Page 20

Chapter

Twenty

T he desert seemed larger than she remembered, though Abby admitted that the first time she had been distracted with her thoughts of her mission and the company of her guides. Or perhaps it just seemed to go on and on because her mind kept circling back to Samir’s words. She couldn’t believe that he was just going to let her go—just like that. They were amazing together in bed and as partners, and yet he was just going to free her after working so hard to keep her? She didn’t understand it. She understood his gratitude if she could help him negotiate peace with King Decort but that seemed a little extreme. Even more confusing was the fact that she wasn’t even remotely excited about the possibility. The thought of leaving Samir and the desert made her… sad.

Abby groaned inwardly. Gods, why was it so hard to admit to herself that she’d somehow fallen in love with the beast? Such things just were not done. Even close personal companionship with a monster was frowned on when seen amongst those outside their circle. Gossip abounded about the red-haired warrior from the north who traveled alone with a minotaur. A hunter choosing to stay with a monster would be met with outright disdain, if not an immediate threat to her life. And yet she welcomed it. She didn’t want to be just another hunter fulfilling her duties and earning fame.

She wanted Samir.

But he was correct that they needed to sort out the matter with the king and Veldala first. So, she did as he asked and said nothing more about it. There would be enough time to work this all out afterwards. Instead, she engaged with him in light conversation when not just enjoying the companionable silence between them as they made their way across the desert. She swore she still smelled the stink clinging to her from the sand viper rotting in the sun and she mentally added a long bath to her list of things to do. Until then, she was content enjoying the view.

Seated upon Samir’s back as he alternately ran or slowed to walking a pace as they crossed the desert, it truly gave her an appreciation of just how big, beautiful and yet utterly desolate it was. The desert would mercilessly kill someone like her if she didn’t travel across it well prepared. Even travelling at the speed with which they were going, they had to camp during the hottest part of the day as they slowly made their way to the capital. One day passed into a second and then a third, and it was on the fourth when they stopped for a rest and to share water that Abby reclined against Samir’s side and decided that the desert at night was her favorite thing.

She certainly understood why Samir chose that time to prowl, hunt, and travel. Though with her human limitations, her own travel would have been restricted without him since he could navigate the desert expertly without the sun whereas she was practically night-blind. Despite this, she loved the night. The punishing sun was not only absent from the sky, but the desert came to life with insects and the distant sounds of nighttime creatures singing to each other. Logically she knew that many of them, like most wildlife that now occupied the world, were once native to the fae realms before the collision and yet she already couldn’t imagine the desert without them. Would the desert have been much quieter in the days that preceded their fragmented records?

Abby stared up at the starry sky as she sipped from her water bottle, wishing that they could just stop and enjoy the tranquility that the night offered. The chain hanging from Samir’s manacle rattled as he shifted positions and stretched tiredly on the sand, reminding her of their purpose. As much as she hated that he insisted that she put it on him just that morning, it was a stern reminder that this wasn’t a leisure trip for their pleasure. They had a purpose for all of this, and she couldn’t forget that. At least not until they completed what they had set to do.

“Do you suppose that it is much farther to the city?” she mused.

Samir expelled a heavy breath, his sides heaving and shook his head, sending the collar and chain rattling. “Not much. It is why I insisted that you remove the chains from the pack and put them on me when we last rose. We are getting close enough that there is a chance that local travelers might catch a glimpse of us. If word of our approach gets back to the city, it cannot be any other than what we want to them to believe—that a hunter is arriving with her captured prey.”

“Understood. Do you think we will arrive by tonight then?”

“We will likely crest the final hill and arrive some time following the dawn. You will need to bind my tail after we rest to complete the illusion.”

She nodded and stifled a yawn. As much as she enjoyed the night and had rested during the midday hours in the hollow that Samir dug out that afternoon, she was a creature of habit and was battling against an undeniable urge to burrow down against the male and drift off to sleep. She must have given something away, however, because he made a soft sound in his throat.

“You are tired,” he observed in a quiet rumble.

She chuckled and tucked her head against his shoulder. “Despite all evidence to the contrary since we’ve been together, most humans are not all that nocturnal. Our vision is poor in the dark and we would be vulnerable to wild animals, so we tend to stay indoors when the sun goes down. I like keeping odd hours to enjoy some of the night, and I have been awake far later than normal since being captured by you, but this is late even for me. Especially with all the traveling.”

A soft purr rattled from him, and he shifted to brush to his cheek against the top of her head as his big, paw-like hand gently squeezed her thigh. “Then rest a little. We can spare an hour or two.”

A yawn sneaked by her defenses and she slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. “Are you sure?”

“I am certain. I will keep watch and make sure nothing tries to sneak off with you—seeing how your human flesh is such a tasty treat,” he teased, “but it seems that your kind requires more rest, and we are in no hurry.”

Inching up a little higher, she buried her face in his soft mane. “I would’ve thought you would be eager to get this finished so you can be pampered with chocolate, coffee and tea.”

His chuckle rumbled through her, causing her teeth to rattle slightly but she smiled into his mane enjoying just being there with him as the desert sang to them.

“It will come soon enough. Besides, as delicious as chocolate, coffee, and tea are, nothing is as great of a delicacy or gives me more joy than you.”

The confession was whispered lightly, quiet enough that she might have missed it if she were not pressed up against him.

“You make me happy too,” she admitted. “All I thought I ever wanted was to be a respected hunter like my parents and my family… but being with you I guess just slowed me down and made me really take into consideration what makes me happy.”

“And I do that?” he rasped, a note of wonder in his voice.

“Between all of your insults, prodding, and reluctant if genuine praises… yes,” she agreed with a chuckle. “I’ve enjoyed having coffee and tea with you as we read and taking little strolls around the pools deep within the caves. Even the trip outside to the oasis to fetch supplies. I’ve enjoyed living day to day with you without worrying about when or how I’m going to make my reputation but just enjoying every moment in your company.”

“Would you… consider staying after all is done?”

She blinked in surprise and straightened. “You are asking me?”

His ear flicked and a disgruntled look crossed his face. “I know I said that we would not speak on this, but I admit that I offered to free you mostly because I had already decided that I do not fancy having a female with me any longer if you are just my prisoner. It lessens the moments I enjoy with you knowing that you are there only because I captured you. I intend to release you after we concluded our bargain but now, I wonder if you would stay?”

Her lips parted to blurt out the answer rising readily to her lips, but he shook his head. “Do not answer now. Just consider it for when the moment comes. If you stay… it will mean forever. You will never be able to return to the life you once had. I am aware that this is a tremendous sacrifice.”

Abby’s lips twisted faintly in private amusement. He did not understand. He had freed her in so many ways; she was ready for this last opportunity to experience true freedom… with him. But if he wanted her to wait and “think about it,” so be it.

“You are saying that you want me?” she whispered teasingly.

“More than anything,” he growled. A faint smile curled his mouth, and he inclined his head. “Of course. If you are slow to decide and are not eager to flee from me when all is said and done, then I would be pleased if you would remain with me as my guest while you think it over.”

She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and hugged him, loving his warmth and hating the brutal collar pressed between them simultaneously. She couldn’t wait to free him once more and toss the damned collar into the sand. It was wrong to her on so many levels that they were going to be entering the city with Samir tethered to her like a beast.

“Do not fret, Abby,” he rumbled soothingly as he scooped her up and tucked her against his chest. “Rest. I will wake you when it is time.”

Sighing softly, she nodded and snuggled against him, the tempo of his heart thumping beneath her ear slowly working its magic as she drifted to sleep.

In her dream her two choices before her danced within her mind, showing the alternate futures that lay before her. One where she was a huntress, alone except for her crew and hunting dangerous things within the depths of the woods as she always imagined that she would do, and the other where she was nestled within him in their comfortable cave. Perhaps they would have a brood of offspring, but in her dreams, she saw her hunting by his side, protecting the people who depended on them when not spending their days comfortably together. It was that future that gave her a sense of contentment and warmth deep within her heart.

She wasn’t sure if what she felt for him was the sort of love to base one’s future on, but she loved him nonetheless and wanted to spend the years figuring it out with him. It sounded like the start of a new adventure to her. Yes, Samir was a monster—and he made no pretense of being particularly human-friendly and he was, in fact, in possession of very violent tendencies—but never once did he use them against her. At least, not beyond chasing her in pinning her in place which was more foreplay between them than anything. And gods how she wanted to be with him in every way.

Abby smiled in her sleep and rubbed her cheek against a soft pelt of fur, a rattling purr carrying her deeper into her dreams where he waited to take her on new adventures.