Page 154 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

I didn’t want to get up, not when Hina seemed content to remain curled up in my arms. Her vaguely floral scent drifted up into my nose, filling my head with all kinds of thoughts about what I hoped she’d let me do to her. If she let me, I’d lick her sweet-smelling cunt for hours.

Her stomach made a rumbling noise, so I made myself sit up, keeping her tucked into my arms. Now she was curled into my lap, her head tilting back to squint at my face in what was probably nearly complete darkness.

“Wow, what’s up? Don’t tell me we need to get going again.

I was finally warm. Five more minutes?” Was she really asking me for five more minutes of cuddling? I could do that.

Hooking my toe into the strap of my pack, I yanked it toward us so I could take out one of the ration bars I’d packed, without letting go of my precious burden.

There were only a few left; soon, I’d have to supplement our meals with something else, but for now, this would do.

I didn’t want to light another fire, so I opened the ration bar and broke it in two, offering her the first half cold.

She shifted around, her rounded ass brushing against my cock in the most delicious fashion as she got comfortable to eat.

“Thanks. I suppose no fire this morning.” She didn’t complain—just stated a fact—and dug into the hard bar with her blunt little teeth, with vigor.

I devoured my piece in two quick bites; at least it tasted better when it was cold.

“She already accepts you, good,” Snarl offered.

I wasn’t so sure; she was just using me for heat and survival.

That didn’t mean she wanted me to be her mate.

I wouldn’t be able to explain that to the Ferai beast, so I focused on feeding the last corner of my ration bar to Pet, who had grumpily poked her head out of my bag as soon as I started moving it.

She gobbled it up with an eager mewling sound, then went on to eagerly greet Hina with purrs and headbutts.

“Hi Fluffy, did you sleep well?” she was saying to the juvenile Riho. I groaned internally. Fluffy? Really? Though Fluffy was probably better than Pet. I just didn’t really like going around and naming animals; Snarl had picked his own name.

“Do you need food?” I asked the big Ferai beast. The large animal lazily opened one red eye to stare at me, then blinked it closed again.

“Didn’t think so, just thought I’d check.

” Snarl would probably like the ration bars even less than I did; it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d managed to capture and eat something while scouting ahead yesterday.

Unlike Pet, or rather, Fluffy—Snarl prided himself on being very self-reliant. He was not a pet.

Once we’d eaten all the food, Hina didn’t get up.

Instead, she twisted in my lap so her dark eyes could meet mine.

She looked very much lost in thought, as if she were looking right through me.

A small palm came up to press against the edge of my jaw, and almost like an afterthought, her fingers stroked across my skin.

Each pass of her fingers left a trail of tingles in their wake.

Never had I thought that such an innocuous touch could be arousing, but with Hina…

everything she did seemed to turn me on.

There was no way she could miss the evidence of my desire for her growing beneath her ass.

Her eyes widened a little, but she still didn’t move, her pink tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip.

I knew I had lost control of my skin color at that moment; I could see my arm had gone red and yellow, streaking into pale blue like the skies on Aura.

She noticed it too, staring at my face. “Whoa, Fierce, what’s happening to your skin? ”

I couldn’t explain that to her when she didn’t understand my language, so I just shrugged.

There was nothing to worry about; I just needed to wrest control of my emotions, my desire for her.

That wouldn’t happen as long as she was damn near sitting on my cock, not that I was going to tell her to move. It felt far too good.

“Thanks for saving me, for getting stuck down here with me, and for keeping me warm. I really appreciate it, you know.” She dipped her head to gaze at her lap, her hand trailing from my jaw down my shoulder until she dropped it entirely.

I waited, curious to see what she’d do next, but when she didn’t speak again, I offered her one of the few words I’d picked up in her own language so far.

“Hina, safe.” I tapped my chest to make sure she understood that I meant to keep her safe.

With my arousal making my blood pump fiercely through my body, I couldn’t restrain the urge to mark her—just a little—in some way.

I bent my head to rub my face against the side of hers, drinking in her stuttering breath as I brushed my mouth across her cheek, and then her lips.

I tasted her breath, sweet and hers, with a hint of the ration bar, but I didn’t mind that now.

When I pulled back, her skin was covered in tiny little bumps, as if she was cold again.

But I was certain it wasn’t because she was cold.

Her eyes had a slightly glazed look, her mouth parted just enough to tempt me to press in again and actually kiss her.

Would she let me? Tempted to try, I forced myself to lift her from my lap and get up.

Turning my back to her, I sorted out our meager belongings.

I had the camp packed in no time, with our things safely stowed in my bag.

We took turns performing our morning ablutions in the privacy of a rocky shelf we could hide behind, unnecessary for me, but I understood that humans were far more prudish about such things.

We set out again without another word, and Hina didn’t hesitate to grab hold of my belt this time, sticking close to me.