“Yes,” I said more brusquely than I’dintended.
She chuckled before taking her clothes andboots from my grasp and rising fluidly to her feet. I couldn’t tearmy gaze away from her as she walked a few feet away and tugged myshirt off. I feasted on the display of her naked body when shetossed my shirt to me.
“I actually like this place,” she said asshe pulled her shirt on.
Undoing the buttons on my shirt, I slid iton and settled it into place. “It is different from any of theother places here.”
She glanced at me while she buttoned herpants. Her attention turned to her hair as she tried to comb herfingers through it. “I’d kill Lucifer for a hair brush rightnow.”
My mouth quirked in a smile as I watched herwork the tangles from her hair. “Would you like me to help you withthat?”
“No, I think I may find myself undressedagain if you do.”
I leaned against the calamut tree behind me.“You would,” I said as I folded my arms over my chest to watchher.
“I do love your honesty.”
“You just love me.”
“That too.”
She worked on trying to untangle her hairfor a few more minutes before sighing and letting it fall about hershoulders. She shoved her feet into the boots before leaningagainst one of the trees to tie them. “Oh,” she breathed.
She stepped away from the tree and turned toface it. Her gaze ran over the trunk as she studied the black barkwith crevices nearly two to three inches deep in some areas. Myhands fell to my sides and I stepped away from the tree.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“It’s… it’s…” Her voice trailed off, and herfingers trembled as she stretched them out to settle them on thebark. Blue sparks shot across the tips of her fingers and her eyesclosed. “It’s amazing,” she breathed.
I glanced between her and the tree as shestepped closer and rested her forehead against it. Lifting herforehead, her head tipped back to peer into the thick bowers aboveher. The leaves of the tree fluttered as if stirred by a breeze,but no wind moved through here.
I strode forward to pull her away. I’d seenwhat these trees could do when provoked, but before I could get toher, one of the lower branches swung out and dipped toward her.“River, get away!” I shouted.
She didn’t move as the blue light spreadover her body. The tip of the branch brushed against her side.Racing forward, I leapt over the branch and pulled her against me.The leaves caressed her skin as I released a ferocious snarl.
“What are you doing?” she demanded as theleaves spread to cover her in what could only be called a hug.
“You don’t know what these trees are capableof,” I said, though confusion swirled through me as another branchdipped down to run over her hair. She dug her heels in when I triedto jerk her away again.
“It’s not trying to hurt me,” she saidstubbornly.
“You can’t know that.”
“But I do know,” she insisted as she turnedher cheek into a leaf three times the size of her head.
“Don’t! I’ve seen these trees rend a demonlimb from limb for harming a tree nymph.”
She squirmed in my arms. “I’m not doinganything to the tree nymphs, and they’re not trying to hurt me.They’re amazing, Kobal.”
My grip on her eased as more limbsdescended, and one turned over to offer her the fruit within. Sheglanced at me questioningly as the large prury fruit quiveredbefore her. “Can I?” she asked.
I stared at the fruit, then at the tree inconfusion. Calamut trees were known for their viciousness, theirprotective streak, and their ability to feed on sexual energy. Theywere not known for their kindness. Perhaps this was what they didwith the tree nymphs, but I’d never witnessed it before.
“I think it is offering it to you,” I said.“They will not be poisonous to you, though I’m not sure what you’llthink of the taste.”
I’d never eaten the fruit, but the nymphsand canaghs did on occasion. River plucked the fruit from the treeand ran her fingers over the place where it had been taken from.The leaf coiled over her hand, giving it a squeeze before releasingher.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
