Page 73 of The Moon's Fury

“Magnificent,” he breathed. He pressed forward to capture her lips again, eyes dark with lust, but she pushed against his chest. He’d never sleep if he had his way.

The sight of thehennaon her hands reminded her.

She presented her palms to him, the intricately patterned henna a dark shade of brown. “The artist said that, um, wives … conceal their husbands’ names in their design. You have to find it.”

He kissed her palms, first one, then the other, his tongue darting out in the barest of caresses. “And what do I get if I find it?”

“You get to sleep,” she laughed. He pulled her close, examining her hands with care. It didn’t take long before he found his name, cleverly concealed in a paisley design between her thumb and index finger.

Though he seemed to forget his prize, because his hands tugged at her tunic. She batted them away.

“Sleep first. I can rest on Najoom, but you’ll need it tonight.” With a reluctant nod, he sprawled on the bed, long limbs askew. Minutes later, the gentle sound of his deep breaths filled the room.

Layna packed their things so they’d be ready to leave as soon as he woke. After she finished, she lay down beside him, just to feel his solid, reassuring warmth against her back. But eventually, sleep found her, too.

When she awoke, the room was dim, the sun just beginning to set. Gentle breaths fanned against her neck. Zarian’s heavy arm was slung across her waist, his leg thrown over both of hers. Gingerly, she tried to squirm out of his grasp but was met with a displeased grumble. He tightened his hold, burrowing his face further into her neck.

With a sigh, she settled against him and waited for him to wake. She didn’t have to wait long—soon, she found herself pinned beneath him, his impatient hands hastily removing her clothes.

Afterward, she had barely caught her breath when he rolled her onto her stomach. “We’ll be without a bed for weeks,” he rumbled, breath hot in her ear. “Better make good use of this one.”

33

“Whenwillyouleave?”she asked one night. They sat by a flickering fire, the remains of their dinner skewered over it. He was adept at hunting, and she’d eaten well since he’d arrived, regaining some of the weight she’d lost.

His large hand smoothed a thick paste—his own concoction of crushed plants and fresh water—over his burns. The puckered, red skin already looked better, and it had only been a week. He didn’t meet her eyes when he asked quietly, “Do you still fear me?”

“I never feared you,” she snapped, the lie passing easily through her lips.

Knowing gray eyes found hers, and she recalled the first day she’d awoken. After he told her what had happened, she demanded he leave. And he did.

Or so she thought.

She had dressed and left the cave in search of food, but three days asleep and months of half-starvation proved too much forher weakened body. She had barely made it to the stream when a wave of dizziness overcame her, and she fainted.

For the second time that day, she awoke back in her cave, unsure of how she’d gotten there. That time, when he handed her the skein of water, she had no sharp remarks.

She met his gaze now—his eyes held a deep, ever-present sadness.

“All right, not fear,” he appeased, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Do you worry I’ll … hurt you?”

“No,” she said truthfully. He kept his distance from her, gave her privacy when she needed it, and slept as far away from her blankets as he could manage. “I assumed you’d stayed because I was weak. And you were waiting for me to recover. I’m fine now.”

He was quiet for a moment. “When I don’t return, they will send more men. You can’t stay here.”

“Who are ‘they?’”

“The real monsters,” he said without hesitation. Something in the hard tone of his voice made her reluctant to ask more.

“Don’t stay,” she said firmly, tilting up her chin. “I’ll find a new home. I don’t need your protection.”

She had expected to ignite his anger, one she’d seen so often in men when women stripped them of masculine purpose. When they had no need for them.

She hadn’t expected him to laugh.

“So you can go back to surviving on berries? Your ribs protruded so far, they nearly took out my eye.”

His teasing words made her flush—a reminder that he’d seen a lot more than just her ribs when her clothing had burned away and he’d carried her back to her cave.