Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
It’s a terrible feeling, but I push it aside. Feeling sorry for myself won’t change a thing.
Jurik nudges the glass of water toward me again.
“He says you won’t drink,” Sasha repeats. “He said he took you to a lake and you wouldn’t drink.”
I look up at Jurik, scowling, and deliberately take a sip of water from the glass. “I’m not drinking this because I’m not thirsty anymore. And I didn’t drink the lake water because it needs to be boiled first. Haven’t they ever heard of microbes?”
“Probably not,” Sasha says with a little grimace. She tilts her head, going silent for a moment, and Dakh and Jurik look at each other. The stiff, aggressive set of Jurik’s shoulders eases a little and then he reaches out and tentatively rubs his knuckle against my cheek, as if trying to reassure himself that I don’t hate him.
Is that what this is about? He thinks I’m trying to push him away? Even though I don’t want it, I take another sip of water deliberately, keeping my gaze locked with Jurik’s. His eyes warm an even brighter gold, as if pleased.
Men. Jesus.
“He wants to know if you’ll mate with him.” Sasha continues.
I spit water all over the table, coughing.
“Then he can talk to you directly,” Sasha says, amusement in her voice. “Because your spirits will be joined.”
I sputter a bit more, and Jurik makes that soft crooning noise in his throat, rubbing my back. It’s surprisingly touching, and I remember how he held me in the water and made sure that I came. He’s a mixture of possessiveness and hunger, this man, and I knew what he wanted, but hearing it from Sasha still feels…odd. “He moves really fast.”
“They all do.”
Jurik’s big hand continues to rub my back, and I’m aware that he’s waiting for an answer. What to say? “Tell him I’m shy.”
A long pause. “He says he will be gentle.” Her gaze flicks to the bruised side of my face. “That wasn’t him, was it?”
I shake my head. “Someone else. The one he killed.”
“Aaah.”
I glance up at Jurik, at his stubborn face with its stubborn chin and sharp cheekbones. He’s handsome, in his incredibly alien way, and I glance over at Dakh and Sasha. They’re both attractive people, too. It makes sense that Dakh would fall for her, but I absolutely don’t understand what Jurik sees in me. There are other girls in the program that are far more attractive—Manda with her dark eyes, or Jenny with her bright attitude and sweet smile. “I don’t understand why he wants me,” I confess. “I’m not trying to be coy. I just really, truly do not understand it.” I gesture at my face with my stump.
Sasha pauses for a long moment.
I look up at Jurik again, and his eyes are pure gold as he watches me, his big hand rubbing my shoulders, as if he can’t stop touching me.
“He says,” Sasha begins quietly, “that you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.”
Those words take my breath away. Of all the things I expected to hear, that wasn’t it. Jurik’s eyes are so intense as he gazes down at me that I feel…soft. Fluttery. Pleased.
Looks like I’m gonna sleep with a dragon.
26
RACHEL
“Tell him I’ll mate with him, but I need to pick the right moment.” It feels weird to declare my intentions like that, but I need Jurik to understand. I love the attention he gives me, and I’m attracted to him, but I still want the ability to choose when and where.
Sasha nods, and her eyes go unfocused as she speaks to her mate through their mental bond. I feel weird, discussing my sex life like this with strangers, but what about this situation hasn’t been completely and perfectly weird?
“He says he will wait, but he is eager to talk to you. To bond with you.” Sasha gives me a tiny smile. “And from me to you, it helps with the madness.”
“He doesn’t seem all that mad,” I admit. “I keep hearing about it and I thought he’d just be utterly crazy all the time, but he just seems…focused?”
Sasha shakes her head. “Don’t be fooled. Luminoura is helping. Being around her is very calming for them.”
I glance over at the baby—now sleeping—and wonder how it works. “Because she’s little? It stops them from being mad?”
“No, it’s…” She purses her lips. “It’s hard to explain.” She clasps her hands in front of her on the table and thinks for a moment. “Being in this world…it’s like they’re stuck in a bedroom with the lights off, if that makes sense. Their minds are stuck in darkness. I think it has something to do with the way this world handles the mental links they rely on so heavily. It’s like something gets crossed and makes them insane.”
“So they’re in the dark.”