on you about to fuck her on the table.”
“What part of ‘not a word’ don’t you understand?”
He snorts, but falls silent. He knows well enough when to push and when to wait.
My jaw clenches. “She wanted to know how I hid under their noses for so long. I showed her.”
“And … did youenjoyshowing her?”
I slant him a narrow-eyed glance. He grins at me.
“The magic is doing something to her.”
That makes him lose the smile. “What do you mean?”
“The Nightwild magic is reaching for her.”
“Asone of us?”
“Yes.”
“Does Vel know?”
“No.”
“Good.” He nods. “That’s good. Because she’d try to kill her, and you’d have to stop her, and then I’d have to pick a side, and I really don’t want to do that.” He blows out a breath.
“I didn’t choose this.”
“No. The magic chose. I know how it works.” He studies my face. “Is this what’s been eating at you?”
“We need to ride east.” I ignore his question. “I’m done waiting.”
He takes my change of subject in stride. “One of us will have to remain behind to guard the camp.”
