Page 46 of Tempting Fate

“Please.” I lay back, my eyes tracing that spot on the ceiling where the stones were uneven. At first, kalidi had been a thing to merely accept, as necessary as cleansing my teeth or massaging sore headspines when I had the winter flu. Now, with the addition of pleasure, it almost became something to enjoy.

Guilt mingled with truth in my gut. It wasn’t appropriate to include Imani in that. She was only here to help.

I sank into the mattress as she got a towel. She was lovely, but this was a truth I could not dwell upon, not when she was about to touch me.

Gentle hands spread the towel over my chest. “Are you comfy?”

“Yes.” I tried not to shiver at her touch or the thought of her running those hands over my naked skin, yet I couldn’t help my sharp inhale as her fingers wrapped around me.

I would not watch her. I would not think about how good she made me feel, how the entirety of her was so captivating I almost forgot why she was doing this.

Even if her touch brought pleasure I had never imagined, I had to be clinical like her.

I squeezed my eyes closed, taking away the tempting sight.

But without sight, all I could do was feel her hand on me, her soft heat, and the tight, tingling sensations it brought.

Forgive me, Imani. I never want you to stop.

I sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, moonlit jasmine filling my nostrils. Her scent, her warmth, her touch, she invaded all my senses, and my summit built.

It didn’t crest, and a whimper escaped me. “Please.”

She hummed, a satisfied sound, and gripped a little tighter.

Yes. Hot pleasure roared up my shaft, and I gave a long, loud groan as my release hit the towel in thick spurts.

“There you go, kitten, good—” She stopped with a soft inhale. “Well done, all done.”

A new sensation bloomed in my chest at her husky words, more than the afterglow of release. I wanted to lean into them, hear more of them. When was the last time someone had told me I’d done well?

Kitten. That warmth grew. Why she likened me to a baby tsati, I did not know, but the mountain predators were fierce. Perhaps she saw something in me I was only beginning to learn about myself. “Thank you, Marni.”

I caught my lip with a tusk, hoping she wouldn’t mind the diminutive. But a smile lit her face, and she turned away, taking the towel with her.

My heart beat too fast. I’d been too caught up in the moment and hadn’t been able to remain distanced, not at all—and now I found myself looking forward to the next time. I had to find a distraction before I made a fool of myself.

As the residual pleasure faded, the words I’d heard earlier played in my mind. “May I ask you something?”

She kept her back to me as she washed her hands. “Sure, what is it?”

“When I came out earlier, everyone went quiet. I got the feeling they’d been talking about me.”

“Oh.” She shifted on her feet, staring off into the middle distance. “What did you hear?”

“Something about extra patrols. Do you know what they meant?”

Imani sat, her eyes locking with mine. Though they were smooth, not crystalline, their rich, brown depths shone like jewels all the same, flecked with umber and gold. “Shohari didn’t want you to know because she didn’t want to worry you, but I told her I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Lie?

My head swam, the scene in my parents’ house flooding back. The day I’d been taken. The revelations. The oppressive heat of the afternoon, the garish colours of the main house. Armed guards. A tension so thick I could have made paintings with it on the wall—except the wall had been covered with a hologram of my sister and her companions, and every molecule of air had been filled with truths that sounded like lies.

The stew sat like a stone in my gut. “What is it?”

“There’s no danger here, but there are bounty hunters looking for you both.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

I sat straighter, pulling the sheet around me as though it could protect me. “Looking for us,” I repeated dully. “Why? Who?”