I have nothing.
I have been homeless for over a year and have gained nothing since.
Julia looks over her shoulder at the two males, only turning to face me when her eyes slip over the rest of the clearing. When her gaze lands on mine, I see the exhaustion in her expression. I do not like seeing her this way.
I rise and leave the camp, beckoning for her to join me. Waiting for her outside the clearing the others are in, she locks her eyes with mine as she walks towards me, grass and pine needles crunching under her boots as she comes nearer.
Bunching my hands at my sides, I know she is not the one for me even if I want her to be. She is going to return to those I despise, to those that destroyed and took my home. She still wears their uniform.
Coming to a stop outside my reach, she eyes me with an unreadable, tired expression. A breeze courses through the trees to flutter her loose strands across her face. One of them catches on her lips and she reaches up to swipe it off. My mouth waters and I swallow thickly.
“Come here,” I say, testing her when she stops just outside the ring of my tail, and holding out my hand to her.
Without hesitation, she steps over my tail and closes the distance until she is directly before me. Scenting her flesh, her sweat, her stress as I look down at her, excitement strikes me, zinging down the length of my tail.
She came.
‘Anything he wanted.’
I will not get to keep her.
I will be leaving her with the other humans at the encampment.
But I will always have my memories.
“Is something wrong?” she asks as I stare at her lips, jawline, and neck, taking in the supple curves of her face and the way her lovely hair frames all of it. “What do you want?” She frowns when I continue to stare at her.
Want?
I want to know what it feels like when lips touch, to feel your hair slip through my fingers. I want you to take off your clothes and show me your body. I want to see you. A human female. Iwant to see what all of you looks like. I want to know what it is that makes all of the others covet their females. I want to know you.
This is why I have stayed away from Zaku’s home these last few months. I fear my instincts.
“I want you to get some sleep,” I tell her instead, clasping her wrist and closing the distance between us. She briefly stiffens before letting me tug her to a shadowy spot under a nearby tree. Coiling my tail around her and lowering to the ground, I draw her loosely within and settle her there.
“Sleep? Now? Are we planning on stopping that long?” She places her palms on my tail to push away from me while the other hand grabs the neck of her shirt and lifts it over her nose.
The pressure of her hands, the sensation of her palms has me regretting pulling her into my coil, already wanting more.
“Only long enough for you to get some rest. I was trying to let you sleep before.”
She sighs and rubs her face. “I didn’t mean to doze off earlier. I didn’t sleep the night before last. It’s catching up to me. All of this is…”
Noticing the rings under her eyes, I frown. “I can tell. You need your strength traversing the forest. Rest will help you.”
She sits back, eyeing me warily. “What about the others?”
I stop myself from reaching up and swiping her hair behind her ear. “They are in need of rest too. I can hear them from here. They are not as far away as you think. A lot has happened and I want you to be your besssst.” It will be safer. You will be safer.
She looks back in the direction of Olivia and the two males, before eyeing the short distance between us. With her gaze flicking over my chest and tail, I stiffen, feeling her eyes on me, her consideration.
If she lies against me, will I stop her? Eager for her to do just that, my thoughts go to war with each other. Though I should notremain stationary for long… I need to scout our perimeter and make certain the area around us is safe.
A sigh leaves her lips, and easing further down in her spot, she pulls off her pack and places it next to my tail before lowering her head on it. “No funny business while I sleep,” she mumbles, watching me with hooded eyes.
I shake my head and push my long hair over my shoulder. “I do not know what funny business issss.”
“Leaving without me while I’m asleep.” Her voice is muffled behind her shirt. “Or touching me in any way.”
