Page 30 of The VaDorok’s Unexpected Mate (The Mate Index: Dorok #1)

Katie squinted against the daylight gleaming brightly off the snow as she stood up from her crouched position and stretched.

Her cheeks were feeling a bit chapped from the cold air, but she was gradually becoming accustomed to it.

Maybe she could talk to someone about what could be used to make a protective ointment.

Or trade with that alien... what was his name. .. A’Jular.

Something soft tickled the back of her leg, and she glanced down, barely holding back a chuckle.

Whatever Kull’s feelings were beneath his often-stoic exterior, his tail at least seemed to like her.

It curled around her leg, flicking in a way she could only call affectionate as the large male worked at the soil.

He didn’t even seem to notice it was there as he softly grunted and pulled a large gawl root from the ground.

Glancing over at her, he grinned at her over shoulder and triumphantly held the root up.

“Your dinner, I think,” he said as he turned and scooted in very close to her to lay the tuber into the basket with the others.

Katie chuckled, knowing damn well that a root that big was better suited to Kull’s or Ren’s appetite.

That he would offer the best one was sweet though.

She swallowed nervously, however, when his side brushed hers, his tail sliding briefly against her leg.

Not only did it send a shocking heat driving deep into her belly, but it also made her hyperaware of his presence as she was unaccustomed to him being practically pressed up against her.

He had certainly grown to be very familiar around her, and comfortable with it at that.

She bumped him playfully with her hip, and his tail swished as his head came around, his amber eyes fixing on her.

His tail flicked at her in turn, swatting across her buttocks as his eyes narrowed humorously and the corners of his mouth upturned.

If he thought that shocked her, then the joke was on him.

She was into it. His tail was soft and warm compared to a lot of other toys she had experimented with prior to being taught no realm of unpleasant humiliation by the Agraak.

Heat curled within the pit of her belly as Kull’s nostrils flared, drawing in her scent, and his eyes widened in a look of surprise.

“Katie,” he murmured. The look on his face was filled with such longing that it suggested that he wanted to do... something... but did not know how to act on that desire.

And, as she hadn’t a clue what it was, she couldn’t exactly take it on herself to help him out with it.

“Kull?” she replied quietly, her voice soft and low.

A tiny tremor raced through him, and he breathed in deeply through his nose as he drew back a step. “Nothing,” he replied, all of a sudden flustered as he turned his attention back to digging for roots.

She wasn’t going to lie to herself—she felt pretty damned disappointed.

She had hoped for something to have developed and gotten a little further along that wasn’t completely one-sided.

Was she the only truly smitten one? She was about to crawl out of her skin every time his eyes rested on her for a fraction of a second longer than what was technically polite.

He was clearly affected at least a little bit, but the fact that it didn’t move him into action was a bit frustrating.

And yet his tail was still brushing against her, almost far too casually, as he crouched and continued to dig up roots at a quick and determined speed.

She watched him for a moment, her lips pursing thoughtfully.

Why did it look like he was trying a little too hard to pretend to be unaffected?

Come to think of it—he had always been a bit “loud” with his dismissiveness of her as if trying to compensate for something or ignore his own internal struggles.

He had lost his mate and unborn child. Wouldn’t it be natural that he would be reticent about doing everything all over again and risking more loss? But—wasn’t mating among the VaDorok a onetime forever and ever kind of deal?

Well... there was one rather crude way of finding out.

She didn’t waste time thinking about it—that risked potentially talking herself out of being rash.

After all, it did seem that if anyone was going to make a move, it was going to have to be her.

Turning her body slightly, her hand snapped out, and she caught his tail as it grazed her side yet again, her fingers curling firmly around it.

His head snapped around toward her in surprise, and Katie, while maintaining eye contact, slid her fisted grip on his tail lower, closer to the base as his eyes widened perceptively.

Despite the shock on his face, there was no apprehension as he stared back at her, only raw heat rapidly gathering in his eyes.

“Katie?” A deep purr rumbled from his chest. “I do not think you understand what you are doing.”

She tipped her chin, summoning every bit of bravado. “Looks to me like I’m staking a claim,” she replied tartly, a slow smile stretching across her face.

Kull’s eyes lowered to her lips and then back to her eyes once more as he took a meaningful step toward her. He somehow looked bigger, as if his fur was standing on end and poofed out like a cat. Not once did he break his hold on her gaze as he moved in closer.

Her mouth went dry at his proximity as he prowled closer bit by bit.

“Are you certain?” he purred.

This was her opening to back out. He had the gate wide open for her, and there was even a faint look of challenge in his eyes, as if he expected her to do exactly that.

Katie shook her head inwardly. It wasn’t going to be that easy.

If he didn’t want her, then he would have to pull on his big boy breechcloth and tell her as much.

She wasn’t going to back down and run scared.

Not when she was finally clearly seeing exactly what she wanted.

Tipping her head back, Katie smiled up at him as she inched closer until their bodies were practically touching. “Absolutely,” she breathed.

His eyes slid shut, and he visibly shuddered with the same intense desire that she felt coursing through her.

His tail slid across the back of her leg as if it had a mind of its own as she pressed closer, her eyes trained on his face for a long moment before drifting over his powerful torso.

His pectorals were broad and well-formed beneath the short velvety fur covering them, and his abs were beautifully sculpted as her gaze trailed lower.

His fur thickened around his narrow hips, but it didn’t detract from his appeals any.

She ran her fingers experimentally from his hip to his abs and then higher still to caress his chest. A deep rumble of pleasure quaked through her as it echoed from his big body.

She wasn’t expecting that! She nearly drew her hand away in surprise, but he caught it against his chest and held in there as he opened his luminous eyes and stared right through her.

He leaned down, his much larger brow brushing against hers.

She was incredibly aware of the bony plating that supported the numerous massive horns sprouting from his head, but that certainly wasn’t a turn-off in her book.

The Agraak hadn’t had horns, nor did the Buto.

Horns were good... horns were different.

Her eyes fluttered shut as the soft velvet fur of the feline shape of his nose brushed against hers, and their breaths briefly mingled as they both softly exhaled into each other.

His warm hands settled on her hips and nearly engulfed them with his strength and heat, stirring the kindled fire higher within her, awakening something primal.

Katie pressed in closer, hyperaware of the intensity of his masculine heat and scent as it washed over her.

It was doing funny things to that vortex of flame, spinning and slowly growing within her.

It seemed to be pitching out of control, and she instinctively clung to Kull as their bodies rocked together.

Something akin to a hard knot pressed insistently against her belly and she tried to look down out of curiosity, but Kull gripped her arm, drawing her attention back up to his face, his luminous eyes burning with the rapidly building fire with which he was regarding her.

She could feel the dampness seeping from between her legs and spreading in rapid reaction as an ache slowly began to grow within the depths of her.

Whimpering quietly, she leaned into him even more and gasped when she felt his hands trailing along her flank. She gasped, and his hand froze as Kull glanced guiltily up at her.

“I can stop,” he assured her in a guttural voice, but she shook her head and shuffled another step closer until their bodies were flush against each other despite the layers of clothes between them.

Cupping her chin with one hand, Kull leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

The touch of his lips was insanely good, like little butterflies teasing her senses until she wanted to scream with frustration as her need grew persistently deeper, setting her ablaze.

His mouth was a glimpse of the world of gods, and she clung to him, eager to receive a firsthand taste of it.

It swam through her senses as she continued climbing until a sudden crash from the woods at her right broke the spell between them with ruthless efficiency.

It drove them apart in shock as they stumbled away from each other.

Her heart hammered with the reality of what she had almost done, but she wasn’t dismayed at her reaction.

Instead, she felt annoyed and grossly thwarted by the way the whole damned world seemed to be set against her.

It wasn’t that she had planned on getting laid right there in the middle of the snowy yard, but she hadn’t been averse to the idea of getting things warmed up right now before they took the main event indoors.

Another crash came seconds before appeared from the woods with another large male she vaguely recognized from her rescue.

Didn’t he leave with one of the other women.

... Who was it? Macy. This was the big, scarred male who carried off Macy.

Heat filled her cheeks, and she looked over at Kull only to find that he had recovered as if nothing had happened whatsoever.

How the hell did he do that? She wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or relieved.

“Torok,” he growled, giving lie to his unaffected appearance. “What are you doing here?”