His gaze turns triumphant. "ThenIamuse you."
"I admit nothing."
"You never do." His tone is admiring. "Well, regardless of whether or not your creature uses the cage, the task has been completed."
I stroke Makana's furry neck and again wonder how Valmirfeels in comparison. Heat pulses between my thighs. "So it has. I concede that even if it's not right for Makana, it's a fine cage."
"Now my reward." His eyes turn into feral slits. "I get to touch myself while you watch."
Is that what he thinks the reward is? Touchinghimself? I've been thinking about our moment from the other day and that's definitely not what I had in mind. "That's not what we agreed on, pussycat."
"It's...not?" He scowls. "Are you going back on our deal?"
"Not at all. I just seem to recall that the agreement was thatIget to touch you."
Valmir's gaze flares with heat. His tail goes utterly still, his ears pricking forward. "Go on..."
"I said I'd touch you." I shoot him an exasperated look. "Don't make me say it again."
His mouth curves into an almost smile and he holds a hand out to me. "Let's go, then."
I cradle Makana in the crook of my arm and with my free hand lace my fingers with his. The palm of Valmir's hand is strange, padded like a cat's, but the fingers that curl with mine are human enough. His claws are withdrawn, and there's a hint of fur on the back of his hand. It feels just as soft as Makana, and I find that fascinating. Someone as cranky and smirky as Valmir shouldn't be as soft as a kitten.
We head for my hut, my heart fluttering and my khui singing. I'll put Makana in his basket, wash my hands...and then put them all over Valmir. The man I don't like. The man who could fall off a cliff and I wouldn't cry. The man who's been haunting my dreams since we resonated. It'sirrazhow much of my thoughts he consumes. I should tell him to fuck off, and instead, I'm getting excited at the thought of touching him because he spent hours making the most elaborate cage for my scared little creature.
He doesn't head into the hut first but pulls the flap back for me. I duck in — and nearly run into Dawn.
"Hey," she says, lacing up her boots. She's seated atop her furs, heavy cloak tossed down next to her bed.
"Oh," I stammer. "Hey there. You're back? I thought you were hunting today."
"I was," she says, rubbing her face with her hands. Her eyes look hollow and tired, her gaze focused on her boots. "But I have the worst cramps so I think I'm just going to lie...down..." She looks up and sees Valmir, standing right behind me. Her gaze drops to our joined hands. "Oh. Oh dear."
"You're fine," I say quickly, as if I wasn't about to give Valmir the hand job of his dreams. I trill out a nervous laugh that sounds far higher pitched than I'd like. "I'm just putting Makana in his basket and then we're going hiking."
"Right. Okay. If you need me, I'll be here in bed, dying." She tosses her boots aside and curls up in her blankets, looking pitiful.
I put my pet in his basket, and I could swear he seems happy, tucking himself back into it. Maybe he doesn't need a massive dog-run. Maybe he likes being cozy and tucked into a small space. I glance over at Dawn. "You want me to bring you some hot tea or something? Or do you need me to get the healer?"
Valmir makes an impatient sound. I wave a sharp hand at him, silently telling him to shut the fuck up. Fooling around is one thing, but I know what it's like to be laid low by cramps. It's the worst. We can spare five minutes and make sure Dawn's comfortable before we run off to get frisky.
"I just had some," she says, yawning. "I'm going to nap and hope that when I wake up, the cramps are gone."
"If you're sure..."
"She's sure," Valmir says, interrupting.
I shoot him another withering look. If he's trying to kill my lady-boner, he's succeeding. "No one's talking to you. Go home, cook rice."
"Eh?" he says.
I wave a hand at him, dismissing him.
Dawn pulls the blankets tighter around herself. "I'm fine, really. I just need to sleep it off. Go do whatever you were going to do."
Strangle a bitch, possibly? I eye Valmir withirraz. Even as I do, his tail flicks and he shoots me a hungry look. His leathers are tight across the groin, and it's like my khui is noticing all this, too. A good friend would stay with Dawn and keep her company until she goes to sleep. Me, I'm about to go give a guy a hate-filled handy, and I'm looking forward to it. A therapist would have a field day with me.
"Back later," I tell Dawn, and head out of the hut with Valmir again. He reaches for me. I ignore his hand and stomp down the beach, annoyed by him and by how much I want to touch him. Touch him, choke him, six of one, half a dozen of the other. This guy irritates the snot out of me. Just when I think we're turning a corner, he becomes the most annoying person on the planet once more. When we're far enough away from the hut that Dawn won't hear us talking, I stop and turn to him. "You're really something, you know that?"
