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I should have known he was eager for the chance to turn our conversation around on me. “It’s not something I’ve given much thought to,” I responded. “To be honest, I always figured I’d work until the day I die. For now, I’m content with the way things are.”

“Well, that’s no way to live.” Luthri’s lips pursed. “No grand aspirations? Never so much as entertained the daydream of an ideal world? With the payout from this job, you wouldn’t need to work anymore, right? That puts a lot of opportunities in your lap.”

When he put it that way, it did sound like a dream, but an idle lifestyle didn’t suit me.

What would I do with disposable income? I listed things aloud as they came to mind.

“I might pick up a new hobby or two. Treat myself to some luxury goods, like nice soaps. Travel. Take the load off and drink myself silly once in a while.”

Luthri cocked his head, studying me. His expression, blank as it was, revealed nothing, and I wasn’t about to concern myself with groundless speculation .

“What, too boring for you?” I quipped. “What can I say, I’m a simple woman.”

“I don’t think you’re simple at all,” Lu denied with a shake of his head.

“Oh, yeah? Go ahead, then, tell me what I am.” My tone took on a sharper edge.

People like Luthri weren’t the worst of the bunch—he came from a place of privilege and misplaced confidence rather than a desire to manipulate—but few things irked me more than people who asserted their influence over others when it wasn’t their place to do so.

Besides, he and I were so different. What opinion did someone like him hold about someone like me?

“I believed you when you said you hadn’t given much thought to it. That doesn’t make you simple. It’s a matter of”—he searched for the right choice of words, mouth opening and closing before he settled on—“…figuring things out. Everyone goes through that phase.”

“Well, when I ‘figure things out,’ you’ll be the first to know.”

“For me,” he continued, ignoring my sarcastic remark, “Most things I needed were provided for me. A privilege, I know. But with those needs met, I had the chance to explore myself—dwell on my desires, my shortcomings, my goals. Even if some things weren’t possible for me, I could travel the world, meet new people, and find companionship in other ways. ”

Aquele é criado a p?o-de-ló—how nice to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth . “Enlightening. I’ll have to give the privilege thing a try sometime.” I stooped to retrieve a piece of driftwood, but Luthri touched my shoulder, stopping me.

“Not that,” he said, indicating the wood with a jerk of his chin. “It will be saturated with salt. We’ll have better luck combing the grasses for withered fronds and dry undergrowth.”

Releasing the stick, I straightened. “Won’t that make a lot of smoke?”

“The smoke is manageable. It will burn cleaner, without irritating our lungs.”

I nodded my assent and gestured for him to lead the way.

“Anyway,” he spoke over one shoulder as he shifted onto the path lined with tall grass, “Everyone goes at their own pace. When you’re young, it’s all about making mistakes.

You try a few things so that you know what works and what doesn’t.

You figure out where your talents lie and which of your dreams are achievable versus which are doomed to remain dreams.”

Before Luthri established himself as a father figure in my book, I interrupted his monologue. “If I wanted a lecture, I would have asked for one. Can we get to the point, please?”

“Yes, the point. The point is…”

The next word faltered, and he paused, every muscle freezing in place.

A blur of color later, a firm hand clasped over my mouth, and I was pulled to the ground alongside him.

My first reaction was to fight, but logic argued that he had a good reason to tackle me—he’d proved trustworthy before.

Nevertheless, relaxing into his hold didn’t come naturally.

I had to force my hands to unclench and moderate my breathing by counting the beats.

For several tense seconds, we huddled together on the path, barely hidden by greenery, the pounding of our heartbeats harmonizing.

I held my breath, straining to hear whatever it was that had scared him.

Was it islanders approaching? Were the nightmares from the cave stalking us?

Some other island terror hellbent on hunting down a living lunch?

After another beat, Luthri’s hand softened against my lips and drew away. “Sorry about that.” The whispered apology tickled the top of my head. “Thought I saw someone coming.”

No retort came to me, so I dedicated my energy to recovery instead, resting a cheek against his chest as I caught my breath. It wasn’t long before fingers tentatively raked through my shortened hair, making my scalp tingle in their wake.

“Did I mention how much I like your hair like this?” Luthri murmured. “I mean, I’m partial to long in general, but you pull it off. Could be the boyish figure.”

I lifted my head enough to manage a glare. More to make a point than for practicality’s sake, I sent a bolt of mana to return my hair to its original length. I’d go digging for another hair tie later. Underneath me, Luthri grunted his approval, and the fondling intensified.

“You had a point,” I said into his chest. “Before we were interrupted.”

“Hm? Oh, I don’t remember… But I’m sure I’ll recall soon. You’d be surprised at the level of introspection that can be achieved between another person’s thighs.”

I was straddling him, come to think of it. “Is that so? I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“You could give it a try sometime,” he suggested. Tender strokes transitioned into a light massaging motion that melted away any residual exasperation. My eyelids grew heavy.

I shifted, threading my fingers together over his chest and resting my chin on the bridge they created so that I could look him in the eyes. “I’ve always found that there were more interesting things to do between another person’s thighs than thinking. So maybe it’s not for me.”

Lu’s head dropped back against the ground, and the rhythm of the massage slowed as he considered my response. From my position, I could admire the fluffy tufts adorning his ears, the artfully crafted gold piercings, the strong ridge of his brow, and the curve of his lips.

They looked so soft, his lips. Full and inviting. A shade darker than the rest of his skin, and touched by a hint of pink that bordered on berry when combined with his coloring.

If I was going to act on my attraction to him at any point, the timing wouldn’t get much better than now.

We had a moment to ourselves for once, with no one else around to see.

Emboldened, I reached for him. His gaze sharpened with the movement, and his breath caught as my fingers threaded into the knot of hair at his nape.

I used my hold to draw him to me, propping myself up at the same moment to capture his lips.