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“Not like it?” A choked laugh escaped. “I had no idea that it would be so pleasurable.”
“You mean no one has ever done that before?”
“No, and truthfully, I would never have thought that I would enjoy it.”
It would have been almost unthinkable with a Karthikan female given their sharp teeth and aggressive nature. But Lottie with her small, blunt teeth and inherent sweetness - he could definitely enjoy such a thing. But he still tucked himself away and pulled his pants back into place.
“I think we’d best stop. I fear that you’re going to kill me with pleasure.”
A pleased smile replaced her frown.
“I think that would be a rather nice way to die.”
“I suppose so, although perhaps a little painful at the end,” he agreed gravely,
“I don’t want to cause you any pain,” she said quickly.
He believed she meant it, but he suspected it was now inevitable.
CHAPTER 9
Lottie smiled into the dimness, even though she was wedged in a tiny space between the wall of the wagon and Celenk’s huge, warm body. Raja had not been pleased with the new sleeping arrangements, chittering at both of them indignantly before climbing up on a bench and curling up in the pile of now dry towels.
The storm had lasted for most of the day although fortunately, it was muted enough that Celenk only froze a few times at a particularly loud boom of thunder. Each time she’d put her arms around him and he’d let her, although he hadn’t clung to her as tightly as he had the first time. Still she was sure she had given him comfort and that thought pleased her.
By the time the storm finally passed, he decided it was too late to travel any further and suggested they remain in the ravine. She had no objections - the day had passed very pleasantly even with both of them in the small space - and he was big enough to count as two all by himself. She’d taken advantage of the small stove to not only cook a meal but to bake some cookies. She only had the ingredients for sugar cookies but from the ecstatic expression on his face when he bit into one, he didn’t seem to find it a loss.
She’d tried to ask some more questions about their destination, but he’d changed the subject, bringing out a pack of cards instead. She kept her mouth shut as he patiently instructed her in a game of Stars, then trounced him three times in a row, unable to keep a straight face when he frowned at her.
“Are you sure you’ve never played before?”
“Of course I’ve played before - you didn’t actually bother to ask.”
“Yes I did-” He hesitated, then sighed. “No, I suppose I didn’t. But you could have said something.”
“You enjoyed teaching me, and I didn’t mind. But my grandfather taught me a long time ago because he loved to play. At the end, it was one of the few things he could still manage.”
“Did he also teach you to play Slapdash?” he asked suspiciously.
“I don’t think so.”
The game was new to her but she still managed to win the third hand and he gave her a wry smile.
“I can see you have a talent for cards.”
“Like I said, I played cards with my grandfather a lot, even if this particular game wasn’t one of them.”
The memory of that last year made her heart ache, and he put his hand over hers, stroking it gently with his thumb.
“You still miss him, don’t you?”
“Very much. Don’t you miss your parents?”
“No.” His voice turned cold and she gave him a startled look. He sighed and shook his head. “Probably a story for another time.”
She didn’t pry, bending down to pick up Raja instead when he tried to climb up her robe. He settled comfortably in her palm as she rubbed her cheek against his soft fur.
“Do you know how much bigger he will get?”
