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“It’s like parting with a friend,” Cazar told her. “At least, that’s how I feel, and I never even got along with him until last night. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you. Toroq does care for you, I hope you don’t doubt that.”
“I know,” she answered, openly sobbing now. “But why didn’t he even say goodbye? That’s so fuckingrude.”
Cazar pulled her into his arms, comforting his mate as he stood to his full height. His hands ran up and down her back soothingly, plucking off stray pieces of dirt and leaves as he carried her toward the river he could sense nearby.
Her legs were wrapped around his waist as she cried, and each sob made his heart ache in his chest; leaving him wishing he’d never brought them to Lorshna.
“In some cultures, ‘goodbye’ isn’t a concept. I do not believe he would want you to feel like this if he could have prevented it.” And perhaps last nighthadbeen Toroq’s version of a goodbye, though if Cazar told that to Evie, she might cry even harder.
She nodded, dropping her head to his shoulder and squeezing her arms around his neck tight.
“I’m just so sad,” Evie said miserably. “And I feel guilty that I’m crying over someone else. Like I’m betraying you by mourning another man.”
“You’re not betraying me,” Cazar said fiercely. Resolutely. “We can’t determine who impacts us in life or who we mourn, we can only pay them proper tribute, and in time, move on. Even then, I feel similarly at a loss, Evadora. Perhaps not as wholly as you do, but the absence is unexpectedly unwelcome.”
“Really?” she asked quietly. “I thought you’d be relieved he’s gone.”
Cazar shook his head. “I thought I would feel relieved, too, but I don’t. Not yet. Ours was an entirely unique situation, one that I’m sure no one else has experienced. I cannot tell you how to feel, nor am I upset that your heart is so pure and tender, or so caring toward something that lived inside of me. But I can tell you this, Evadora. We’ll get through this like we would anything else; together.”
Her soft lips brushed his collarbone as her cries eased, and then they brushed his neck as he made it to the river’s edge a few minutes later. He waded into the cool water until it was up to his waist, ready to dip them both in for a rinse.
“Cazar?”
He turned his head toward Evie, his nose brushing against hers as she looked up at him through her wet lashes. She was beautiful with her brilliantly blue eyes glittering at him like the finest gems, her creamy skin a delicate shade of pink.
He’d always known he was such a lucky male to have met her, and the feeling was amplified now more than it had ever been before. As if his feelings resonated throughout him twice as strongly.
“I love you,” Evie breathed, kissing him gently.
Cazar nearly dropped her in the river, so stunned that his arms and legs almost gave out at her admission. She kissed him again, pulling back when his lips remained lax.
“Are you alright?”
Cazar cleared his throat, sinking them into the water to spare himself a moment before answering, afraid that he’d say something ridiculous instead of how he felt. Evie yelped as the cold water covered their torsos, and Cazar winced at how clumsy he was behaving.
“You don’t have to say it back, but you could have warned me you were going to try to drown me!” Evie shouted, scrambling up his body as if that might save her from the chill.
“I do, I mean, I did–I have,” Cazar blurted out, his neck heating in embarrassment. He took a deep breath, holding her close as she looked up at him again. “I’ve known I was in love with you ever since we landed on Lorshna. I just didn’t want to overwhelm you with the truth.”
Her lips formed a small ‘O’ of surprise. “Why would that overwhelm me?”
“You had only just confided in me that you’d been forced to come to Aragnok. I didn’t want to seem insincere with my feelings, or for you to think I was attempting to placate you.”
Evie let out a small laugh, any lingering sadness disappearing as she narrowed her eyes on him. “So you mean to tell me that you knew you were in love with me after I told you I’d electrocuted another man’s balls?”
Cazar’s eyes widened in alarm. “I didn’t know that was where you’d harmed him, and now that you say it aloud, it makes me seem a bit unhinged.”
Evie shook her head, pulling him down so she could kiss him deeply. “It makes you perfect for me,” she whispered against his lips, kissing him again. “Let me show you just how perfect.”
Chapter 23
Eviewasn’tsurehowto feel as her and Cazar finally pulled away from one another, completely exhausted and sexually spent. She didn’t know how long they’d been in the heart of the jungle, only that the sun had long-since set, the moons had come and gone, and now another sunset was upon them.
It could have just been one day or several that had passed; she’d been completely out of it during her time with Toroq. And then, when Cazar had risen to the forefront, they’d been just as hungry for one another. Desperate, even. They’d been unable to do anything for even a few minutes without it turning blatantly sexual.
Hell, even when she had stood up to stretch her tired legs, Cazar had found a way to take her. Apparently, her position had given Cazar a perfect view of between her thighs from his spot on the ground. He’d snatched her up around the waist, pinned her beneath him, and pumped her full of his cock before she’d even had a moment to process what was happening.
Not that she minded. All of the sex had brought her and Cazar closer intimately and kept her away from the bereft feelings floating around inside her.
