Page 47 of Black Mamba

I am trying to make her life convenient, not more frightening.

She sighs softly. “I don’t think us being near one another is a good idea.” She blinks hard and points her finger at my middle. “Not with what’s going on there.”

I look down. “I cannot help the way my body reacts to you.”

“See!” She lifts her hand and makes a fist then drops it. “That’s a problem. That can be a problem.”

“I have enough willpower to control myself. I will…” Will I? She may be right. I lick my lips before continuing. I did not control myself last time. “I only want to make sure you are ssssafe. I want to see you happy.”

“Why?” Her face saddens as her lips angle downward. It does not take away from her beauty. “Just because I’m alone? Besides my arm, I’ve been doing just fine. I haven’t needed anyone until now. And I wouldn’t need anyone if you hadn’t butted in!”

“Because I have been waiting for you my entire life,” I admit.

Her mouth opens then snaps shut as she crosses her arms and shifts on her feet. “Yeah, but why me? You said it was because I was in your territory before—but there’s got to be a better reason for me specifically. You don’t know me.”

I slip forward and she straightens, glancing behind her at the water nervously. “I know your scent—it is wild, aromatic, and pure—and unlike anything I have ever smelled before. It is appealing and perfect, just like the rest of you is, and I would not think so certainly about you if it was any different. To me, you smell like home. You smell like the sunset after a long hunt, and the dewy fog at the cusp of dawn. You smell like you are mine. I would scent you now and fill my lungs with you if you would only allow me.”

Her eyes widen. “You smell like chocolate,” she whispers. “Ilubriam chocolate… My favorite dessert.”

“When I saw your tears the first day, I only wanted to make them go away.”

“My… my tears?” She frowns, shaking her head again. “You’ve seen me crying. Of course you’ve seen me crying…” She lifts her eyes to the sky and wipes at the bottom of them. “I cried a lot. I still cry a lot. I’m really trying to stop.”

“But not so much anymore.”

“No… not so much anymore…”

I resettle the bucket in my arms. “Come. We will get thissss water in your nest and you will have what you need.”

She wipes her eyes again and nods as she waits for me to move. I lead her back to her ship slowly, making sure she is following close behind, while also prolonging our time together.

I do not ask her for permission before slipping inside her vessel and setting the bucket outside her room’s door. It is heavy. This way, she will not have to go so far for her water, wherever she is.

When I am done, I find her walking away from the hatch to stand next to the firepit.

She turns and faces me. “Thank you. Again.”

“From now on, leave the bucket outside your nest when you need water. It will be filled for you.”

“I—I will.”

I move out of her way and retreat to the trees, only turning when I am within their shadows. I watch her walk back to her ship and step inside it. With a final glance my way, the door closes, breaking our connection.

I release a breath, my hands shaking at my sides.

She is right. She should be worried about me. We should not be alone together…

But it is all I want to be.

TWENTY-THREE

DOWNPOUR

Elena

Days go by before I talk to him again. I see him, sometimes in passing, as he traverses through the meadow. But it’s only out of the corner of my eye. He’s never around long or near enough for me to call out to him.

It’s not like I’m lingering in the front of my ship waiting for him, spending endless hours gazing at the landscape, hoping to get a glimpse of him. I’m still listening to broadcasts, I’m still hoping mine will be answered.