Page 125 of The Hunter

Hoping she hadn’t ruined everything between them.

Did I…fuck this up?

CHAPTER 28

Lacey woke groggily from a deep slumber as arms slipped around her and drew her against a warm, solid chest. Groaning, she settled her palms against it and stroked the familiar scarred hide. “Telok?”

He held her closer, curling his claspers around her hips, and combed the claws of one hand through her hair. “Sleep, my nyleea.”

Rubbing her cheek against the arm cradling her head, Lacey breathed deep, taking in the woodsy, smokey scent surrounding her. “Wasn’t asleep… Was waiting for you.”

His chest rumbled with an amused grunt. “I am here now. The waiting is done.”

Lacey forced her heavy eyelids open, blinking against the sleep trying to drag her back under. The only light was the faint orange glow of the little sap fire burning in the stone heater, just enough to highlight the ridges of Telok’s hide.

She couldn’t remember falling asleep. Last she recalled, she’d been sitting in bed, anxiously staring at the doorway in the hopes that the curtain would be swept aside and Telok would step in. But the night had worn on, growing colder and darker, until the music from the evening gathering had fallen quiet and the nighttime sounds of insects and rustling leaves were all she could hear.

But Telok hadn’t come.

“Where were you?” she asked, watching her fingers brush back and forth over his hide.

“With Wen’Xal Tas.”

Lacey smiled. “Oh? That whole time? You finally warming up and making friends?”

He huffed. “You feel me. Am I not warm?”

Sighing, she closed her eyes and snuggled closer. “You’re very warm.”

Telok froze. His claspers cinched a little tighter around her, holding her firmly against him, where she felt a bulge pressing to her pelvis. His chest expanded and contracted against her hands with several slow, heavy breaths before he resumed petting her hair and back.

Rather than soothe Lacey, the strokes of his palm combined with the graze of his claws along her spine sent whispers of pleasure through her, awakening her every nerve and leaving her skin tingling. Her senses sharpened, making her hyperaware of his touch, his heat, his nearness, and of the lingering throbbing and emptiness between her thighs.

“Do you feel…more good now, Lacey?” he asked with almost endearing hesitance.

Her heart lurched. Stilling her fingers, she opened her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

He angled his head down to look at her, and she tipped hers back to meet his gaze. His eyes glowed their bright, haunting green.

“Why?” he asked.

“For pushing you away, for making you feel unwanted. For hurting you. My mind was a mess after everything that happened, and I… As much as I thought I wanted to be alone, I was wrong. When you left, I just wanted you to come back to me.”

“Ah, kir’ani vi’jatai…” He brushed his mouth against her forehead in a gentle kiss.

“I went looking for you, but I couldn’t find you, and then I waited here, but you never came back… I worried that I had really fucked things up. That you weren’t going to⁠—”

“Hush,” he said, his raspy voice at once soft and commanding. He slipped his fingers into her hair, cradling the back of her head, and forced her eyes back to his piercing gaze. “Nothing will keep me from you. Not words of hurt, not beasts or blades, not fire or storms. Not even the gods.”

His thumb caressed her cheek and jaw. “I kept myself from you for too long, Lacey. But now, you are mine.”

Desire sparked in her core at those words. She really, really, really liked it when he claimed her as his. When he declared it with no doubt, with no room for argument, just that absolute, unwavering certainty.

She smiled, sure that it was probably the goofiest, most love-struck smile she’d ever had. “Okay.”

Telok chittered and guided her head back down onto his arm before withdrawing his fingers from her hair. He moved that hand to her face and stroked the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip. “And what am I to you?”

“You’re mine. My…luveen.”