Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
His smile warms my heart. I walk at his side, and we leave our cave and head back towards Icehome Beach, gossiping all the way.
I smell the smoke of campfires before the village even comes into view. My belly clenches with a feeling of dread and I instinctively move closer to I’rec. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this.”
He puts a hand on my shoulder, drawing me close. “We have done nothing wrong. Resonance has decided, not us. We merely follow its wishes.”
Yes, and that’s the entire problem. I chew on my lip, mentally picturing R’jaal’s crushing disappointment and Tia’s devastated face as they realize what’s happened. I’m supposed to be bringing smiles to everyone, not destroying hopes and dreams. Isn’t life hard enough as it is?
And to make matters worse, the moment I’rec pulls me close I want to crawl under his skin. He feels warm and familiar, and my pussy clenches, hungry for more. My khui fires up, the song loud and insistent, and I’rec’s steps falter as his starts singing, too.
Why did we decide to come back to camp? We should have stayed away until resonance was done. This feels like such a bad idea. “Maybe we should turn around,” I say quickly. “Find another cave, hunker down until we stop resonating—”
“Ho!” calls a voice nearby. “I’rec! Flor! Ho!”
Fuuuuuck. I’m not ready.
As if sensing my panic, I’rec turns and carefully draws me behind him, blocking me from the view of the others as they approach. A warm rush of gratitude sweeps over me at his action. He’s going to take on everyone just so I don’t have to. No one’s ever done that for me. I hear a flurry of footsteps crunching in the snow as the others approach. “V’za,” he greets, and then less warmly, “T’chai.”
T’chai is Tall Horn, and I suspect that less-than-enthusiastic greeting is because of T’chai’s relation to R’jaal. I give I’rec a chiding poke at the base of his spine.
“There you are,” Vaza calls out cheerfully, his voice booming. “My mate was growing worried when you two did not return last night, but R’jaal said all was well. Do you need help with anything? Can we be of assistance?”
I peek around I’rec’s arm, and my gaze meets that of T’chai, who is watching me closely. Flushing, I give him a faint smile…and then I notice the kids behind him. There’s Pak and Rukhar, Aayla and Z’hren. Oh no. They’re all at that age where they’re loud.
And sure enough…
“Tita Flor, why are you hiding behind I’rec?” Pak asks, and he’s loud.
“Oh, I was just getting a bit of, uh, dirt off his back.” I dust my fingers over I’rec’s back as if to hold up my lie and step out from behind him with a bright smile.
My khui, activated by that quick touch, purrs long and hard and loud, and all eyes are immediately drawn to me.
I’rec grimaces, rubbing his chest as his sings even louder than mine.
“Well,” Vaza says slowly and rubs his nose. “That explains the scent.”
T’chai smirks, and I’m horrified. I lean closer to I’rec, sniffing, because humans don’t have the senses that the aliens do. Sure enough, he smells heavily of sex. I probably do, too. Great. We probably reek and no amount of finger-combing our hair will hide the fact that we’ve been going at it like wildcats. Well, that and I’ve lost my pants. My tunic is decently long enough and covers me to my thighs, but I feel naked as hell.
“It is resonance,” I’rec says, voice stiff. He pulls me behind him again, stepping forward and blocking my view. “That should be obvious.”
“Very obvious,” T’chai murmurs. “Come, kits. Let us find the trail again. We cannot be distracted from the hunt by other scents. Who has it again?”
“But they smell real bad,” Aayla complains. “How are we supposed to smell anything when they’re stinky like that?”
If it wasn’t me this was happening to, I’d be laughing my ass off. As it is, I’m mortified but still trying to smother a few giggles. I’rec’s tail twitches, and he clearly doesn’t find this as funny as I do.
T’chai chides Aayla, his voice receding as they walk away. “A good hunter will always discover the scent trail. You can find it again. Come on.”
More footsteps crunch, and I lean in closer to I’rec, drawn to his body. He’s not wearing a vest like he normally does, and his back is exposed and ripe for the touching. I want to drag my fingertips all over him and especially those dimples at the base of his spine, just above his thrashing tail. Leaning in, I let my breath whisper over his skin, and I know he feels it, because he tenses, his tail going still.
Vaza clears his throat. “Shall I head back to camp ahead of you both and tell the others?”