“I can trust you, right?” she whispered, her eyelids becoming too heavy to fight any longer.
“With your life.”
***
Verakko watched as Lily’s breathing became deep and even. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately. In the green light of the fire, he could make out the dark circles under her eyes. Her clothing was stained and bloody. His blood.
Lifting his shirt, he examined his injury again. Only a purple scab remained. Verakko hadn’t thought much of it. He’d healed from worse. But the knowledge that she’d used her precious water to clean his wound, in an attempt to keep him alive, made his chest ache. He wasn’t used to being cared for in that way.
Verakko shook off the feeling. Reaching for a long branch he’d found, he began carving a spear tip with his knife. His gaze kept returning to Lily.
Her skin was dirty and scratched. Her clothes hung off her in a way that indicated she’d lost weight. Even so, she was beautiful…and terrifying. If she was this enchanting to him now, he could only imagine how much more so she’d be when not surviving on wanget fruit.
Would the weight she put on fill out her delectable hips and ass? Would her pale, chapped lips become pink or red?
He heard a crack and looked down to find a pile of shavings under a broken spear tip.
He let out a long sigh. There was no use in fantasizing about this female. He couldn’t have her. He was meant for another, and Lily wasn’t his mate.
When she’d asked him why he hadn’t doted on her as he would with any other female, he’d lied. In truth, he’d never been so unguarded around a female. Maybe it was the fact she didn’t know their culture, or maybe it was that Lily gave as good as she got, a trait he’d never experienced from the emotionally distant females of Mithrandir.
He refocused his efforts on whittling a spear tip. If husbandry school had done anything, it’d given him the instinct to care for a female. Make sure they were content. Although he’d always considered this urge tiresome and annoying, the instinct to provide for Lily in every way didn’t feel like a chore. It felt like a need. An unyielding need for her happiness to be brought about by his actions alone.
Maybe that was why her continual ability to care for herself left him so cantankerous. She may not need him for much, but he knew if he set a large piece of delectable meat down in front of her, she’d smile at him and thank him. She might even kiss him. As if on cue, his cock pulsed.
He’d seen a couple of the human females kiss each other on the cheek in greeting. Was kissing on the mouth only reserved for romantic partners? Or would he be able to experience the act in a platonic way that wouldn’t dishonor his betrothed?
Verakko clenched his jaw. He’d lied about that too. When Lily had asked whether he was married, he should’ve admitted that in a few weeks he would be, but he hadn’t.
The tip of the spear began taking form as he whittled in irritation. It wasn’t as if he even knew his future wife. He knew of Ziritha, of course, but he’d never so much as spoken to her. From what he gathered, she preferred not to interact with her husbands outside of her ovulation cycles. The rumor was she had a favored male of her own who wasn’t eligible for marriage, but Verakko had no way of knowing whether the rumor was true.
Ziritha was close to his mother, though, and he knew she wanted Ziritha to take her place in Mithrandir one day. Negotiating a contract for her son with a female she thought of as queen material made sense.
There was no need to tell Lily. Why was he even worrying about it? It wasn’t as if she’d care about whether he was unattached. Would she?
The ghost of the scent of her arousal flitted through his memory. She was attracted to him, a dangerous prospect.
Chapter 6
By the time the morning came, Verakko was prepared to stab any animal that moved with his small knife. Losing a night of sleep was one thing. Being left for dead, beaten and bloodied in the jungle, was another. But Verakko had learned something insidious last night.
Lily made noises in her sleep.
Some were breathy sounds of fear that made him want to rush over and pull her close. Others were small gasps and pants that caused her breasts to quiver and his fangs to ache. Worst of all, a few times during the dead of night, she’d moaned, and the faintest trace of arousal had lingered in her scent.
The sounds had been soft and short-lived, but the feminine exhalations and scent had had his shaft hardening and his mind wandering to dark places. He’d tried to focus on their current predicament instead.
They’d need to cover more ground today. Verakko didn’t know exactly how much venom the Strigi male who’d dropped him had been dosed with, but if he’d only received a scratch, he may be close to recovered by now. Would the male return for him? Strigi were notorious for their single-minded pursuit of their goal, and if capturing him for questioning had been the goal, then he had to assume the Strigi would be on the hunt as soon as he was able. It was at least a possibility he had to take seriously. Not just for his sake, but for Lily’s.
Verakko estimated they had another day of hiking out in the open before the threat would force them to travel in the forest, ensuring cover from overhead.
He didn’t know how Lily would react to his suggestion that they move through the forest rather than along the river. So far, he had let her take the lead, had traveled in the way she wanted, but if there was a threat to her safety, he’d need to insist, and he didn’t look forward to that inevitable argument.
How long was she expecting to stay out here anyway? Her friend was gone. Verakko sensed she may believe the same but wasn’t ready to admit it. He worried about what would happen when she finally did. She was so strong, so competent. But she was also caring. To a level he didn’t understand. The way her eyes had shone with tears yesterday morning. The pain on her face had just about floored him.
He hoped that when she finally gave up searching, she’d let him be there for her. Hold her while she cried and whisper reassurances into her mop of tangled, gorgeous brown hair.
Verakko’s mind latched onto his thoughts, and his head jerked back. What was happening to him? He hated it when people cried. A few weeks ago, he’d tried to calm Alice, who’d been on the cusp of tears. But the only reason he’d done it was because he’d been literally trapped underwater in a meeting room with nowhere to escape to. He glanced at his hands for the hundredth time this morning and let out an irritated hiss to find them unmarked.
From the stories he’d heard, most of the mates from his family line had recognized each other fairly quickly upon meeting. Even his great aunts, who’d been legendary for not getting their marks until a year after they’d met, had recognized each other as potential mates from the first moment they’d locked eyes.
But if Lily was to be believed, his eyes hadn’t changed.
Was it because she was human? Maybe if he got her out of the forest and they were both safe and comfortable, their souls would relax and recognize each other. It was a long shot, yet the odd jumble of feelings he was experiencing for her after such a short time begged to be explored.
He might not know exactly where he was, but he knew of this river and knew it would eventually lead to two cities. They’d need to travel to one of them. At this point, they were both closer in distance than Tremanta by a long shot. The prospect of visiting either city sat heavy in his gut. Staying out here and letting Lily suffer was not an option, though. He’d need to decide which city to move toward soon.
She began to stir, and like an overeager male fresh from husbandry school, he nervously smoothed his hair. Realizing what he’d done, he promptly mussed it again. He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. At least he’d be able to burn off some of this inner turmoil during their hike. At present, his mood was beyond foul.
Why in the name of the Goddess had he been dropped into the presence of this tormenter? If he’d only recognized her, this whole situation would be different. He’d be overjoyed, attempting to woo her at
every turn. Instead, he had to now watch her stretch her arms above her head in the dappled morning sunlight and pretend the slice of skin exposed below her top didn’t make his mouth water.
She rubbed her eyes and then squinted over at him. The gold flecks in her irises were bright, and the dark smudges underneath were gone. “Wow. Thank you for keeping watch. I haven’t slept for a full night in…well, I can’t remember how long.” She studied him. “You should’ve woken me up so we could take turns, though. You look like crap.”
“Why would I care about how I look to you?” he snapped, caring very much about how he looked to her.
She raised her hands in surrender. “I get it. You’re not a morning person. Noted.” She rolled her eyes and rummaged in her bag, mumbling, “So, even aliens need coffee.”
“Are you ready to go?”
She shot him an exasperated look. “I just woke up. Would you cool it? I want to brush my teeth and take a trip to the woods, then we can go.” She pulled a small, frayed twig and wooden bowl from her bag, then swept her gaze around the camp. “Can you hand me that rock?” she asked, pointing to a small stone near his knee.
Lily pushed the ashes of the long-dead fire around with a stick and tentatively grabbed a piece of charcoal. Verakko watched in fascination.
She crushed the charcoal into a fine powder, mixed a few drops of water in until a paste formed, and used the substance along with her twig to clean her teeth. Damn. Why did she have to be so impressive?
“Wha…?” she said around a mouth full of black charcoal. She’d caught him staring.
“I can go get whatever it is you need in the woods while you finish.” He didn’t have the experience she did to survive in the wild, but he could take direction. Make himself useful by fetching her things and carrying their load. He’d wanted to carry the bag for her all day yesterday, but a weak part of him had desired to hear her request his help. It had struck him as both vexing and endearing when he’d realized she never would. Especially since the woven green bag was wider than she was and looked moderately heavy.
She raised a brow and flushed her mouth out with water. “That’s okay. I can do it.”
Heat rose on his neck. “I insist.”
She stood and dusted off her clothing. “It’s fine. I’ll only be a minute.”
Frustration, mingled with his long, sleepless night, forced him to his feet. “Lily, I need to help in some way. You stay here, and I’ll go get whatever it is you need.” He advanced. She backed away, eyes wide. She’d slept soundly three feet away from him all night, and he’d just destroyed all that trust in a moment. “Why do you have to be so…so…difficult?”
Her look of worry instantly transformed, lips pulling tight and eyes narrowing. She shoved her hands on her hips. “Okay, you really want to help?”
“Yes!”
“Then let me pee in peace!” Without another word, she stomped away.
Way to go.
***
Just when she was beginning to feel like she understood him, he had to go and get all pushy again. She used some of her water to clean herself up and then made her way back toward camp, being sure to take her time.
It makes sense he’s grumpy, she admitted. He hadn’t slept all night, after all. Had he stayed awake because it was clear she’d needed a good night’s sleep more than him? Or had he done it out of some misguided sense of male duty to sacrifice his own needs and protect her while she slept?
Either way, she’d have to force him to take a turn sleeping tonight. If this was his mood after two nights of no sleep, she couldn’t imagine how much worse he’d be in a few days.
When she reached the camp, she froze in place. “What are you doing? That’s my toothbrush!”
Verakko was cleaning his teeth the same way she had, using her toothbrush. He shrugged and reached for the water container she’d brought with her. When she didn’t hand it over but instead glared at him, he crossed to her and plucked the canteen out of her hand.
Lily seethed. She didn’t share toothbrushes. It’d taken her countless tries to find the type of tree that would have sticks fibrous enough to create a brush and soft enough not to tear up her gums. Now she’d have to do it all over again.
She made short work of gathering her belongings—apparently their belongings now—and slung the bag over her shoulder. She hadn’t made it two steps before the weight was gone.
“Hey!” She spun, and her breath caught. He was only a few inches away. Her eyes focused on his broad chest first, then traveled upward to meet his gaze. He smirked.
Reaching forward, he brushed a hand across her cheek and into her hair. She had to stop herself from leaning into his touch. “You asked me to put my muscle to good use.” She felt a tug, and his hand reemerged, pinching a bright yellow leaf. “Remember?”
She cleared her throat. “Fine. I need to find a new toothbrush anyway. The bag will slow me down.” Traipsing past him, she kept her breaths even and her chin high.
They emerged onto the riverbank, and Lily frowned. It was only morning and the air was already thick and hot, the last of the early morning sunshine blocked out by a sheet of gray clouds. Gloomy day, gloomy companion, gloomy me.
“We’ll have to stop earlier than normal today. We need time to boil more water, scavenge for food, and find you a few water containers of your own.” Lily said, halting at the edge of a particularly hazardous hillside.
The steep descent was covered in slippery bedrock and about fifteen feet high. She wiggled her toes and winced in anticipation. The soles of her once-bright-red flats were wearing thin. Thanks to the ankle straps, she’d managed not to lose the shoes in her rapids ride, but the cheap metal buckles of the ankle straps had cracked four days ago. Although her feet were quickly becoming calloused, no longer hurting as much during her daily hike, rocks were always painful.
Before she even heard Verakko move, he was next to her. “I could carry you today. We’d cover more ground faster, and then we’d have more time to hunt and find some real food.”
Carry me? “I know you’re a strong guy and all, but seriously? That’s crazy. You can’t car—” She gasped as Verakko swept her up, one arm under her knees and the other around her waist. She threw her arms around his neck on instinct. “Put me down!” Lily eyed the steep, rocky pass.
She glanced back to him and saw he was grinning. “Hold on tight.”
Before she could blurt out her rejection of his request, he’d jumped.
She screamed and buried her head against his chest. This is how I’m gonna die. A stupid man comes and takes stupid risks. Trying to show off. This is it. No more soda. No more French onion soup. No mo—
Hot breath near her ear brought her mind to the present. “Lily, you’re safe.”
The way he said her name in that velvety voice, like he was savoring it, sent a flutter through her stomach. She was still clutching his neck, her face buried against the warmth of his shoulder. His scent toyed with her again, making her relax despite herself.
Cautiously, she peered around and her lips parted. His leap had cleared the rocky outcrop. She focused on him. “How did you do that?”
His eyes were a deeper shade of emerald green, and from this close, she could see they were almost translucent, like the inside of a gem. Hypnotizing.
Lily knew she should let go of him, but he was so damn warm and firm and he smelled so good. She was used to the bad smells that came from extended camping trips; it was one of the reasons she loved her assortment of scented candles so much. It felt nice to be held by her own personal scented candle. A stray thought concerning the amount of sex she’d have to have with this giant in order for his smell to rub off on her danced through her mind.
He was staring at her mouth hungrily. Would he kiss her? Then his gaze traveled lower and settled on her neck. He ran a pointed tongue over his fang.
Fuck no!
“Put me down.” She squirmed. No way in hell was she letting some super-hot alien gnaw o
n her carotid. A surprising jolt of electricity shot directly to her clit as she imagined his fangs brushing against the sensitive skin.
He set her back on her feet, but the arm around her waist stayed locked in place. “It’s easier this way. It would’ve taken you ages to climb down.”
Lily balled her fists and glared up at him. It was true. She couldn’t move as fast as he did, and she hated feeling less than. Hated feeling like she was holding someone back or slowing them down. “No one’s stopping you from going on ahead. I can take care of myself. Don’t let me hold you back.”
She could’ve sworn a look of hurt flashed over his face. “The only reason I’m out here at all is because of you. Why would I decide to leave you behind now?”
Gah! She wasn’t some charity case. “Because I don’t want you here!” The lie settled in her gut, cold and heavy.
He scowled, remaining silent, and his scent intensified.
Lily’s eyes drooped before she snapped them open. “Stop that! Whatever that whole smell thing is, turn it to zero.” Lily tried to move away, but he pulled her in closer.
“I told you, I’m not doing it on purpose. You smell whatever your brain wants you to. It just happens. And my scent should only be pleasing to you, not intoxicating.” A wicked grin spread over his face. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pressed her into his body. Her heartbeat picked up speed. “Are you sure it isn’t just that you find me sexy?”
She sputtered. “No I don’t!” Hell yeah she did.
He frowned again, and a low, rattling growl escaped him. It almost sounded like a ragged, resonant hiss. Although she’d never heard a sound quite like it before, the intention was clear. She’d been warned. “Look, little female. I can’t control it, so stop complaining about it.” His hand shot up to grip the back of her neck, dragging it forward until his mouth was a breath away from her ear. “You don’t hear me complaining every time the scent of arousal floods your cunt.”
Lily choked on her retort as her sex grew wet. His warm breath on her ear, paired with the firm grip on her nape and the massive bulge pressing into her belly, had already muddled her thoughts. Now, hearing those dirty words uttered in a sexy-as-sin voice? If she hadn’t been so shocked by the idea that he could actually smell her arousal, she might’ve melted into him right there.
Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 Page 8
