"Please do." He considers my foot, eyeing it as he moves his hand over it. "This is the first time I've really looked at your feet. Humans are built so strangely. How are you supposed to hold onto anything without claws on your toes?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be holding on with my toes," I admit with a laugh. Just the mental image is enough to make me bite back a stream of giggles. "Anything else I'm lacking?"
"A tail. You should really have a tail for balance."
I grin. "An excellent point. Maybe whatever kid we have will get the tail and the claws."
His expression sobers, and our eyes meet. For a long moment, there's no sound but the crackle of fire and the hum of our khuis singing. His fingers continue to move over my cold foot, rubbing warmth back into it. "I keep forgetting there will be a child at the end of this."
"I can't forget," I tell him wryly. "I'm very aware that we're going to be making a life together. It's one reason I haven't been in a rush. I'm not sure I'm ready to be a parent. The responsibility feels terrifying."
He acknowledges my fear with a small nod. "I have heard from the others that no one is ever ready. And you do a great job with Makana. Just treat our child like you do the two-fang."
"Feed it too many roots and clean up its poop?"
His whiskers twitch. "Make sure it's happy. Love on it. Spoil it with affection and make sure it lacks for nothing. Show it constantly how much you care." He strokes my foot as he speaks. "It will be the happiest creature alive."
His soft words of praise steal my breath away. Does hereally view me so positively? He's never said. Valmir usually only speaks up when he's got a caustic remark to make. "You really think I'd be a good parent?"
"I do. They will be lucky just to be in your presence." His gaze lingers on my face. "As I am."
I squirm a bit at that, because it feels painfully vulnerable. "You know, I wasn't sure if you even liked me for the longest time."
His stroking hands pause. "How can I not like you?"
"Wanting to fuck someone isn't the same as liking them."
"Exactly." Valmir's hand slides up to my ankle, warm and ticklish. "You are smart. You're strong. You have a kind heart and an appreciation for the land around you. You respect this world and the people in it, and you don't try to be something that you're not. You help others and you like everyone. You acknowledge that you don't think you're comfortable killing animals in a hunt, so you work on improving at the things that you do feel comfortable with. You don't expect others to pick up the slack for you. You work hard and you don't complain. And you think I'm funny." His whiskers twitch. "So yes, I like you. Probably far more than is healthy. You also smell incredible."
"My scent is very important," I tease.
"To me? When I can smell someone from across the camp? Yes, it is. I would happily fill my nose with your scent rather than have to breathe in more of Corvak." He shakes his head slightly. "Or keffing Chalath."
"Boy, you really don't like Chalath. What did he do? Spit in your dinner?"
His lip curls slightly. "Nothing so much as that. We don't really speak." Valmir stares at the fire for a long moment. "Chalathis a splice."
"I know." I give him a curious look, waiting for him to fill in the missing pieces.
His gaze flicks to mine, his hand moving over my foot. It's not quite a foot massage, but more like a caress. Either way, it's soothing and welcome. "Chalath has rules in his head. Many, many combat rules. He knows dozens of moves, the history behind some of the biggest battles. He knows what races pair up well in a team battle. He knows what terrain is best in what weather and is trained in twenty-six different weapons. I have none of that." Valmir's voice goes flat. "So when I see Chalath, I see what I am lacking."
Oh. That must be so hard. I feel a twinge of sympathy for my poor pussycat. He tries so hard to seem unbothered, and yet it has to eat at him to know that Chalath has all the information he is keenly aware he doesn't have. "Fuck that guy."
Valmir head turns to me in surprise. A hint of a smile curves his mouth, his fangs peeking out.
"I'm serious. Fuck that guy. We don't have to like everyone on the beach just because we live there. Fuck that guy."
"I appreciate the loyalty, but I am sure he's decent enough. It is probably unfair of me to dislike him because of something he had no say in. Chalath does his share around camp, which is more than I can say forJason." He says Jason's name like a cuss word. "That one doesn't hunt as much as the others."
Poor Jason. None of the taters like him much. "Oh come on. Jason does other things around camp."
"Like flirt with Sabrina."
Well, he definitely does that. "He knows a lot about cooking. And fishing. And hut repair. And gardening. He had a lot of odd jobs back on Earth and so he stays busy around camp. I promise he's not freeloading."
I don't point out that Jason knows very well the other gladiators don't like him much. My guess is that he doesn't gohunting with them out of an abundance of caution. Can't say I blame him.
What I am wondering is why we're talking about Jason after Valmir has confessed how he feels about me. After he's asked about kissing. He's touching my foot and saying he's going to spoil me and...then I get nothing but talking.
