Moving slowly, he placed her back against the wall where she’d fallen asleep. He cast one last look at her, then shook his head and left her to find more food.
He hunted for nearly an hour and slew two futhorcs. Good, they’d need the meat to give them enough energy for the traveling they’d be doing today. He couldn’t be sure how far south they needed to go, but he recognized the rolling hills in the distance. They were on the right path.
By the time he came back, she was up and moving about. Her eyes were bright and the circles under her eyes gone. She hadn’t slept well since he’d taken her. After just one night of good sleep, she looked refreshed and, his chest tightened painfully, more beautiful. She looked over at him as he approached and a small smile teased her lips.
“About time you woke up,” he scowled.
The light in her eyes dimmed instantly. He wished he could take back his words, but this was for the best. He didn’t need to make his job of sacrificing her any harder. Distance would be good.
“If it’s a problem then you could always wake me up early.”
He ignored her valid point, lit the fire, and started skinning the small animals. From the corner of his eye, he watched her mouth flatten and anger flash in her eyes. She didn’t argue, for which he thanked the lucky stars. Her anger only fueled him in a way he craved entirely too much.
She took a seat across from him. “Well is there anything I can do?”
He eyed her pensively. Warily he grabbed a small knife from his ankle holster and tossed it into the dirt next to her. Her legs jumped to the side and she gave him a wide-eyed look.
“Make some skewers.” She picked up the knife and handled it in a tight, awkward grip and not like a warrior would. Still he had to make his point clear. “Make any move at me with that and you’ll regret it.”
Her jaw clenched, but then she gave a mock bow. “Yes, my Lord.”
His mouth quirked with a smile and he saw surprise light her features. Quickly, he killed it. He had to remember his purpose. He couldn’t let her get under his skin. He needed her for one purpose only.
After she finished making skewers from thin sticks, they ate and he packed up the rest of their belongings. They didn’t have much and he needed some blankets for them and maybe some soap for her. He stilled in mid-motion of putting his swords back on the holster on his back. Was he making plans for her to be more comfortable? He jerked his mind off the thought. He wasn’t going there because that’s not what this was about. They’d both enjoy the added comforts.
They headed south by mid-morning and it didn’t take long for her to grow restless. He saw it first in the way she sighed, then when she started to open her mouth to speak but stopped herself. He didn’t encourage her even though a part of him was curious. Just what had her fumbling so?
They stopped around mid-day to eat more and rest. He found himself wishing she would speak. It was while he surveyed the hill that sloped down gently before them that she finally let it out.
“Oh my god, I can’t stand this. You have to talk to me. I feel like I’m losing my mind here.”
Alrik barely contained his stunned expression. She wanted him to talk to her. What about?
“Come on, we’re heading back out. I want to reach the Drego river before nightfall. We’ll sleep there.”
She sighed and came up beside him. She was much shorter than Arianna. She didn’t even reach his shoulders. Damn. Why was he even thinking these crazy ideas?
“What? I don’t even see any water.”
He pointed south. “It’s there.”
Her gaze narrowed on the distant landscape and then she shrugged. “I don’t see it.” She sighed even louder. “We have to walk all that way. That has to be, like, ten miles.”
“At least.”
She groaned and his lips twitched. He quickly schooled the emotion before she saw it. This was new for him—finding humor in something. He hadn’t felt that in...a long time. He couldn’t even remember the last time because not even Arianna had made him laugh.
“Fine, let’s go before I lose my motivation.”
She started down the hill without him. He followed behind; his gaze locked on a part of her he really shouldn’t be looking at, but couldn’t help himself. The way her pants fit her was almost indecent. Shahoulin women wore long, beautiful dresses that complimented their beauty. Abbigail, a mere human, managed to stir desire wearing nothing but tight pants that cupped her in ways that made his palms itch to feel for himself.
So wrapped up in his baser thoughts was he that he didn’t react for a long second when her foot slipped on a rock. Alrik snapped out of it as her scream ripped through the air and she started tumbling down the hill.
“Abbigail!”
He charged down the hill, his heart pounding in his throat. Something intense and terrifying filled him. He reached her just as she rolled to a stop at the bottom of the hill. She lay on her stomach facing away from him, her arms bent under her, and her legs squeezed together.
He turned her over and her eyes squinted up at him in pain.
“Ow, that one hurt.” Her lips pinched together as her brow furrowed.
He knelt beside her, his hands touching her everywhere. “Where are you hurt?” She stiffened, but he didn’t realize it. That intense feeling still held him in its tight grip.
Her voice came out breathless. “Didn’t hurt anything new except maybe my ego. A few rocks just jabbed into my bruises.”
He lifted her shirt up ignoring her squeal of protest to inspect her bruise. A part of him expected to find blood there, but her skin was intact just colored in an ugly way. Relief filled him and he collapsed over her, burying his head in her hair. A wild staccato beat pounded in his chest. He’d only ever felt that feeling once before he realized, when Arianna stepped in front of him to take the blow that would have ended his life.
“Alrik?” she asked hesitantly.
He pulled back and found her face a mask of confusion. Something changed inside of him then. Now with the panic passing, he realized he had her practically in his arms. His gaze dropped to her mouth; soft pink lips that were pouty and full. His gut clenched and what happened next he was lost to.
He slanted his lips across hers and gave in to the need inside him. The first touch was like being zapped with an electrical charge. Every ounce of his body burned, roaring at him to take more, take all that she’d give, and then take even more. She was soft and warm, her lips delicate in a way that brought out the animal inside him.
He held back the beast and savored the press of her lips but his body strained to keep it caged.
Soft, pliable lips pressed gently against his as his mouth fluttered across hers. His cock was a mighty weight between his legs, roaring at him to have her hand curl around the shaft.
Then she pressed back against him and he snapped. A shiver tore down his spine.
A feral growl sounded, surprising him. The sound came from him, from the need he’d buried deep inside of himself. As her soft lips kissed him back he did something wild and utterly stupid. He did something he’d wanted to do since he met her and thrust his tongue deep.
The sweet taste of her flooded his senses, firing his already yearning body. Then she surprised him. Her hands swept into his hair, clenching his head to her as if she didn’t want him to move.
Oh god. The way she touched him. She made sexy little noises in the back of her throat and the way her tongue met his in a wet sweep brought the need in him shooting down his spine to his cock.
He never thought...