Thia untied Illyse and left.
Darice paused by Sumi’s side to stare down at his uncle. “Do you believe Thia?”
Why was he asking her?
“Does it matter what I think, Darice? I don’t know your mother, at all. I barely know your uncle. However, he seems to be extremely kind and devoted. I can’t imagine he would dishonor your mother, and I know he hasn’t done so with me.”
That seemed to calm him. Nodding, he ran after Thia.
Alone with Hauk, Sumi brushed her hand along the whiskers on his cheek. In the chaos of this morning, he hadn’t shaved. The added growth made him look wild and untamed.
Even more masculine.
Smiling at the proud image he made even while he slept, she wound one of his thin black braids around her finger to toy with it. Unlike the rest of him, his hair and lips were so incredibly soft. Warmth spread through her at the memory of his tongue licking her fingers while she’d fed him the antidote. The sensation of his fangs brushing against her skin as he took care not to bite her, even though he was barely alert.
You are an incredibly sexy beast, Dancer Hauk. And he deserved a lot better than a female who couldn’t love and appreciate him.
“Deserving’s got nothing to do with anything.” Her father’s angry voice echoed in her head. “You think I deserved a whore who ran off in the middle of the night, and left me with two daughters to raise? Show me the Life Manual where it says things are fair and we all get what we deserve!”
As a girl, she’d thought him a fool for that reasoning. Had virulently disagreed with him.
Too bad the old bastard had been more right than he was wrong. Her heart breaking, she stroked Dancer’s goatee with her thumb.
Sighing in his sleep, Dancer nuzzled his head against her hand. The unexpected sweetness touched her. Removing her poncho, she made a pillow for him.
He mumbled something in Andarion.
“Shh,” she whispered, trying to soothe him.
“Munatara.”
She knew he couldn’t be referring to her as such, but she allowed herself to pretend for a moment that she was the one he called out for in his stupor. What would it be like to be loved that way? To have someone, just once, she could turn to for comfort?
Someone who would call her the lady of his life, and not a whore or a bitch?
It was all she’d ever wanted. Someone who could actually love her and not hurt or insult her. An impossible dream that was now lost to her forever. Even if it wasn’t, Dancer would be the last person she could ever have a relationship with. Forgetting the fact that they were two different species, their siblings had married and parted as bitter enemies. And he would absolutely kill her if he ever learned that fact.
I should be terrified of you.
He could snap her in half or gut her without even raising his blood pressure.
Vicious memories of Avin surged. She still couldn’t believe how easily she’d found herself in such an abusive relationship, especially after the year she’d spent with Darnell, and his insults when she’d been in college. She’d always prided herself on being independent and strong. Yet both men had lured her in with sweet words and acts of kindness. Then something would hit them wrong and they’d turn violent without warning. They’d always apologize later and swear it would never happen again.
Like a fool, she’d believed every lie. In that, she wasn’t any different than Darice, who wanted to believe his mother, in spite of the truth that was right in front of his face. But it was easy to believe in lies when all you wanted was to be loved and accepted for who and what you were.
Sometimes it was good enough just to be loved for who they thought you were.
But that wasn’t real and she knew it.
“Sumi?”
She met Dancer’s suddenly lucid gaze. “I’m right here.”
He laid his hand over hers and moved it from his cheek to his lips so that he could place a tender kiss in her palm. Sighing, he slid his head into her lap and held her against him with one powerful arm.
“Are you awake, Dancer?”
His answer was a mumbled something she couldn’t make out.
“I guess not.” Sumi brushed the braids back from his face as she hummed to him one of the lullabies Omira used to sing to her. She lost herself to this one moment of pretend domesticity. The cave and everything else fell away as she studied Dancer’s chiseled features, and wondered what it would be like to make love to someone like him. Someone who still had a soul and a heart.
In the serene quiet of this moment, she allowed her fantasies to run wild as she imagined living with him and Kalea in a small apartment on some planet where no one would pay them any attention, and they could go about their boring lives in total happiness.
You’re such an idiot.
She was indeed. It had always been her greatest flaw. As Omira had so often mocked, she was a dreamer. Through and through.
But wanting it to be real, she leaned forward and rubbed her nose to his. Then guilt struck her hard as she remembered her mission and why she was here.
How can I ruin him?
How could she not?
Conflicted and angry at fate for dangling this in front of her when it knew she could never have such a life, she didn’t move until she heard the kids returning. Only then did she gently place Dancer’s head on her poncho, and put a few feet between them.
Thia came forward with a blanket while Sumi went to set up a few things for the night. As Dancer had pointed out, it wasn’t safe here, but they had no choice. They had to make do. At least until morning.
And if more men came for him, she’d make them wish they were facing Dancer and not her.
As they unpacked for camp, she learned why Hauk didn’t play the violin around anyone.
While digging through Hauk’s bag, Darice found the case, opened it, and curled his lip in supreme disgust. “What kind of human thing is this?”
Thia’s eyes narrowed angrily as she snatched the case from his grasp and closed it. “It’s mine. Leave it alone.” But when Thia met her gaze, she saw the truth. Thia knew it was Hauk’s and was trying to save her uncle any more of Darice’s contempt.
The girl placed it in her own pack while Darice continued to mumble in Andarion. “Shut up, Darice,” Thia said irritably. “I’m as fluent in Andarion as you are.”
That set them off into arguing with words that were meaningless to Sumi. But given the nuclear escalation of their gestures and pitch, she knew she needed to break them apart or there’d be blood on the cave walls soon.
“Thia? Can you gather more root and berries for me? We should make additional antidote for your uncle.”
Glaring at Darice, she nodded. “Sure, Sumi. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She took Illyse with her.
Sumi paused to watch Darice return to digging through Hauk’s things. He reminded her of a little kid with a treasure chest. It was actually adorable to watch him try on Hauk’s gloves and see just how much more he needed to grow to be the same size.
For the record, it was a lot. Hauk was huge.
“I’m going to start a fire, outside. Okay?”
Darice responded with a nod.
“Let me know if your uncle wakes up and needs something.”
That got her a heated, furious glare.
Holding her hands up in surrender, she left them alone, even though a part of her wondered if it was the wisest thing to do. Darice held a lot of hatred and resentment toward his uncle.