Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
It doesn’t matter that I was planning to kick her out into the night a mere moment ago. A mere moment ago, she was draped in jewels in my mind’s eye, reveling in my riches. This is just…pitiful. A doomed soul should be sent to Vor’s arms with a quick slice to the throat, not forced to endure a long, painful death by freezing. I might not like the female, but I am not cruel.
Kneeling at her side, I jostle her shoulder rudely.
She comes awake with a start but makes no sound. Her eyes blink large into the darkness and then focus on me. “Husband—”
“No,” I growl. I don’t want to hear that. Not from her. Not right now. I point at my tent, indicating she should go inside.
The female opens her mouth to speak and her stomach growls so loudly it comes up her throat. Horrified, she claps a hand over her mouth. “Well, that was a wretched sound. Apologies…master? Can I call you master?”
I get to my feet and glare down at her. Did she not see me pointing at the tent? Are we truly going to talk about names right now? I just want to sleep.
“I’m Vali,” she tells me again, tapping her chest. “I don’t expect you to remember it, so I’m happy to help out until you do. Let me serve you, master. It’d bring me great joy. Can I—”
She breaks off as I stab a finger at my tent, indicating she should go into the shelter and out of the cold wind.
“Yes. Your tent. Of course. Time to earn my due. I don’t know why I didn’t realize that.”
Vali hops to her feet and heads for the tent. Finally. By the gods, it’s like trying to steer Akara when the stubborn hamarii is in a wandering mood. Relieved that we’re finally getting somewhere, I put a hand on her back and guide her into my tent.
It’s a mess, I realize, as we step inside. The red moon is bright, casting enough light to see by near the entrance. I have no bed in here because when Akara and I are on the seas, I sleep in the cradle of the waves. It’s only when I’m in my grotto that I use a bed with blankets and padding. I use my tent for nothing but storage, keeping bags tied and primed for a submersion. A few of them have spilled open because I chased her out earlier, but nothing in here looks comfortable or warm enough for a human woman who’s shivering with cold.
The woman—Vali—steps inside and immediately pulls her dress over her head and tosses it to the floor. She sinks to her knees and throws her shoulders back, her breasts jiggling with the movement, and she gazes up at me. “How would you like me to serve you, master?”
I might be seakind, but I am not dead. The sight of her, naked and willing, makes both my cocks quickly engorge. Even in the near-darkness, I can see the heavy weight of her rounded breasts, the dark tips that are always visible, even through the flimsy fabric. Her belly is gently rounded, her hips thick and her legs strong. If I were to pick a human for a wife, I’d pick one exactly like her, with a robust body and magnificent large breasts.
Her gaze flicks up to my face, full of uncertainty at my silence. Then she smiles, the expression coy and sly, and reaches for my belt. “I’m happy to take the initiative, master. Like I said, I know just what males like—”
I grab her wrist before she can touch me. She’s misunderstood why I brought her in here. Of course she has. I’ve been nothing but cold and unfeeling to her since she arrived. I said I wanted a wife, and now she thinks she needs to fulfill her wifely duties. And while I might get aroused at the sight of her naked body, I have no wish to touch a female that clearly does not want me back. She’s offering because she’s afraid, and that’s not an offer at all.
“Sleep,” I bark out at her.
She flinches at my tone, pulling her hand back. “Yes. Of course. My apologies, master. I’m just trying to please—”
“Not your master,” I say, exasperated. “I don’t own you.”
Vali blinks up at me. “I don’t know what to call you.”
I bite back a sigh of frustration. “Ranan.”
She smiles, the expression startlingly sweet. “Ranan. What a nice name. Does it mean anything in your tongue?”
“It means sleep,” I growl at her. I grab her discarded dress and shove it into her hands. “Put your clothes on and sleep.”
Vali meekly puts her dress back on, and I can hear material ripping even as she does. The garment is about to fall to pieces, I suspect. It looks hard used. But she smooths it down her body and then looks around my tent, cluttered with sacks and buoys. “Any particular spot you prefer I should sleep? I don’t want to be in your way.”