Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106646 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
D'see stares up at me in surprise. After a moment, she nods. "You're right. I was hoping it would push her into your arms but it doesn't seem to be having that effect." She gets to her feet. "I didn't realize it was bothering you so much, A'tam." Her hand goes to my shoulder, and then she strokes my mane. "But you seem stressed and unhappy."
"I am." So unhappy. I just want B'shit and her smile, and it seems further away today than ever.
D'see trails her fingers through my mane. Her touch is comforting, but…it is not B'shit. "I'll go talk to O'jek," she says softly. "See if I can sleep in his hut instead of yours. If you're not comfortable with pretending anymore, I totally get it."
"My thanks," I tell her. If nothing else, perhaps I will sleep better in my own hut.
D'see pats my shoulder and hops down off the rocks. I do not watch her go, bending over my task again. My thoughts turn to B'shit once more and I pick up the strands of my net.
Someone clears their throat.
I look to my side, and B'shit stands there, an odd expression on her face. I stare at her in surprise.
"Is this a bad time?" B'shit asks, and there is a note of hurt in her voice.
"Why would it be a bad time?" I indicate she should join me on the rocks, but my heart is pounding with excitement and anticipation. B'shit has decided to seek me out?
She appears ready to bolt away. "You and Daisy looked…cozy."
We did? She saw that? I think of D'see with her fingers in my mane and want to scream in frustration. Of course B'shit saw that. Such is my luck. "D'see has left. She was just comforting me and I was not good company to her." I gesture at the space next to me that she left. "But I would like it if you joined me."
Her brows furrow a little. "Because you're not good company?"
"Because I would like to be better company, and if you are with me, that will happen," I say simply.
"Oh." She thinks for a moment and then climbs the rocks to come and sit by me. She is skittish tonight, I can tell. It is in the way she holds herself, as if she is ready to bolt at a loud sound like a wild dvisti. B'shit is silent as she stares out at the waves, and I do my best to concentrate on my nets. My fingers fumble with her nearness, though. She is so close to me that I can fill my senses with her enticing scent. Her long mane flutters against my arm, and my heart pounds with her nearness. I can feel her warmth, and I want to gather her in my arms. Instead, I try to make more knots for my net. Try, and fail.
"What are we doing, the two of us?" B'shit asks softly.
I look over at her, frowning. "I am…making a net?"
"No, I mean…" She takes a deep breath and blows it out, frustrated. "Last night, in the cave. And the constant back and forth between you and me. It's just so confusing and hard." Her gaze locks onto me. "I need to know how you feel about me, A'tam. How you really, truly feel."
It is a strange thing to ask. Have I not made it abundantly clear that I consider her my mate? "You know how I feel."
B'shit shakes her head, frustration on her delicate features. "No, I need you to say it out loud. Don't assume I know what you're thinking. Tell me, right now, how you feel about me." Her eyes are bright in the twilight, her mouth tight, and she brims with tension. "Right now. As of today. Not how you felt when we first met, or when we hooked up. Right now, after everything we've been through."
I give her a puzzled look. Why does she think it will have changed because we argue? "You have my heart and I wish for you to be my mate."
Instead of relaxing, B'shit only seems even more tense. "And Daisy? You're going to break up with her to be with me? Because I'm not going to be a second wife or any bullshit like that. Either we do this right or not at all."
I do not know if I should be excited that she speaks as if we are mated now—or worried that she still seems so tense. B'shit seems so brittle, as if a strong wind will snap her in two. "D'see is in my hut, but not in my furs."
Her brows furrow. "But you said—"
"I know what I said," I interject quickly. "D'see sleeps there to make you jealous. We have never shared kisses or furs. I sleep with O'jek." I pause and add, "Who I am also not sharing kisses or furs with."