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My stomach twisted as she reached so close to the sharp teeth that’d mauled me. “Wait...” I stepped forward, the urge to protect her surging. But the girl ignored me as she placed her hand right on the lynx’s muzzle.
The moment her fingers touched the cat, the snarling ceased, replaced with the lowest vibrations of a purr.
Dropping to her haunches, the girl grabbed the lynx with both hands and pressed her forehead against the cat’s, its tiny antlers catching in the girl’s colourless hair.
The lynx whimpered.
The insects struck up their song again.
The river flowed onwards with its happy babble.
A few heartbeats passed before the girl pulled away and stood. The lynx huffed and shook violently, its luscious coat shivering with golden spots. When it finished shaking out its rage, it looked at me.
This time, there was no ferocity. No hate. Merely curiosity and a shred of apology.
The girl padded back toward me, favouring her ankle a little, but the injury didn’t look bad enough to worry. Smiling, she said softly, “As long as you don’t try to take me without my permission, she won’t hurt you again.”
“I can’t promise I won’t try to take you, but I fear my energy is lacking tonight.” I glanced at my arm, wincing at the oozing redness. It seemed to have swelled even more. “But if you walked with me...then we could make it back to the cave before dawn.”
Shaking her head slightly, she glanced down at my arm. She flinched as her eyes went farther down my body, lingering on the hardness between my legs.
In all my time alone, I’d only ever woken hard from tempting dreams and precious long-lost things. I’d never felt belly-clenching desire from a single look. A part of me wanted to conceal my blatant need, while another part was proud.
It was undeniable evidence that I was telling the truth: I wanted her.
Flushing with heat that wasn’t from fevers, I stepped toward her, keeping a careful eye on the lynx. It didn’t move or growl, allowing me to stop before the girl. “I told you I wanted you.” I balled my hands. “I wasn’t lying.”
“I-I didn’t think you were.” Her cheeks flared red as she licked her lips. “But...it’s not done here. It’s not proper to reveal your body or your desire.”
“Why?” I cocked my head. “Why can’t I show you how I truly feel?”
“Because you should keep...that part...covered.”
“Why?”
“I...” She grimaced as if the topic embarrassed her. “I don’t really know.”
“Because the people you live with hide their forms?”
“No...” She frowned. “Well, yes...” Bracing her shoulders, she glanced at her bare chest and flinched. Hugging herself to hide her breasts, she said in a firmer voice, “I’m not going to question the Nhil’s customs. They wear furs to protect their nakedness, and I’ve adapted their ways.” Looking for the discarded fur on the ground, she added, “They’re wise. They know how to heal sickness of the blood and are kind to travellers.” Not finding the fur, she looked back at my wound. Another frown etched her forehead as she slowly dropped her arms.
My body heated as she bared herself again, all the more noticeable after trying to hide.
Her voice was quiet as she said, “You should return with me. You need a healer.”
“You can heal me,” I spoke around the gravel in my throat.
“No.” She smiled with a soft laugh. “I’m not skilled. Not like Olish, Way, or the other Nhil healers.” Sighing, she came closer. “I’ll help you. I’ll clean your wound because I’ve learned that cleanliness is vital to staying healthy, and once your arm is cleansed, we’ll return to the camp together. Solin can find you somewhere to stay and—”
“Why can’t I stay with you?”
“Because...” She blinked. “I sleep in Solin’s lupic, and...he isn’t known to share. It’s strange enough that he shares with me.”
Possessiveness thickened my blood. “He shares his home because he wants you for his own.”
“What?” Her eyebrows shot upward. “Of course, he doesn’t.” She rubbed her arms. “Solin is the clan’s Fire Reader and Spirit Master. He has no mate and seems well set in his ways.”
“Until he met you.”
The lynx watched us talking, its head flicking back and forth as if understanding every word. Every word of my language, not hers. The girl hadn’t slipped into Firenese, feeding my irrational joy that she preferred my tongue—that it was as native to her as it was to me. That we were from the same place, same home, same heart...even if we couldn’t remember.
Stepping into her, I held up my damaged arm for her tending. “I accept your offer.”
She winced as she studied my wound. “It will hurt cleaning it.”
“I’ve had worse.”
She caught my gaze. “You have?”
“Being empty of mind is far worse than a little blood.”
She huffed as if she agreed. For the longest heartbeat, she didn’t move, but then, without a word, she reached for me. She hesitated just a second before her fingers kissed my skin.
