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ChapterTwelve
VIVI
There’s a lot going on with the newcomers arriving at camp. Flor seems a little worried about what they talk about, and it’s decided that we’ll all head out in the morning. Some of the women are packing stuff up, the men have caught fresh meat for us to cook, and I’rec and his mate seem to be busy, so I take it upon myself to tend to the fire. If I sit near it and keep it going, it’s an important task, and it lets me hover near the others without calling attention to myself.
I remain there even as people come and go. Jason gathers fuel from around the canyon and empties his bag of dung chips near me, which is handy. I use a long, sharpened bone to prod at the coals, and listen to Gabriella explaining the plot ofBlade Runnerto someone for what feels like the eleventh time that day.
A shadow falls over me and I automatically glance up, only to cringe when I see it’s Skarr. Oh no. What does he want?
He holds something out to me.
I don’t know why, but I hold my hand out, palm up. My khui is humming wildly inside my chest at his nearness, and I know his is, too. The shivers of its song moving through my body send prickles of arousal through me, which are deeply annoying, and I try to ignore them. He plops the object into my hand and I stare at it.
It’s a scale. It’s about the size of my thumbnail, and hard like a poker chip. It’s deep green, like the scales on his brow and back are. “Um…why did you give me this?”
“So you can think of me, of course.” He grins encouragingly at me, and I hate that his grin is attractive. Sure, it’s all fangs and green mouth, but for some reason, I like his smile.
I toss the scale into the fire.
Someone snickers nearby.
This doesn’t deter Skarr. He crouches near the fire and warms his hands, and I go back to ignoring him, stabbing at the coals. They’re burning just fine, but I need something to do, so I pick up a frozen cake of dung and wedge it into the ash at the bottom so it’ll burn slowly.
“You are good with that,” he tells me.
I glance over, not certain if he’s speaking to me. “I’m sorry?”
He nods at the dung on the fire. “That. You are good with it.”
“It’s literally a piece of shit.”
“Yes, you are excellent with shit.”
Again, someone snickers nearby. I can hear Dawn mutter under her breath. “Dear god, this is painful to watch.”
“Your hands are big and strong for a puny female,” he continues. “You should be pleased.”
“At my man-hands?” I eye him. “Can you just stop? Please?”
“I am complimenting you. I am giving you game.” His smile is encouraging. “And I would love to pleasure you.”
Dawn snort-giggles, and again, I find myself wishing for a sinkhole. “Please be quiet, Skarr.”
“I am merely pointing out how capable you are,” he says. “What is wrong with that? You are my female. Is it so wrong to point out all the ways you excel?”
If he is, he sure has a funny way of doing it. I get to my feet, putting my stick down. That’s enough fire tending for me today. Skarr gets to his feet, too. “You want to play a game? With me?”
His eyes gleam. “I would love nothing more.”
“It’s called ‘keep away,’” I tell him. “You see how long you can stay away from me, and I with you. Whoever holds out the longest, wins.”
And I turn and walk away. I pray that it works, because if he keeps following me around and complimenting me on handling shit with my man-hands, I might have to murder someone.
ChapterThirteen
SKARR
Iam not a fan of this “keep away” game. It goes on for far too long.
