Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 91775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
If it was me, I’d be furious with me at the moment, seeing as how I kidnapped him.
Our eyes meet, and he gives me a resentful, betrayed stare. He’d been trying to help me, and I took him captive. I totally get that he’s mad. At some point, we’ll have a few moments alone—and maybe we’ll be able to talk once he gets a language chip implanted—and he’ll understand why I did it. For now, he just glares at me mutely, twisting in the ropes. His long, fluffy tail thwacks hard against the stone floor, annoyed.
And I feel…sad. Bitterly disappointed because I’m not enough of a draw to make him want to stay with me. What else is new, that awful little voice in my head pipes in.
I glance away from Rem’eb, because I can’t even apologize. I’m not sorry for what I did. I’m just sad that whatever flirtation we had going has died.
“You want to go talk to him?” Rosalind whispers.
I shake my head, because there’s too much to say and not enough shared words between us. “Let’s just work on the fire.”
R’jaal returns, filling the entrance of the cave, and Rosalind immediately perks up at the sight of him, her cheeks turning pink.
For some reason, that irks me. “Okay,” I say a bit louder to get her attention once more. “There’s going to be a pouch around here with some dried sea grass in it, and that works well as tinder. We want to make a little nest—”
And I pause.
My chest feels…strange. That weird bubble I felt also feels as if it has popped, and warmth is spreading through my veins. Warmth, and a heavy, steady throb of my pulse follows.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
My heart pounds in my chest, my pulse throbbing in time with it. Then, my pulse seems to center in three particular places—my nipples, and directly between my thighs. Shocked at the arousal that floods my system, I look back over at Rem’eb.
Our eyes meet.
God, he looks good, even with his mane disheveled and a scowl on his face. I put a hand to my chest, feeling the pounding of my khui’s song, but what I really want to do is crawl over to him and kiss him. Lick him all over. Slide my legs over his lap and fit his strange—yet also appealing—umbrella dick into my body and see what it feels like when it unfurls…
This. This is what we’ve been waiting for. What we’ve been feeling all along.
His shoulders slump and he breaks from my gaze to glance down at his chest, which is resonating loudly to mine. “You can untie me,” he says, defeated. “I am not leaving her.”
I’ve thwarted him. I realize now that was part of his plan. He was expecting resonance between us. We’ve both been feeling something this entire time. But Rem’eb hasn’t wanted to leave his people, so that’s why he’s taking me away. He wanted to get rid of me before resonance, before it was too late. I’m sure in his eyes he’s doing the noble thing, but I feel unwanted all over again and it hurts.
Resonance should be the happiest moment of my life, and instead I’m feeling a variety of things—resentment, hurt, bitterness, and vindication.
R’jaal looks over at me, waiting to see my decision.
“Do it. We have to trust him at some point,” I say.
Set’nef looks over at R’jaal, and when he nods and makes a gesture, he unties my new mate. Rem’eb pulls his hands to his front and rubs his wrists, his gaze moving back to me even as he throbs with resonance song. Mine is so loud that it feels like drumming in my ears, and I both want to jump Rem’eb’s bones and slap him across the cheek for hurting my feelings.
I remain crouched by the firepit, strikers still gripped tight, as Rem’eb gets to his feet. He stands, stretches, and then moves to my side, offering me his hand.
There’s no point in being childish and slapping his hand away. I did want this. I did. I still do. I just wanted him to be a little bit happy about it, that’s all. But I need to be an adult. So I nod, hand the strikers to Rosalind, and get to my feet. “We’ll continue our fire lesson after I’ve talked to Rem’eb.” I turn and gracefully put my hand in his. “Shall we go outside?”
He gazes at me and then turns his head. “Noj’me the Attendant, come with us to translate.”
Great. Because that’s what I need in this moment, another person staring at us while I squirm with horny resonance. I keep smiling, though it grows more difficult by the moment.
We head out of the cave, and the cool air hits me in the face, feeling like relief. I notice that both Noj’me and Rem’eb gasp at the cold, flinching as we step out into the snow. Sure enough, they didn’t bring fur wraps with them and the temperature gets colder when the suns go down. Rem’eb’s legs are bare, his kilt and sandals no good for this kind of weather. With a shake of my head, I indicate that they should sit together on a nearby boulder. “Wait here, I’ll get furs.”