Page 38

Aurora lingered in Rhaego’s bedroom doorway, trying not to sulk as she watched him pack for his trip to the isolation hut. Words stuck in her throat.

He’d barricaded himself in his room yesterday after they’d returned from the luncheon so she supposed another night alone wouldn’t be the death of her, but she felt a little blue all the same. Her mind was torn between wishing he’d stay and spend his heat with her—damn the consequences—and heeding all his damn warnings.

She could handle being wrong. Even if things got a little rougher than she wanted, how bad could it be? This was Rhaego . Sweet, caring, overly attentive Rhaego. Would he really be so out of his mind that he’d cause lasting damage? Or was this his inner demons fucking with his confidence again?

If she begged him to stay and ended up in a healing tube, she could live with that. What really held her back was what that might do to Rhaego. Though she didn’t mind being wrong, she knew he’d never forgive himself if he hurt her. Whether she’d asked for it or not. His heart was already in such a delicate place, teetering between self-love and self-loathing. She refused to accidentally push him toward the latter, no matter how warm and tingly the idea of seeing him at his most unleashed was to her.

She wouldn’t push him…for now. But when the heat was through? He’d better get ready for a world of bedroom gymnastics. No more of this “I might lose control.” She’d abided the excuse for long enough and decided Rhaego was more afraid of Rhaego than she ever could be.

He bent to retrieve another bag from beneath his bed, and she sighed at the firm curve of his ass.

Just wait, she silently promised . I’ll get you, my pretty.

Tearing her gaze away, she asked, “What time do you think you’ll be back?”

He peered at her, red rimming his irises as soon as their eyes met. Her chest flushed at the evidence of how much he wanted her. A girl could get used to this kind of constant affirmation. “The heat begins around the time the sun sets. I should regain myself the next day.”

“How soon will it wear off completely?”

His chest expanded, barely tethered frustration forming lines across his forehead. “A few days.”

Aurora tried not to let her disappointment show. “Makes sense.”

Rhaego stepped toward her, one of the rare times in the last day he’d moved nearer without having to. Their binding had been tense, to say the least. He’d taken advantage of the full length of their slack fabric, walking so far away that he’d had to extend his bound wrist toward her.

He’d been quiet otherwise, lost in concentration. Phirdo had been the same. Their steward had kept his distance and refused to look at them the whole trip, let alone utter a single word. But there had been a smell floating around that she didn’t recognize.

She’d been bombarded by smells of unfamiliar musk all day, though, so neither of them should have been surprised. Tuva had been clamoring with competing smells, each Tuvastan male unable to control their musk. Rhaego’s still smelled the best, but Phirdo’s wasn’t bad. It was fresh and tinged with sweet lemon.

Rhaego’s venomous glare boring into Phirdo’s back told her it was probably for the best he’d acted as though she didn’t exist. But then he’d glanced at Rhaego and his gaze had reddened, and suddenly Aurora had realized she was not the one making Phirdo’s glands pump out musk. Rhaego seemed to have realized this too since his anger had dimmed and he’d flushed fuchsia.

A similar yet strikingly different energy had filled the luncheon yesterday. The Tuvastan women had seemed to experience heat a bit differently from the men. The intensity was there, a fevered glow in their eyes revealing it. But rather than grow stiff and aggressive, the women became more relaxed versions of their normal selves. Almost like they were buzzed and on their way to drunk.

Lasini , the woman with the sour expression who’d sat next to Aurora at the Promenade and chuffed in annoyance whenever she was within breathing distance, had even sidled up to her. She’d peppered her with questions about Rhaego and the heat even though she’d berated her for stirring up gossip the last time they’d spoken.

Despite knowing that Rhaego wanted her to play into their negative feelings about him, Aurora couldn’t bring herself to do it. She told Lasini the truth—that he was much too large for her and they needed more time before they’d feel comfortable.

Well, it was a half-truth. Aurora was ready.

She’d immediately regretted her explanation when Lasini peered down her nose, a half smirk giving her an air of all knowing superiority. “Ah, so you don’t trust him. I don’t blame you.”

Aurora had spent the next few minutes trying to dig herself out of that hole until Lasini had tipped her head, with lifted brows as though she’d just worked out something. “But I suppose you don’t feel the heat, so it may be more difficult.”

“What do you mean?” she’d pressed.

Lasini had gone on to explain that while a man grew more aggressive during the heat, more driven to chase and subdue, Tuvastan women became more pliant. Easily aroused and prone to submission. She’d confirmed that their muscles indeed felt looser, their bodies languid, which helped ease any rough treatment. It was a complementary system.

Aurora had listened closely as Lasini had described her experiences, taking mental notes and storing them away for future use.

When Maggie and Diana had arrived, they’d taken their cues from her and confirmed their fear surrounding the ferocity of the heat was why they also had decided to send their husbands away. This seemed to lend credence to Aurora’s story.

Luckily, it turned the blight boring.

Word of Aurora and Rhaego’s perfectly logical decision to remain apart had spread through the luncheon like a lazy river. Pretty soon, they’d grown bored of the humans, leaving them be in favor of juicier gossip elsewhere.

This had left Maggie and Diana open to head into the water and pummel her with questions. The night of the escape, everything had not gone according to plan. Maggie had succeeded in drugging her husband, but Diana hadn’t. She’d managed to get him to smoke, but he’d never relaxed enough for her to feel comfortable spraying him. So she hadn’t, and she was too nervous to try again.

It annoyed Aurora slightly, but mostly because it would mean Rhaego’s life would be a little harder. She supposed he wouldn’t be exhausted this time, though, so subduing the man might not be a big deal.

He’d need to quietly subdue three men now. Phirdo as well as both Diana’s and Maggie’s husbands.

The spray was a strong formula, adapted for Tuvastans since their fevers burned off drugs more quickly. Maggie’s husband had been unconscious for nearly a day and had awoken confused. Luckily, his mortification had seemed to override his suspicion, but the three women had agreed it wouldn’t be wise for Maggie to try it again.

Across the bedroom now, Rhaego fiddled with a device before storing it in his pack. His gaze flicked to her, then away. Shifty. “I may stay at the hut a little longer to sleep if I can. Since we aren’t leaving till the evening.”

Aurora pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. His gaze fell to the highlighted swell of her breasts, but she didn’t ease his suffering by lowering her arms. “You mean you’re gonna try to see me as little as possible tomorrow because of—” She gestured up and down the length of his body, bringing her outstretched hand up to land on his face. He ran a tongue across one of his fangs, glowing gaze aimed at her cleavage and a low growl rumbling in his chest. “This,” she finished, her point made.

Knowing he’d been caught leering, Rhaego’s mouth clapped shut and he straightened. To his credit, he didn’t deny her accusation. “Yes. Being around you is…taxing. I need all the strength I can recuperate to attempt the journey to the carriages. I refuse to fail you again.”

“You didn’t—” She’d stepped toward him on instinct, but he’d halted her with a rough growl. Throwing her hands up in surrender, she backed back out of his room. “Sorry. Sorry.”

He closed his bags a little more forcefully than was necessary, snapping off one of the clasps. That adorable fuchsia blush flooded his cheeks and crawled up his scraped horns as he peered at the small bit of broken metal pinched between two claws.

Aurora wanted to stomp in frustration. It was maddening not being able to touch him.

Keeping his embarrassed gaze averted, he swung the bags over his back. The straps crisscrossed across his wide chest. He turned toward her and lifted a heavy brow. Waiting.

Despite the serious look on his face, she couldn’t help but chuckle. He lingered in his room as if she were a dragon guarding the door. She chuffed, then backed away.

Once he was safely in the hall, he rushed through the doorway. Aurora trailed him through the house like a lost puppy as he gathered his pipe and an ungodly amount of deralja, then headed to the kitchen to snag the bag of food he’d thrown together.

Anxiety hollowed her stomach when he stalked to the back door. Was he going to leave without saying another word to her?

Her mouth opened, a reprimand rising to her tongue, but he chose that moment to face her. Aurora bit her cheek, feeling stupid. Of course he wouldn’t just leave like that. He was too respectful. Too good. Too…Rhaego.

“I regret the timing of this,” he began. “Do you require anything else of me before I go?”

Sure. Don’t go. Let me see all of you no matter how scary it might be.

I’m falling in love with you.

“No,” she sighed. “Oh wait.” A blush creeping up her chest, she pulled her hair off her neck. “Don’t you need to…you know?” She had tried her best not to pressure him, to keep her hands and her Rhaego-obsessed libido to herself, but marking was something that seemed to help him , and he hadn’t done it all day despite giving the wilderness outside so much of his attention she’d grown jealous of the cracked, scraped bark of the bordering trees.

A war raged behind his fevered eyes, the muscles in his jaw grinding until the tendons in his neck bulged. He didn’t say anything, but his determined steps toward her were enough.

Each heavy footfall electrified her body. By the time his head bent to her neck moisture had pooled between her thighs. He kept his fist curled around the straps of his bags, clutching them like they were a lifesaver. His skin was rough and scratchy from his shallow wounds as he nuzzled into her shoulder, her throat, her hair. His musk invaded her senses, making her mouth water.

Stay still. Stay still. She didn’t want to tease him—well, actually she did want to tease him, but now wasn’t the right time. He was struggling, and she wanted to respect his choices. Yet when he brushed a fang over her ear, she couldn’t contain the small desperate sound that fell through her lips.

Rhaego stiffened for only an instant before he dropped to his knees so violently the ground shook. Without warning, he clutched her ass in his two meaty palms and shoved his face into the vee of her thighs. She stumbled back, but his claws digging into her backside ensured she didn’t fall far.

He took in an enormous breath, inhaling for longer than she knew was possible. Then released it all at once, vaguely rubbing the base of his horns and nose into the fabric covering her most sensitive area.

Heat built in Aurora’s core, but she tried to tamp it down. “Uh, Rhaego?”

He purred, the vibration pulsing into the perfect spot. It took her a moment to unswallow her tongue. “Rhaego,” she repeated, this time more loudly and sternly.

He stilled, face still smashed against her. Slowly, she felt his claws retract. They tugged at the fabric of her dress. She’d bet money that when she looked she’d find ten perfect punctures where his nails had torn through.

At great length, Rhaego pulled his face away from her and rose, stepping back as he did. His face was aflame with embarrassment, his fevered gaze avoidant for long moments. Aurora bit her lip to keep from grinning.

He cleared his throat. “My apologies.” He met her gaze, and his blush deepened, crawling up his horns.

Fluttering had exploded inside her. She clasped her hands behind her back and swayed from side to side, shrugging. “Don’t be sorry. We’ll save that for another time.” She gave him an exaggerated wink.

Rhaego swallowed, expression growing pained. Before she could utter another word, he bolted out the door with a muddled farewell she couldn’t quite make out.

***

Rhaego reached the isolation hut in record time, though each step away from Aurora felt like he was running on broken glass. He slammed the door shut and tossed his bags unceremoniously away, then clawed at his stays.

Pain radiated through his balls and abdomen, and the sheath securing his ever-stiff cock in a polite place only made matters worse. Tearing at the buckles, he barely felt the sting of his claws as they cut into his skin in his haste, drawing blood.

His palm was around his shaft before the sheath hit the ground. After only a few rough strokes, he came with a groan. His seed painted the stone floor. Though otherwise clean, the puddle wasn’t out of the ordinary in a place like this.

The hut was small and sturdy, offering very little in the way of luxury. Claw marks and deep gouges littered the walls, evidence of generations of males venting aggression while struggling through the night. He’d add to them before the heat was through.

A cold sweat broke out across his chest as Aurora’s lingering scent teased his nose. He shuffled to the simple utilitarian mattress, shedding his clothing as he went. Hand stroking before his back hit the bed, he imagined Aurora.