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“Land!” she exclaimed.

She bolted straight for the fire, threw wood on it, and put her frozen fingers out to the subtle heat. She shivered, her teeth chattering when the cold air wrapped around her wet form. When Nathair approached, she threw her head to the side.

“I’m not talking to you until my clothes dry.”

He snickered. Snickered!

Nathair lowered himself, curled around her back, and brushed his hand over the top of her head. He did it repeatedly, as if trying to soothe her.

She hated how nice it felt, and slapped his hand away with both her own. When she lowered them back to the fire, huddling for its warmth, he gently patted her again.

“I told you, I’m not talking to you until my clothes dry. Go away.”

He opened and closed his maw mockingly, shaking his head around. She reciprocated by poking her tongue out at him. Like the bully he was, he retaliated, pretending to poke the tip of her nose with a claw. Except he retracted it, then bopped her with the end of his forefinger instead.

Linh gasped and grabbed his hand. Only the one finger was clawless, and she inspected it with wide eyes. “You can sheath your claws? I didn’t know that.”

As if to demonstrate, the rest of his claws pulled back, showing he had complete control of them.

“Why didn’t you show me before?” she asked, turning her gaze up to him. Nathair lifted his shoulders in a shrug.

She guessed he’d never needed to reveal this ability until now.

Then she remembered something and shoved his hand away.I forgot I’m not speaking to him.Her gaze drifted to the lake.I guess it is a little relieving that I could probably save myself now.A small smile tried to creep onto her features, but she refused to give Nathair the satisfaction of her relief.

Her attention grew focused on the way he’d returned to patting her head. She noticed the distinct difference of how it felt now that his claws were sheathed.

She nipped at her bottom lip.I didn’t know he could do that.Honestly, part of her worries of him touching her anywheredelicatewas if he tried to shove a claw inside her. No woman wanted their insides sliced.

His fingers are so thick.They appeared nimble, the grey tips darker. She thought just one might be very filling if he were to sink it inside her pussy.

Shaking her head, she cleared her mind of any more potentially perverse thoughts. Her stomach grumbled, as if swimming had worn her out.

“If you want to make it up to me for throwing me into cold water,” she started, lifting her chin with a forced pout, “then you can prepare my dinner for me. I’m really hungry now.”

Nathair did just that. He descaled the fish, gutted it, and then staked it over the fire. She was almost dry by the time it was ready. Nathair placed it on a silver plate – he’d been giving her all sorts of utensils from his special hoard – and she turned her back to the flames as she ate to remove the last of the dampness from her clothing.

He’d given her a metal cup a few days ago, and she sipped the wine to wash down the taste.

When she was halfway through the fish, she placed it down on the plate. He lifted it back into her hands and she turned a glare up at him; she was tired of having this argument with him.

She kept asking him to catch smaller, more manageable meals, and instead they got bigger each time. He probably thought she was thin, but she was a perfectly acceptable weight. Thin, but soft enough to give her generous womanly curves. He probably didn’t realise he was just so big thateverythingwas tiny compared to him.

Still, for his benefit only, and because he was more stubborn than a mule, she attempted to eat a little more.

As she did, she darted her gaze to him often. Now that she was warm again, she felt more inclined to be nicer.

“Thank you, by the way,” she muttered. “For teaching me how to swim, and just... for everything.”

His orbs shifted to bright yellow, and Linh fidgeted. Her cheeks heated, suddenly self-conscious. She placed the plate down and ventured over to the water to wash her hands – thankfully without falling in like she did two nights ago.

Like then, the area was dark. Dusk was likely falling on the world, and she couldn’t wait until the longer, summery days arrived.

She turned to find Nathair preparing one of the torches for her. She would have been nervous about what that meant if she hadn’t grown accustomed to it over the past few days. It probably meant something significant to him that they spent most evenings in his nest.

The proximity always brought on a wave of bashful stomach flips.

Linh had tried to sleep near the fire the night he’d tried to take her from his home, but he’d refused. No matter how many times she attempted to crawl out of it, he kept placing her in the middle of the large recess until she caved.