She sighed. “In that situation, I can see why you’d want me to run and I probably would. It would be the best way I can help.”
He smiled and his hand lifted from the uneven wall at her side to brush across her cheek. A little thrill rolled through her. She couldn’t explain why. It was such a light, simple touch, but the caress seared through her and tension coiled low in her belly.
“Give me a kiss if you’re going to be snuggled up against me. If we’re going to stand here, I want something to occupy me,” she drawled out the order.
He frowned at her for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard right. She wondered if he was going to kiss her as they both knew they wanted or if he was going to resist simply because she’d told him to do it. He definitely liked giving orders, but taking them was another thing. She had a feeling that there were men who were much more inclined to orders than he was and she was glad that he seemed reasonable most of the time. She didn’t know how a woman would handle those other men. Tyson annoyed her, but she could tell he did listen to her. He didn’t always like what she said, but he paid attention.
He leaned into her and his lips brushed across his. It wasn’t what she expected, especially after his anger of only moments ago. His lips moved across hers softly. He didn’t make any move to deepen it. His scent rose around her and tempted her.
Tori groaned, frustrated. She supposed it was a kiss of sorts, but it wasn’t what she wanted. She drew her tongue along the edge of his lips, a little hesitant herself. His mouth opened beneath her prodding and her tongue thrust into his warmth. She lost all reservations when his tongue stroked against hers. Her hands flattened against his chest, but smoothed up the cloth in slow strokes. She cursed the fabric as it got in her way, but she made no move to start on the buttons. She didn’t want to stop touching him even if the fabric did prevent her from feeling his skin.
His hips rocked against hers. She lifted one of her legs and hooked it around his thigh so the ridge of his cock pressed against her, but the barriers of clothing separating them frustrated her. Her fingers tightened on his shirt, pulling him as close as possible. His teeth nipped at her lips. The stinging sensation had her arching into him and her breasts pressing against his muscled chest. The swollen mounds felt tight and ached for the touch of his hands and lips on them. His hands slipped around her waist and cupped her buttocks as he lifted her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his hips. He moved against her for a few moments, his hands tightening as his hips ground into her. She tore her lips away from his and pressed her head against his shoulder. Dragging in a ragged breath, she shivered with need.
“We have to stop or I’m going to come before I’m inside you.” His voice sounded hoarse and strained and his hot breath puffed through her hair. “I want to feel your skin as you arch against me, not the brush of your clothes and mine.”
The fact that she affected him this strongly was exciting and sent a surge of desire through her. Part of her wanted to push until he lost the control she could tell he was desperately holding onto. The other part couldn’t agree with him more. If they didn’t get their clothes off soon, she was going to start ripping and tearing them off him. She wanted him too much to play teasing games. His hips rocked against her one last time before he urged her legs down and set her on her feet.
He began stripping off his clothes in a rush of movement. She lifted her hands and began pushing the buttons through the holes in a hurry to get them off so she could touch him again. She shrugged out of her shirt and let it fall to the ground without care as she struggled with the buttons on her pants. The last two buttons stuck and it seemed to take an eternity to push them through the holes. Finally, the fabric gaped and she began to push them down her legs only to stop because she had to sit down on the blanket to pull off her boots.
At last, she was naked and looked over to find him watching her with a smile. He took the two steps to the bedroll and came down beside her. His hand settled across her stomach for a moment before it swept up to cup the swell of her breast. Her breath hitched and her eyes rounded. If he thought she could stand a long teasing, he seriously underestimated the level of her arousal. She needed him too much to wait any longer.
“Tyson, please no teasing.” She gripped his wrist and urged it down her belly and between her thighs. When his fingers touched the slick lips of her pussy, she drew in a hissing breath.
His fingers curled and two of them slipped between the lips as if he couldn’t help touching her now that he was so close. Her breath hitched as he flicked at her clit. She closed her eyes and tried to grab for control as the tips trailed down and swirled around her opening. Tremors rippled through her. She was so close. Two thick digits pushed into her. She felt her inner muscles clench around them as she arched and tried to push them deeper into her, but he held his hand still. She wanted him to move them.
“You’re so wet for me.” His teeth nibbled at her lips. He slowly withdrew his fingers and then slid them back into her. The slow movement sent her desire spiraling even higher, but it wasn’t enough. At that moment, she didn’t know what she needed, but she needed more.
She gripped his shoulders and pulled at him. She was hot and ready and she wasn’t going to let him play any longer. She kissed him hungrily, using her teeth and lips to push him even more.
“Now, Tyson!” She scraped her nails over his shoulders and back.
He reared up and his breath exploded in a soft hiss. His eyes narrowed. She smiled in satisfaction at the predatory hunger burning those green orbs. His lips pulled back, baring his teeth. Just when she thought she’d have to reach between them and take his cock in hand, his fingers withdrew from her channel. She arched as his slick fingers trailed over her clit. Panting, she fought the urge to grab his hand and push it back down to her pussy. She burned with hunger, but she wanted his cock, not his fingers.
He moved between her thighs. His hard shaft brushed against her inner leg and then the lips of her pussy. She arched up into the touch, eager to have him inside her. He reached between them and fitted the darkened head of his shaft to her opening and pushed into her.
Her breath escaped on a sigh of satisfaction. This was what she wanted. Her legs wrapped around his hips as he began to thrust into her. She lifted into the strokes as her body tightened with the coming release. Her hands roamed over his back and grabbed his buttocks. The feelings built until the desperate ache bordered on pain. She needed something. She didn’t know if he somehow sensed it, but Tyson’s hips ground against hers as his chest pressed on the sensitive tips of her breasts. At that moment, she didn’t care. The little bit of extra sensation set off a cascading flood of pleasure. She shook with it as Tyson continued to surge into her. His muscles tensed and his groan was muffled against her neck as he came. His hips continued to rock into hers until finally he collapsed onto her.
She stroked her hands over his back. This journey back to the city wasn’t making things clearer for her. If anything, she was even more confused now. She didn’t know what to do. She felt pulled in two directions, but even her fear of the unknown wasn’t as strong as the desire to be with him, but it was that strong longing that scared her. Something didn’t seem normal about that.
Chapter Eight
Tori woke slowly. She could feel Tyson’s arms around her and the press of his warm, muscled body against her back. His palm flattened on her stomach. It wasn’t his arms around her that had drawn her from sleep. That felt good and she could snuggle right back into them happily if she didn’t know they needed to be moving. If he wasn’t already awake, he would be soon.
No, something had pulled her from sleep. It wasn’t something she’d heard or felt. She inhaled. That was it. Scent teased her nostrils, but she couldn’t think of what it could be. She could tell that it was a mix of smells, but nothing seemed familiar and it was so strong that she knew it should be close.
Tyson’s arms tightened and he kissed her shoulder as he pulled her back against him
. “Are you awake?”
“Yes, do you smell something strange?” She glanced back over her shoulder.
He sat and inhaled deeply. “Nothing strange. Let’s get up. The sooner we get into the city the sooner we can relax a little.”
“I smell something strange.” She did get to her feet and grabbed some clothes from her bag, but she still wanted to know what that smell was. Spotting some of her clothes still on the ground where they’d fallen last night, she grabbed them and brushed the dust off them before stuffing them in her bag.
He drew in another deep breath. “No, there’s the scent of the river in the distance and the sharp bite of the sap of some tree. I’m not sure which. I also get a hint of some animal, but it’s not too close so I can’t tell exactly what it is.”
She drew in a breath and tried to separate the scents. The sharp bite of the sap was the first thing that she recognized, but she knew she shouldn’t be able to distinguish it. Not when she was in a small cave with damp earth so close and the smell of the nearby flowering bushes.
“I shouldn’t be able to smell all that though and I am.” She frowned at Tyson as she held her shirt in fists clenched tight with fear. Her heart began to race and she felt like she couldn’t get enough air.
He looked at her and his head tilted to the side. “Take a deep breath, Tori, and not to pull in any scents. I want you to calm down. There’s nothing for you to be scared of here.”
“Nothing scary? Damn it, Tyson. I smell some animal and it’s not even close enough for me to see or hear. It’s not Mirlu.” She looked over at the big animal watching them. Mirlu’s ears were pricked and he looked ready to go.
His hands cupped her shoulders and he just held her. “Try to calm down. Take a few deep breaths for me.”
She shrugged, trying to get his hands to move, but they didn’t budge. When she tried to duck out from under those large palms, his fingers tightened just slightly. Seeing no other choice, she glared at him as she drew in deep breaths. She wanted to walk away from him or smack him, but after a few more breaths, she felt her agitation ease a little. Not that the fear and anxiety disappeared. Her mind still spun with thoughts about what this meant. He’d bitten her and told her the change had begun. Was this one of the signs of that change?
“Good. This isn’t anything that’s going to harm you. It’s just the first part of your body altering and becoming Santir.” His thumbs rubbed in slow circles on her shoulder. “It’s not going to hurt as it happens.”
As though the fact that it didn’t hurt helped that much. She was still changing into something she knew next to nothing about. He was the only Santir she’d met and that didn’t make it any easier. He wasn’t exactly talkative about what was going to happen with this change. Part of her was still angry that she was changing even though he had been drugged when the bite had happened. He hadn’t seemed to regret it and had acted like the change happening was a foregone conclusion.
“Do you think this is easy for me? I never even thought a person could be changed from a normal human into a Santir before I met you and now I learn it’s as simple as a bite. I just wonder how many people are accidentally changed.” She put her hands on his chest and pushed but he didn’t budge.
“I know it’s not easy. And the answer to the how many are accidentally changed is very few. It’s more than the bite. The woman or man has to be a mate. Do you think a man will simply let his mate walk away if he realizes she’s his mate?” He smiled and pulled her against his body. “Do you think you can let me explain what’s going to happen next so it doesn’t panic you like this did?”
She stiffened as his arms came around and held her against him, but gradually the tension in her body eased. Her hands relaxed and she let them rest lightly on his chest. “All right, talk to me, but there’s still no guarantee that it’s not going to take me by surprise when it happens.”
“Don’t worry. Most of them aren’t going to be as obvious as this one was. Your hearing will slowly begin to get better, but you probably won’t notice it. It will take a week or maybe a week and a half before the transformation is complete and you won’t get your trika, the spots along your jaw and ribs, until very close to the end.” His right hand lifted and he stroked his thumb along her cheek.
Spots on her jaw. The thought nearly sent her into another panicking frenzy. She wouldn’t even look the same. During the trek up the mountain she’d managed to push most of the thoughts of the change out of her mind. Maybe she should have talked about it because this was hitting her hard. She concentrated on breathing and focused only on the steady rise and fall of his chest.
“So there’s really not much time before I’m not me anymore.” She grimaced.
He laughed softly. “You’re a little dramatic sometimes, aren’t you? You’ll still be you. You’ll simply be a Santir as well. Your personality and memories aren’t going to change.”
Maybe she had been a tiny bit overly emotional with that statement, but she thought she had the right to a little drama. Transforming into something entirely different wasn’t normal for her. He laughed, but she did feel like she was losing something that marked her as who she was. She only knew life as a human, becoming something else was scary.
“But I don’t know anything about being a Santir and changing into a big cat. That’s going to take some time for my mind to accept. Probably longer than you say it will take for the transformation to complete.” She sighed and pushed her fingers through her hair.
“I don’t expect you to adjust this fast to everything that’s happened. I don’t know of any woman who’s simply accepted everything within the first few days of knowing of it. With time, you’ll see that it’s not so different.” His hand slowly slid down her back. “Now, we should finish dressing, gather our things and go. I want to get to that city tonight if possible.”
She nodded and he moved away to gather his own clothing from the ground. It should be possible to get there. She hadn’t gotten that far before the storm hit and scared the michkal. It usually took about three days with a heavily loaded michkal to get from the village to the gate city and almost two days to get back. She hurried to get dressed. They’d both be safer once they reached the city. Now that she’d calmed a little she realized things were far from simple and clear. She felt overloaded and she didn’t know what to do. Her first impulse was to fight or run and not look back, but neither of those would solve the problem. She was changing and she had to deal with that and the way it was going to alter her life.
They left and they didn’t talk, but it wasn’t only because she was thinking. The terrain was a little rough and required attention. Focusing on traveling and trying to sort through her thoughts, she was surprised when she noticed the light beginning to dim. She hadn’t noticed the time passing. She knew they were close to the city though. At least close enough for the wind to carry the scent of the food and spices that she associated with the city on the light breeze.
“We’re close, aren’t we?” she asked, glancing over at him.
“Yes, but we’re not out of trouble.” His voice was so low she almost missed it. “We’re being followed.”
Her eyes widened and she had to resist the urge to look behind them. She hadn’t thought about the people hunting Tyson since they’d left. She’d been too wrapped up in her own thoughts. Grimacing, she silently berated herself. That had been stupid. She knew there were people after Tyson.
“What are we going to do?” She leaned close under the guise of briefly putting her arm around him and resting her head against his shoulder.
“Keep going. The closer we are to the city, the better I’ll feel. Remember what you said you’d do.”
“I remember. If they come after me, I run. I’m not going to let them use me against you.” She nodded.
“Good. They won’t let us walk into the city, but I’m not sure when they’ll attack. Pay attention and be ready.” His voice hissed into her ear and drew away from her.
“I will. You take care of yourself.” She whispered the words but didn’t glance at him. She was a little surprised at how much it mattered and how much the thought of him in danger ate at her. That confused her, because they had met only days ago. Yet she couldn’t deny the surge of emotion.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to let them get to me.” He sounded so confident of his abilities.
Her muscles were tense and time almost seemed to stop. Her gaze moved warily over the trees and bushes around them and she strained to hear the sound of footsteps. Any clue of where these people were would be reassuring. The not knowing was even worse than any attack could be.
As they walked, she began to wonder what those men were doing. Were they going to follow? Were they going to attack? What kind of weapons did they have? Were they simply going to remain out of reach and launch arrows from where they hid or were they going to come directly after Tyson? She wasn’t sure if his condition mattered that much to them now or if they were hunting him because they didn’t want any man to get away knowing he’d been drugged.
She walked at Tyson’s side, but she was conscious that he’d want room to move without chancing bumping into her. She didn’t want to be the cause of him being captured. It was part of the reason she was so tense. He was right. The men would see her as Tyson’s weakness since he’d kept her with him even after the first attack. She knew she’d slowed him down. Even with not knowing which direction to take, he would have traveled faster without her.
Even knowing it was coming, she was surprised when a man lunged out of the bushes ahead of them—she jumped and stumbled back. She saw Mirlu turn but he was only a blur as he leapt forward and disappeared behind her. She caught herself and turned as Mirlu launched himself at a man coming toward her. The canil’s teeth sank into the man’s forearm. Tori pulled the knife out of her belt and threw her bag into the bushes. If they managed to get away from the men, she might be able to come back for it.
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