I explained my theory and Dungar nodded.
“I’m sure that’s it. Ruugar’s demonstration ended, and Marcy saw the baby scampering across the open area beyond the pens.” He gestured in that direction. “And she followed.”
“No bad lady.”
Dungar chuckled. “Just a little explorer who got more adventure than she bargained for.”
The baby in my arms began chirping, and I gently placed him in the pen. Within moments, his family surrounded him, their glowing spines creating a breathtaking light show.
“That never gets old,” Dungar said, watching them scamper around.
After he’d repaired the fence, we strolled over to a paddock where several sorhoxes grazed in the moonlight, their big forms moving peacefully through the deep grass. I leaned against the wooden rail, and Dungar settled beside me, close enough that I could feel thewarmth radiating from his frame. The adrenaline that had carried us through the search was finally fading, leaving behind exhaustion and a heightened awareness of each other that made the space between us feel charged.
Sorhoxes looked like mythical creatures from a dream, each the size of a minivan. Silver light caught on their medium green hides, turning them into living sculptures. Their curved horns spiked out from behind their ears and ending in points near their snouts, gleaming like polished bone in the darkness.
Despite their fangs, spiked tails, and three-clawed hooves leaving deep prints in the earth, there was something profoundly peaceful about them. They moved slowly, their dark eyes reflecting the moonlight as they lifted their heads to survey their territory.
I’d thought I’d feel nervous around such big creatures, but I found their presence oddly comforting. They belonged to this place in a way I envied, rooted and secure in their world.
“You were incredible today,” I said, watching Dungar’s profile in the low light. “The way you handled Marcy, how gentle you were with her while still taking charge of the situation.”
He turned to look at me, his dark eyes reflecting the moonlight. “You made it easy. The way you stepped in with Lauren and coordinated the volunteers made an incredible difference. We worked well together.”
“We did.” The admission felt dangerous somehow, like I was acknowledging something I wasn’t supposedto want. In my old life, I’d been taught to stay unattached, to keep moving, never to depend on anyone else. But here, leaning against this fence with this impossibly gentle giant of a male beside me, those rules felt like remnants from someone else’s life.
“Riley.” My name sounded different in his deep voice, softer somehow. “When you were holding that luminook, the way you looked…”
“How did I look?” I gazed up at him.
“Like you belong here. Like this was where you were always meant to be.”
My breath caught. The careful distance I’d been maintaining crumbled as he shifted closer, his hand coming up to trace along my jaw with surprising tenderness.
“Is it crazy that I feel like I’ve been waiting for you my whole life?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Before I could think of all the reasons this could be complicated and impossible, he lifted me onto the fence rail, bringing us to eye level. His hands spanned my waist, steadying me, and suddenly we were so close I could see flecks of gold in his dark eyes.
His kiss was nothing like I’d expected. Soft, like he was afraid I might disappear if he moved too quickly. His lips were warm and gentle, and when I melted into him, a low rumble of satisfaction vibrated through his chest.
There was only the feeling of his mouth on mine, the way his fingers stroked my cheekbone, and the overwhelming sense of rightness that settled deep in mybones. When we broke apart, both breathing hard, I felt changed.
His forehead rested against mine, and for a moment, the world consisted of nothing but our shared breathing and the steady thrum of our hearts.
We walked through town, aiming for the hotel, not saying much, both lost in our own thoughts. The kiss had shifted something between us, creating a connection that felt both thrilling and terrifying. Every few steps, our arms brushed, sending sparks of awareness through me.
Part of me wanted to take his hand, to lean into whatever this was becoming. But the part of me trained in survival kept whispering warnings about getting too attached, too comfortable, too trusting. Riley Smith was a temporary identity. This life, this town, and this man could not become a permanent part of my life.
But as we climbed the stairs to the second floor of the hotel, I found myself wishing things were different. That I could be someone who stayed, someone who built a life in a place like this with a male like Dungar.
At my door, he turned to face me, his expression tender in the hallway’s dim lighting.
“Thank you,” he said. “For today, for everything. You were exactly what I needed.”
He traced his fingertips along my cheek in a gesture so sweet it made my heart ache. Then he was walking away, his footsteps echoing down the hall toward the stairs.
I stood frozen at my door, watching until he’ddisappeared from view. My cheek still tingled where he’d touched me, and my lips felt swollen from our kiss. I finally fumbled with my key and stepped inside my room, leaning against the back of the door. Sighing.
Was I falling in love, or was I falling into the kind of trouble that could destroy us both?
