Page 47

Once he’d retrieved the wayward appendage, I wasted no time.

My lips burned a determined path down the side of his neck.

He went pliant underneath me, his breathing becoming stifled.

Oh, but he was perfect—skilled and obedient, passionate and responsive.

Excitement made me giddy as possibilities came to mind, each more tantalizing than the last.

“We’re going to have so much fun, you and I,” I whispered against the column of his throat, reveling in the little shiver my words evoked. My hips made a slow, intimate circle.

“I can—hah…”

His response faded into indiscernible sounds as I placed open-mouthed kisses along the expanse of golden-brown skin dusted by dark hair that was bared to me.

His shirt was loose enough that I could shift it to one side, uncovering a dark-brown nipple.

I met it eagerly with tongue and teeth. It wasn’t long before my ministrations tore needy sounds from the depth of his chest, the sort of sounds that would haunt my nights in all the best ways.

I played with his waistband at the same time, but with the way things were, I couldn’t go any farther.

Impatient, I released his nipple from my mouth and shuffled down to his thighs to give myself better access.

Nimble fingers made quick work of the ties on his pants, and I was reaching in—but though his cock jerked in excitement through the fabric, his hands came up to stop me.

Cool air filled the space between us, refreshing and dampening all at once.

“Not here. Not now.” His words came out strangled.

Confusion shot through me. “What? Why not?”

Had I moved too fast? No, he had been just as eager.

Our position? I backed off his legs in case his bones were delicate.

Was it the location? Perhaps he was used to seducing women in a place with four walls and a comfortable bed.

Perhaps that had become his preference. He could be a romantic when he wanted to, after all, from what little I’d seen of him in action .

“There’s no one else around,” Luthri groaned, running a hand over his face and peeking from between his fingers. “I need a witness; otherwise, no one will believe me.”

It took a moment for his meaning to sink in. Torn between laughing and wringing his neck, I settled for a long sigh even as the corner of my mouth twitched. “You won’t be able to keep that ass scar from me forever,” I warned him before pulling away.

He gave me a suspicious look. “How did you know about that?”

“You told me, seu bobo.”

The amount of patience I could summon for this man was truly inspirational. Really, I ought to be canonized.

Adjusting my clothing, I scanned the immediate area.

The field spread out around us as far as the eye could see.

Now that I was standing, I could also make out the two figures not fifty meters from our position.

One of the twins raised a hand to wave, a quizzical look on his face.

Probably because we were fooling around instead of gathering kindling like we were supposed to be doing.

Shame brought an uncomfortable warmth to my cheeks.

“Was it one of the twins you saw earlier?” I asked as Luthri came to stand next to me, tucking in his shirt. His sheepish expression was answer enough.

“Well, I hate to make assumptions where safety is concerned,” he replied.

I flicked my fingers at him in a rude gesture I’d picked up from Daethie before making an attempt to smooth my hair.

With any luck, it would be believable that I’d lost my hair tie to the wind.

“Let’s get going. They’ll be wondering what we were doing all this time if we go back with a handful of twigs. ”

We made quick work of combing through the grass for usable tinder, but by the time we returned to the campsite, Hohem and Vyrain were waiting for us inside the shelter.

It wasn’t pretty—a borderline serviceable lean-to more than a traveler’s haven—but it would do.

The tarp would shield us from the afternoon sun and help us blend in with the rock face.

Luthri set up the fire, and we were dining on a hot meal in no time.

“We’ll have to talk to the natives at some point, won’t we?” Hohem asked between bites.

Putting down my empty bowl, I directed my energy back to business. “I was considering that. We can’t avoid them forever. If anyone knows what happened to Narille, it would be Rugaveld, so… I suppose we ought to make for the city tomorrow.”

“We’ll keep our guard up,” Luthri murmured. We all nodded our agreement.

“Stay cordial, but don’t volunteer information you don’t need to.” I watched the flames dance in the fire pit as I racked my brain for anything relevant to add. “Stay close to each other. Oh, and don’t take anything they offer us. Danagil said something about that.”

Vyrain’s brow furrowed. “Who?”

“The pixie chieftain?”

“Ah.”

I accidentally caught Lu’s gaze from across the fire.

We looked away at the same time. If I was the type to blush, I’d be burning up, but that would be asking for probing questions.

Even though we didn’t do anything wrong, I preferred to keep our little tryst between us.

Hopefully Luthri felt the same. For all that he joked about needing an audience, I was confident that he would follow my lead.

“Well.” Hohem set his dish aside with a resounding clatter. “This Rugaveld may be used to having his way, but I think he’ll find we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“That he will,” I agreed, my face splitting in a wide grin. “We won’t back down without a fight. This job is going to be what puts us in songs. When it’s all over, we’ll retire some place beautiful, where we can live out the rest of our lives fat and happy.”

“Maybe he’s paying people off?” Vyrain mused, stroking his chin. “If that’s the case… Most people would be doing this for the money, right? If he were to say, ‘I’ll give you a million vodt to drop the mission and go home’… Why would we say no?”

“Where would the mayor of a small island nation get a million vodt to throw at every group that comes looking for the missing lady?” Hohem shook his head. “No. I’m inclined to believe there’s something much darker going on here.”

Vyrain looked to me for support, but I could only shrug.

“It’s all conjecture at this point. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Grudging nods all around ended that dialogue.

After taking care of the fire, we passed the afternoon with conversation and games, including thracks with pebbles that were too flat to effectively roll.

As the sky darkened, we set up our bedrolls—regrettably, not nearly as nice as the ones we lost to the swamp—side by side under the tarp.

Before all daylight was lost, I dug up a hair tie and set to combing out and braiding my tangled mane. Luthri sidled up to where I sat cross-legged on my mat and observed the process, his eyes markedly bright in the light of the waning sun.

It wouldn’t be overreacting to set a few boundaries now, would it? Starting with ensuring that I wasn’t panting after him like a groupie. I tied off the braid with a flourish before giving him my attention. “Did you need something?”

“No, no.” He absently drew patterns in the dirt between our mats. His nails, while still hard and black, had short, rounded tips now—when had he changed them?

“All right.” I waited another moment in case he wanted to say something.

Vyrain and Hohem were in earshot, but we were all adults.

If he wanted to address what happened in the field, I was more than willing to have that discussion.

If he was satisfied leaving things the way they were, that was fine too. It wasn’t something worth dwelling on .

His lips parted, and I had an inkling some great confession was to follow. But in the end, all he said was, “Good night,” before burrowing into his covers.

I could pin him down and force the words out whenever I wanted; that knowledge made it easy to let the matter be. I returned the well-wishes, fluffed the clothing bundle I was using for a pillow, and lay down to join him.