AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh.” Her gaze averted. “Then I will leave your supplies by the water’s edge.”
Until he frowned down at me, I hadn’t realized my nails bit into his arm. I’d seen ursus in heat respond better to encroaching females than I did. He was mine. He’d said so.
“He’s mine.” Gods above, had I spoken aloud? Judging by Mana’s broad grin and Rhys’s patient sigh, I had.
“Yes, Maven.” Mana laughed. “He is yours. He told me as much himself.”
“I’m glad I amuse you.” I was acting out, yet I blamed her for my foul temper. Far easier for me to point the finger than accept some animal part of me wanted Rhys bathed in my scent so other females knew where he belonged—at my side—always. Until our life threads joined, such marking was ill-advised, but the need roared through me. Desire was a pale word for what I felt.
“I meant no disrespect.” Her face drained of amusement. “I apologize for my rudeness.”
I rubbed a finger alongside my nose. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I’m sorry, Mana, I am. Whatever your relationship is—was—to Rhys, doesn’t concern me. It’s between you two.”
Mana dropped her supplies as her eyes rounded with understanding.
Rhys looked to her. “Thank you,” he said, shifting his attention from her on to me, “cousin.”
Embarrassment was a flash fire that ignited in my cheeks and constricted my throat. She was his cousin? Fine impression I had made on his family. What Mana must think of me, all but foaming at the mouth. After Pascale’s tantrum, I was amazed Rhys had dared risk the introduction.
“You are most welcome. I will fetch you when dinner is ready.” She hesitated. “I gave your brother the room beside Old Father. I assumed you would want privacy at your home.”
The look he turned on me melted my bones. “We do, and, Mana? If we don’t answer…”
More red blossomed in her cheeks. “I’ll leave a tray outside your door.”
“Thank you, Mana.” I broke Rhys’s gaze. “You’ve been more gracious than I deserve.”
“Hearts are fickle things, Maven. They drive us to act without thought at times.” Her smile was kind and conveyed perfect understanding. “That yours is a love match is a blessing only the two gods could have bestowed.”
My mouth ran dry and my lips puckered closed. Thank the gods for that mercy. I didn’t love Rhys. I didn’t know him well enough. I glanced back at him and my chest tightened. Did I?
His hand traveled my shoulder until he stroked the side of my throat, and all of my doubts scattered as if his thumb had flicked them away. “I judged you unfairly.” I’d let my insecurities speak for me. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” He excused me without hesitation. “Vaughn sews his seeds of doubt well.”
“I let him have his fun at my expense.” I should have known better. “If I’d asked you sooner, we could have avoided this.”
Rhys didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. He radiated smug male satisfaction.
“What?” He managed the word without inflection as he drew me flush against him.
I covered his hand with mine. “I think you’re enjoying yourself too much, that’s what.”
“My beautiful, jealous female is naked in my arms.” He smiled. “What’s not to enjoy?”
I sank lower in the water. “You’re unconcerned with nudity, aren’t you?”
“I am what the gods made me, as are you. There is no shame in what they created.”
His faith bolstered mine. “Your offer stands?” Perhaps it bolstered mine too far.
His heavy brow creased. I bit my lip and glanced between his face and, well, the rest of him. Understanding dawned in the flare of his nostrils. He nodded, and I looked my fill.
The current swirled about him, curving around his waist and drawing my eye to the hard board of his abdomen. Scars crisscrossed roped muscle, pale against his tan skin. My gaze skipped like a stone across a pond, unsure which part of him to admire first. A dark trail led from his navel to the waterline, and my fingers itched to trace its path. His legs were the first bare thing I’d seen of him, and even they fascinated me. He said look upon him. I had. Now how did I stop?
My fingers curled. “Can I touch you?”
“I think that would be unwise.” His gaze cast upon the shore.
