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)
My cock is entirely stiff at this point, and I want to reach for her, but I do not dare. If I do, I will lose all semblance of control. So I clench two of my fists under the furs and grit my teeth, and watch my new mate, my khui throbbing in my chest.
Tia takes a step back and regards me, her expression changing to one of proud defiance. “Haimgonnabe awnest, ifurspecting han poloshee from may, yergonnabee waitinhawile.”
Her words are fluid nonsense. I look to Noj’me for interpretation.
“She says she will be honest, and she apologizes,” Noj’me says in a sage tone.
Tia sputters. “Dafuk? Snotwutteye say tatall!”
I frown, because Tia does not seem happy with Noj’me’s declaration. I shake my head. “Why is there an apology? It is resonance. We knew it would be.”
She rattles off a string of words again, gesticulating with her two small hands. “Haimnawtgonna palloshies fur hittinyew because yewbelonk wifmehanna dohithagain.”
“She says she will hit you in the head again,” Noj’me interprets. “Perhaps it is a mating ritual of her kind.”
Tia makes a sound of pure frustration and buries her head in her hands. She takes a deep, clarifying breath, and then sinks to her knees in front of me. She gestures at me, then at herself. “Less tri dis hagain. Yuew belonk wif mee, Rem’eb.”
“She says you belong with her.”
I can tell that from her hand motions. Guilt and yearning both rise up in me. “Do not think I did not want this, my lovely Tia. This is the greatest thing that has happened to me. But my people need me. I am the Chief’s Fist and my duty is to my people. I cannot abandon them, especially when our village is struggling. Do you understand?”
Her expression falls and she grabs my hands in her cold ones, speaking again.
“She wants to know why you would not choose her, pick her first.” Noj’me gives me a look of reproach. “Let our people sort their own battles. You cannot save anyone if they are determined to act as fools.”
There are fools, but I also think of Cas’zor and his brother. I think of So’ran, who wants nothing more than a mate, and Wa’duk who simply wants to be with his. Of Am’ar the Lonely, who has given his mate three daughters and has seen none of them. Of my father, in his lonely house, alone by the fire, waiting to die. They need me, too. “Please do not ask me to choose.”
She says more words, all of them fierce.
Noj’me’s tone is full of reproach as she interprets. “If you will not choose her first, she will make you fall in love with her.”
And Tia’s eyes are full of fire and determination.
Even though I have resolved to be strong and return to my people, my heart pricks with longing. She is going to make this difficult for me, and my traitorous khui likes that idea very much. My body aches at the thought, yet I find myself challenging her. “Nothing you say can make me turn my back on my people.”
Noj’me makes a derisive sound. “I do not think she plans on wooing you with words, Rem’eb the Fist.”
Even so. I must be strong. Resolute. I gaze up at Tia’s amused eyes and keep my expression firm. “Just because I must return does not mean I want you less.”
Tia moves forward, closing the distance between the two of us. She cups my face in her hands, gazing down at me, her eyes full of emotion. Then she turns to Noj’me. “Kinnwi haffa momint.”
Noj’me gets to her feet, spilling furs from her lap. “I am returning inside. It is too cold out here and I have no wish to watch the two of you mate. Some things need no translation.”
On this, we are agreed. Tia watches me with dancing eyes, her thumbs stroking over the tufts of jaw fur that frame my face. Our khuis sing so loudly with joy that it feels as if the entire world is full of song. I could not move from this spot if my life depended on it.
“Rem’eb,” Tia whispers, leaning in to brush her lips lightly over mine.
There is a hint of a smile playing over her mouth, and I love just looking at her. Knowing that she is mine…for however long it will take for resonance to die away. Then I must leave her, and the thought slices into me like a knife.
She pulls my face forward, dragging it into her breasts, and I groan, wrapping my arms around her. Tia is covered in a thick layer of leather to fight the cold, a body wrap that covers her from neck to knee, and so I cannot bare her loveliness to my gaze. I cannot nip at the delightful brown peaks that tip her breasts, the ones that have shown to be so very sensitive.